u/RoGStonewall

Long story short I was trying to find a new (new to me) car and was browsing dealerships. My last car had died unceremoniously some time ago so I went awhile without one. Anyhow, on a whim I visit a dealership with the wife while out on some lunch. We browse a Tiguan, a Fit, usual family cars and there was a cooper countryman I really liked and wanted to get. The dealer was very real with me and told me the cooper would be hell to maintain and was clear about the initial buy in being 'cheap' but keeping it would be costly.

He introduced me to 4 fusions their dealership got in an auction as a group buy. I wasn't feeling it because it was a sedan and it was bigger than I'd ideally like. I tried a 2016 and a 2018 and I felt it was 'alright' but the wife insisted it was a good car for us because it did its job and it didn't cost that much - it was 10.5k for a 2018 hybrid with 94k miles. The dealer told me that fusions are incredible cars that seem radioactive to some people because they carry the FORD name but it helps him (them) do business because they cater to certain price points.

Now the test drive was 'alright' but actually driving it as my daily + everything quickly changed it all for me. It's such a smooth ride, it's comfortable to just sit and decompress during breaks and after work. The wife loves it, the kid loves it, my wallet loves it. I feel it sits right in the best place for someone like me who values efficiency but can appreciate some reasonable luxury.

Now as my friend's cars, especially their many sad sentras, are hitting the grave I've been getting some of them into fusions of their own. It is wild how such genuinely great cars can be found for such good prices and they seemingly fly under the radar.