2010 Ford Fusion Facelift Gets Chrome Monobrow, New Engines and a Hybrid Version

Ford has issued the first official picture of the 2010 Fusion that will be revealed along with its revised Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan siblings at next month's LA Auto Show. The facelifted Fusion profits - or the opposite, we'll leave that for you to decide, from a fully redesigned front end that features something that was designed to look like a car but ended up resembling a gigantic chrome monobrow. The mid-size sedan also gets a new hood design and a restyled front bumper. Ford is still keeping the rest of the photos under a cloth of secrecy, so we'll have to see if there are any other styling changes. -Continued

The 2010 model year Fusion (as well as the Milan) gains from a new engine lineup that includes Ford's brand-new Duratec 2.5-liter 4-cylinder unit that delivers an output of 175HP and 172 lb.-ft. of torque, 14HP more and 16 more lb.-ft. of torque than the preceding year's 2.3-liter unit. The 3.0-liter V6 engine has been reworked producing 19HP more and 23 more lb.-ft. of torque than before for a total of 240HP and 228 lb.-ft. of torque while for 2010, there's also a new 263HP 3.5-liter V6 engine.

What's even more important is that all three engine are paired with Ford's new six-speed automatic transmission. While Ford has yet to release any specific figures, the company supports that paired with the 6-speed auto, the 2.5-liter Fusion delivers a 10 percent improvement in fuel efficiency while the V6 configurations gain a 4- to 6-percent efficiency.

In 2009 Ford will also introduce the Fusion and Milan Hybrids equipped with a next-generation hybrid propulsion system. Te hybrid sedans can operate up to 47 mph in pure electric mode while Ford claims that the city driving range on a single city tank of gas is expected to be more than 700 miles. Furthermore, the company said that both the Milan and Fusion hyrbids are expected to achieve class-leading fuel economy, besting the Toyota Camry hybrid by at least 5 mpg.