[Axs460]

Hi all,

I'm seeking some info regarding tuning and performance parts for the '17 Sport.

I'm in the market for a new car and spent the last month researching cars off and on. I landed on the Fusion Sport for a few reasons:
- 2 kids now, so I need something bigger than my WRX. The wife has been very cool letting me keep that despite the fact that we can't go anywhere in it as a family...but it's time to replace (120,000 mi).
- AWD - Live in Pittsburgh (snow), spend a lot of time in the mtns skiing/mtn biking (at least our version of mountains in appalachia). Subaru got me hooked on AWD.
- Nothing naturally aspirated...again, a product of 10 years driving a WRX.

On paper the FS looks great. Twin-turbo, solid HP/torque and specs. I also really like the interior and exterior, so all around pretty good for the price point.

With that said, I expect this car has tremendous tuning potential, and reading this forum a lot of people came to the same conclusion.

Now here are a few reasons I'm second-guessing my decision to get one of these. At this point I completely ruled out all other cars, but now am questioning if this is really what I'm looking for. Appreciate other's thoughts:

- Resale value: Saw a review the other day that made a good point. Ford floods the car rental market with Fusions, meaning there are a ton of these for sale as used cars. Even though it's a Sport, probably going to drop in value very quickly. I don't really care about this that much as I kept my current car for 10 years. I tend to drive them into the ground and don't look at my cars as an investment that will yield returns.
- General issues: Was surprised to see the complaints by so many different people about the dead battery, window issues, etc. Not a show stopper, but as someone that hasn't owned a Ford in the past, was disappointed to see so many problems. It has me a bit concerned about buyer's remorse as my past cars seem to have all been (mostly) flawless.
- Actual performance: Like I said earlier, the car looks great on paper. However I haven't seen any reviews that really loved the car. Some point out it's not the Audi killer we thought it may be. Others say it has slow throttle response. I'm just surprised to not find anybody really impressed by the car. (I did test drive one, but not in sport mode, and also in the city where I couldn't open it up).
- Aftermarket performance parts: Here's my main question. I don't really care if the stock performance isn't great. This car HAS to have some serious tuning potential that would overcome this. The question: Why isn't there anything out there?

Maybe I'm spoiled from owning a WRX where you can find absolutely everything imaginable to tune and improve that car. I've looked high and low and the only tuning possibility is Livernois (not knocking it, don't really know much about it as I've used only Cobb in the past). And the only exhaust I've seen is a custom Magnaflow exhaust.

Is anybody aware of plans for additional performance and tuning solutions on the way, or is this car just simply being overlooked? I recognize it's the first year for this engine in this car, which may explain why I can find parts for Focus, Fiesta and Mustang, but not Fusion Sport. I'm just very reluctant to buy this if it's going to be ignored from all these performance and tuning companies.

What gives? Can anyone provide insight? Is there anything out there that I missed? Are you aware of plans by companies to start providing performance upgrade parts for this car (ECU tuning, exhaust, intakes, turbos...anything)? I'd like to get some confirmation on this before pulling the trigger.

Appreciate the info!

 

[Shawn S]

I had three WRX's over the years. 03, 06 & 09. They are a BLAST.
Even though I'm only 49, I call my sport the "WRX for seniors" 😊😊😊

I'm not into the tuner thing anymore, especially since the Fusion Sport is so good right out of the box.
I miss having stick shift, but this thing takes off like a scared cat when you floor it.
But it's a 4000 pound pig in the corners so you can't drive it hard like a WRX.

Shawn S

 

[bigblueshock]

I had three WRX's over the years. 03, 06 & 09. They are a BLAST.

But it's a 4000 pound pig in the corners so you can't drive it hard like a WRX.

Shawn S

With two kids, hittin the corners hard would be a moot point :laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[La Flama Blanca]

I've been lurking here for 4 months now, going back and forth on why I should buy or not buy.
Virtually same reasons, resale value, issues, fuel mileage.

Right now Fusion sales are down 37% from this time last year, Ford is down 7.2% in sales.
Monday was the last day for 0% interest so I figured I would go into the dealer and be able to
negotiate a decent deal. Walked out with an Oxford White car.
Couldn't be more pleased with my purchase, so far.
I still have in my 3rd garage a 2004 SRT-4 with 27,xxx miles on it, purchased brand new by me, which I'll
most likely sell this summer. Never thought I'd say that, but I live outside Cleveland and there's no way I'd drive that in snow. I think I've driven that car in the rain, maybe 5 times. I think I put 600 miles on it last year.
The Sport, with being all wheel drive just ticked the right boxes for me. As far as MPG's, I traded in a well worn 09 Lincoln MKZ that was getting 22 MPG's, Sport appears to be the same and it's a heck of a lot more fun.
So I'm coming virtually from the same camp, a car with sky's the limit modding, but I can't see myself going crazy
with this car, definitely a tune but I really enjoy driving it so far. Surprisingly is even quieter than the Lincoln.
And I'm sure I'll have it out to Summit Motorsport Park and the new Dragway 42 a few times, just like the SRT -4.
I've only owned the Sport for 36 hours but loving it so far.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I have driven my Sport for a little over two weeks now and I love it. I am long past the young one requirements but live in the Northeast so AWD was a must. I came off of a BMW 535xi and it was a beautiful machine but one I found out the hard way you do not want to own without a warranty. The turbos were pretty much shot, it needed new rubber and a couple other things so I decided on the Sport which I had an eye on since it was released last year. It does not handle or brake quite as well as the BMW (and presumably the Subie) but then the sticker price on the beemer was $60K and the Sport was a little over half that. The acceleration is certainly there though and with a tune this thing would be a monster (mine is stock for now except for an AFE air filter I threw in).

I think the Sport is hard to beat in the "best bang for the buck" category and best of all its a total sleeper! As you point out, there are a lot of Fusions on the road but not many Sports and no one knows this one is a bit special till you stomp on the accelerator. Its a good-looking and performing vehicle and there is not a lot of competition in its price/performance bracket. I cannot imaging you would not be happy with it but by all means give it another test drive where you can open it up a little.

Doc

 

[your_cousin_vinny]

Its fascinating how much interest in the sport there is from subaru/wrx owners who have "grown up" if you will. You are not the first from that camp to come wondering about the sport. The only thing you will realistically be giving up is some nimble-ness from the subaru.

I've ridden in a couple imprezas, one of them was a wrx, and I can tell you hands down the Fusion is the better car to live with. Its quieter, more comfortable, has much better quality materials and much better tech, if you want it. Those subarus are fun-on-demand but they are a penalty box in every sense of the word compared to the fusion in the 90% real-world commuting we all do.

And don't listen to all those reviews that say this car is a disappointment. They all went in thinking they were going to get a budget Audi. This car doesn't compete with the germans. what is does do is put a spanking on all the cars it does compete with, and can surprise a few above it's weight class. And in that same vain, they all say its a FWD car until slip is detected, but as most of us here know, that is (mostly) untrue. You can watch the AWD system at work right in the dash. Even under moderate throttle, it is sending power to the back. It will let you have some fun in the snow, but the stability control is, annoyingly, undefeatable. Otherwise the car can stick to the road pretty well, for a hefty 2 ton, and if you feel the need for speed just press that handy dandy sport button, and it will tighten itself right up. Just don't bother with the paddles, they will most likely leave you disappointed.

There are a number of tunes for the car that are already out and have multiple iterations/improvements, and more than just from LMS. you have some choice, there are other threads here on the forum discussing it at length.

As far as other performance parts, you'll just have to be patient like the rest of us. there are quite a few in the works, but the car is still pretty fresh, and R&D takes time... Rest assured there will be some monster FuSpos in the near future.

+1 on going for another test drive. You need to let the car stretch its legs. That's what got a lot of us to pull the trigger.

 

[dlm1984]

Depreciation is probably the biggest concern, but it's a unique model, so I think it'll hold up a LITTLE better than its mainstream siblings.

As you noted, this is the first year of sales for this powertrain in the Fusion. A similar configuration has been available in the Edge Sport for a bit (2 years?) but there are some differences if I'm not mistaken. There isn't much of a demand for Edge performance parts (I think all 2 or 3 of them are actually on this forum ) so this is essentially the first transverse application of the engine and I expect aftermarket parts will take a little while.

Let's put it another way - I bought a 2014 Fusion with the 2.0 ecoboost and that was the second year of the car. There wasn't much available for them at the time or for a little while afterward - tune, a DP or two, exhaust & springs. Now there's big turbos, assorted intercoolers, downpipes, meth, lighting mods, and countless other things going on with them - even aftermarket radios with HVAC integration.

So, be patient. Parts are likely to come.

There's a set of lowering springs that recently came to market and several companies have started to do R&D on other pieces. There's a guy on another forum who plans to send a set of turbos in for upgrades and I expect that will open some doors. Torrie at Unleashed tuning also does work with SCT devices for our cars (and owns one himself). I think another shop in the Carolinas is also developing tunes.

I'm hoping that Livernois will increase their offerings to a level comparable to the SHO, but that's just hope on my part, nothing to base it on.

I like my Sport and look forward to growing its abilities in time. Are there a few shortcomings in the transmission, AWD and stability control settings? Absolutely, but I have faith in the aftermarket and guys who like to dig into this stuff.

 

[ike]

The only things I REALLY have to complain about in the car are the weight and the tranny. I'd say just with a new tranny (forget the weight) you'd be in that German slaying performance area (straight line anyway). But really other than that, the tranny is great for daily driving. I drove a 2002 WRX / Sti, but for my daily commute I decided it was not the best choice. Then I went to the Audi A4 (2006) crowd for 5 years and while the tuning/mod scene is great there, I kept it fairly modest other than a tune. That car had just hit 130,000 miles and was becoming a proverbial "money pit". I finally got a promotion at work, granting me an auto allowance and requiring a car 5 years old or newer. They pay for gas, so even thinking about fuel econ was out the window (yes!). Then I was just looking for a decent looking AWD sedan (since I'm not an SUV/CUV guy) and the AWD really narrows it down when you are looking at spending under $35,000. I didn't want to buy a "luxury" car and then put 30,000 miles per year on it. Then I ran across the Fusion and thought oh, the 2.0T should do just fine. The Sport was a "dream" at that point. Drove the 2.0 and thought, yes, decent power, good tech features, etc. Got some offers from dealers on the 2.0 and went home, did some thinking and number crunching and thought if I can find a Sport with 401A and get about the same discount as the 2.0, I think I could make it happen. Then found a dealer with a couple on the lot and drove one (crappy in town test drive) but enough to continue the convo that I got them to let me drive again but I said, lets get this thing into the country, we did and that was all she wrote. I then had them dealer transfer her down from Seattle and made it happen. I know I would have been fine with the 2.0, but this is just sooo much more satisfying! The AWD is no Quattro, that is for sure. When in the snow you feel like there is much more understeer than with the mechanical Audi system, but that's what you get for saving $20k, right? Back to what others have said, if you compare the FS with cars it actually competes with (Malibu, Maxima, Optima, Accord, Camry, Legacy) it absolutely puts them to shame!

 

[Rice]

I had three WRX's over the years. 03, 06 & 09. They are a BLAST.
Even though I'm only 49, I call my sport the "WRX for seniors" 😊😊😊

I'm not into the tuner thing anymore, especially since the Fusion Sport is so good right out of the box.
I miss having stick shift, but this thing takes off like a scared cat when you floor it.
But it's a 4000 pound pig in the corners so you can't drive it hard like a WRX.

Shawn S

my original car i started to look at was a WRX. After seeing how they put these cars out right at the max of what the engines can handle and alot of dealers are very iffy with doing warranty work i chose the sport

 

[Axs460]

Thanks for all the input! We're definitely on the same wave length.

You'd think Subaru would recognize that all these WRX owners get older, many end up having families, and grow out of the little car. Yet they ended the Legacy turbo which seems like a logical next step. No worries, this seems like a pretty good fit, but like was mentioned...I will miss the manual. 36 years old and have never owned an automatic. However 20 years of pushing a clutch and I think I'm ready for a break as this will be my daily driver.

I'm also considering a used 5-series or A6 for about the same price, but that's about all that's on the radar right now.

There's a sport for sale at a dealer not too far from my house that is getting out into the country and right next to a very fun, winding back country road...think I'll go do a proper test drive tomorrow. We'll see...

 

[Wildcat Birdie]

If you want a Subie that will compare to the sport, you need to go with the STi. The WRX might be a little better in corners, but will get smoked in acceleration. The STI would be a better comparison. The issue with that and the Evo will be that they are more expensive than the Fusion, the interiors are pretty much crap, not as much technology, and once again, for being less in pretty much every way other than performance, it is still more expensive. And the performance is really only better in the corners; straight line, I would say they are close.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You should definitely drive a 5-series, you will want the one with the 3.0L TT. Used to be the 535 but I think they changed the nomenclature, not sure when. My wife just leased a 430i and the rates BMW were offering on the lease were not that great. Not sure what they offer for a CPO purchase. Make sure it would be under warranty for at least the majority of your loan period, too.

Drive the Sport on some open roads though before you make a decision!

Doc