I just returned from my trip to Maine and had promised to report on the 2010 Ford Fusion that I rented. I get to the Budget rental office last Wednesday at 2pm and was told that there are no more Fords available in any configuration.

I was offered a 2009 Buick Lucerne. I was pissed! I specifically rent at Budget becuase they advertise Ford vehicles as thier primary product.

I reluctantly took the Buick as slogging 2000 miles in 6 days is better in any rental than on my vehicles. So, now I'm going to tell you breifly about the Buick as this is just as informative as a blog about the Ford. In fact, it's more informative.

The buick had only 4500 miles on the clock. It was equipped with the following goodies:

Leather, Sat Radio, On star, heated / cooled seats, on board computer, dual zone climate control, both front seats full power, steering wheel control, back up sensor, rain sensitive wipers. I may have missed a couple of thngs. Anyway, it was well appointed and an upgrade to the Fuision.

The car drove superbly. It was steady and confident with a very supple ride. It was solid with minimal road noise, no rattles or squeaks. The car was very comfortable to cruise at 80 mph all day long.

MPG's were great with an overall average at 26.53 I was reaching 31 on the hwy when driving a little more conservatively.

My disappointments with the car:

Ingress / egress were difficult at best from either side of the vehicle.

Horrible blind spots

Acceleration power was lacking when accessing short freeway ramps.

Interior was very tight. Thuis is a good size car and I expected the cabin to be a little more generous on space.

All in all, the car exceeded my expectations and it did it's job. It enabled my 2004 Expedition to remain at 65,000 miles instead of coming home with a higher fuel bill and 67K + on the clock.

My expenditures:

Rental fee: $193
Fuel: $196.00 using a total of 75.38 gallons.
Total cost = $389.00
Miles driven: 2002.

Last year I did take my Expy to Maine and I averaged 17 mpg. Using that figure again and apply it to this years fuel costs, I would have burned 117.76 gallons of gas costing me $306.00 at an average cost of $2.60 per gallon.

Using those numbers, my rental only cost me $83.00 and save the wear and tear on my Expy.

Tim

 

Park the Buick next to a Ford Taurus and see if you don't see a little something simular. Twins???????????

 

If the Taurus is as tight on the insides as the Buick, then I don't want it either. My '99 Taurus feels more spacious than the Buick did.

Tim