Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, Ford had a secure spot at the mid-size table. Honda's Accord and Toyota's Camry were strong sellers--but so was the Taurus, which sold more than 300,000 copies a year in those good years. The Taurus had, in fact, saved Ford's bacon in 1986 by completely redefining the company's public face, jellybean styling and all.
The Taurus was the best-selling car in the U.S. from 1992 to 1996, and then Ford blew it, big-time. The follow-up 1996 Taurus was an overstyled mistake that killed Ford's momentum. Eventually, it was banished to rental-car fleets and it wasn't until a decade later that Ford recovered from the mistake.
It was in 2006 that Ford leaned on its corporate cousin, Mazda, and borrowed the underpinnings of Mazda's 6 sedan to create the new Fusion. More than badge engineering, Ford actually stretched out the 6's platform and gave it a uniquely crisp style, with a signature Ford grille up front.
And since its debut in 2006, the Fusion's been nothing but a success for Ford. It's basically a larger, better equipped, lower cost cousin of the Mazda6--with one or two caveats. Today, in the 2008 model year, the Fusion is still a good alternative to the bigger Accord and Camry--and Chevy's resurgent Malibu .
Back in 2006, TheCarConnection.com road-tested the Fusion SEL with V-6 power. This time, we took a four-cylinder for a spin to see whether the sub-$20,000 sedan was an even better value.
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