Ford Kills 325-HP Fusion Sport, Continues Slaughter of US Passenger Car Lineup: Report
It’s the end of the line for fast Ford sedans, at least in America. We’ll miss them.
Ford's on course to eliminate all passenger cars (except the Mustang) from its U.S. lineup, and the latest reported victim of this scheme is the Fusion Sport.
The Blue Oval reportedly confirmed the model's culling in an email to Cars Direct on Sunday, explaining that it'd help the automaker prioritize more popular versions of the Fusion for the remainder of its lifespan. Ford told The Drive last year that 90 percent of its passenger car options would be retired by 2020, signaling the possibility of additional slimming on top of the recent cessation of the Taurus and coming end of Fusion Sport production.
With its 2.7-liter, twin-turbo EcoBoost V6, the 2019 Fusion Sport makes 325 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. Its six-speed automatic transmission may be short on gears for a modern automatic, but the sleeper special can still steamroll zero-to-60 in 5.3 seconds, thanks to all-wheel-drive. Unfortunately for Ford, the Fusion Sport starts a hair above $40,000, making it more expensive than most competing midsize economy sedans, even at top spec. In fact, the Fusion Sport is far nearer to a base model BMW 3 Series than it is its economy rivals, with the 2019 Honda Accord Touring starting more than $5,000 south of the Fusion Sport.
Sans the EcoBoost V6, the fastest Fusion available in 2020 will be the Fusion Titanium and SE AWD, whose 2.0-liter EcoBoost still packs a 240-horsepower and 366-pound-feet wallop. Despite rumors claiming a new Mustang-based four-door would join Ford's lineup, the end is clearly nigh for sporting Ford sedans.