The hype over Ford's new line of Fusion models continues with the 2017 Ford Fusion Energi taking front and center. Apparently, the car company is now claiming that its newest plug-in hybrid model is the best in the U.S. market in terms of mileage, GizMag has learned.
Citing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, Ford said Friday that its 2017 Fusion Energi can run up to 610 miles or 982 km through a combination of both a fully charged battery and a full tank of gas. This is absolutely an amazing feat for the new Energi since it has not only surpassed the mileage of the 2016 Fusion Energy of 550 miles or 885 km, it has also one-upped other plug-in hybrids in the market.
With its impressive mileage, the 2017 Energi trumps all of its competitors in the plug-in hybrid segment, such as the Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid, Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid and even the newly released Chevrolet Volt, as per The Car Connection. Subtly taking a jab at Tesla's new Model 3, Ford pointed out that its 2017 Ford Fusion Energi offers almost three times than the redesigned sedan has to offer in terms of mileage.
The upgrades in the 2017 Ford Fusion Energi made this noteworthy mileage possible. For example, the hybrid powertrain software has been updated to better the melding of internal combustion and electric power. The regenerative braking system has also been enhanced to recycle energy that could have possibly been lost once the brakes are engaged, according to Fortune.
The improved system works efficiently by draining the battery first before the gas engine assumes full control. The fully charged battery can cover 21 miles or 34 km. Upon reaching this mark, the vehicle will then run using the combined effort of battery and gas for about 1 mile or 1.6 km.
After the combined work of the car battery and the gas engine, the latter would kick in and operate the Fusion Energi for the entire ride of 588 miles or 946 km.
The 2017 Ford Fusion Energi, which is one of the newly released electric vehicles of the Detroit-headquartered automaker, costs $31,000. There is the top-tier Ford Fusion Platinum Energi that starts at $42,000.
