May 29, 2008

Drive One

Ford and Toyota lead the latest customer satisfaction ratings for automakers, The Tennessean reports. But I'm pretty sure that the photo over the caption that reads "Sales of the highly rated Ford Edge are up" is a photo of a Mercedes, not Ford's intriguing new Edge crossover.

I'm happy to see Ford's customer satisfaction ratings are up - we just put a new Ford Fusion SEL in the garage last night. I grew up in a family that bought more Fords than any other car brand but a few years ago I'd have bought a Toyota Camry over anything Ford made. Not now. The Ford Fusion is a great car, and a much better deal.

If you're in the market for a new car, be sure to factor the MPG into your decision.

The EPA rating says 6-cylinder Fusion SEL will get 15-22 mpg in city driving depending on how the customer drives it - the EPA rating on the window sticker is 18 mpg. The six-cylinder Fusion SEL we rented from Hertz earlier this month consistently got 22 mpg in city driving over the week we had it, which will save us significantly over the 13 mpg we were getting in the SUV we traded in. Savings on gas alone will cover almost half the new car payment. (At $4 a gallon, that extra 9 mpg will save about $190 per month for someone who drives about 1,500 miles per month.)