EPA Rates 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid at 41/36 MPG, Besting Toyota Camry Hybrid

EPA Rates 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid at 41/36 MPG, Besting Toyota Camry Hybrid

The all-new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid will carry an EPA fuel economy label of 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway when it goes on sale this spring.

With those numbers, the Fusion Hybrid will be America's most fuel efficient mid-size car, topping its chief competitor -- the Toyota Camry Hybrid -- by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.

But the Fusion Hybrid might be even more fuel efficient than the Environmental Protection Agency numbers indicate. In an article in last Friday's Los Angeles Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning auto writer Dan Neil wrote that on a test drive of a Fusion Hybrid in West L.A. traffic, he managed, "without much trouble, to get 52 mpg in mixed city-highway driving."

The Fusion Hybrid's final fuel-economy certification was completed this week at Ford's testing laboratories in Allen Park, Michigan. The low-emissions car, which beats even the much smaller Honda Civic hybrid by 1 MPG in city driving, can travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas, Ford says.

To deliver the class-leading fuel economy, Ford's engineers spent the past three years developing the vehicle's next-generation hybrid propulsion system. It allows the Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrid to travel up to 47 miles per hour in pure electric mode -- faster than the Toyota Camry and all other hybrids currently on the road.

In addition, Ford says the system's advanced intake variable cam timing allows the Fusion and Milan hybrids to more seamlessly transition from gas to electric mode and vice-versa.

Fusion's advanced hybrid system features:

• A smaller, lighter nickel-metal hydride battery, which produces 20 percent more power than Ford's previous hybrid system;
• A new 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine achieving 155 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque;
• An enhanced electronic throttle control, which reduces airflow on shutdowns, reducing fueling needs on restarts;
• A regenerative brake system, which captures the energy normally lost through friction in braking and stores it;
• And, SmartGauge, a unique instrument cluster that helps coach drivers on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid.

With the applicable federal tax credit, the Fusion Hybrid should cost consumers about $25,000 -- an estimate, because the final numbers have not been announced.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.