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Fusion Hybrid
Fusion Hybrid
Ford boasts that the Fusion Hybrid is the most efficient hybrid sedan on the market. That depends on your definition of a "sedan." If it means having a trunk, yes. If it doesn't, then the Prius still beats it.But with 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 on the highway, the Fusion Hybrid easily tops anything that most of us would call a family sedan. Like the current non-hybrid Fusion, the Hybrid is also a pleasure to drive. It's more fun the Camry Hybrid, but maybe not quite as much as the Altima Hybrid, based on an hour-long test drive.

A lot of the fun of driving the Fusion Hybrid has little do with steering and accelerating, though. The Fusion engages the driver in a pleasant, and relatively non-distracting, game of "virtual gardener."

As you drive, a picture of a budding vine appears to crawl up the side of the gauge cluster. The more efficiently you drive the more leaves begin to sprout. Slam the gas pedal or come to a brutally quick stop, wasting gas, and leaves begin to disappear, one by one.

There's a sense of achievement as your vine begins to fill with leaves and crawl across the top of the gauges. I'm told there may be - possibly - flowers that bloom if you do really well. Only time will tell.

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Last updated May 06 2009: 11:11 AM ET
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