94LightningGal

The Mountaineer AWD system has absolutally NOTHING in common with the one in the Fusion/Escape/Edge/Flex/Taurus/MKS/ etc. The Explorer/Mountaineer system is a mechanical system, due to it also being a standard 4wd.

Ford started with the Haldex system from Volvo, and improved on it. The current system is 100% Ford. Short of Subaru, it is THE best AWD system out there, with completely seemless engagement and disengagement. It is also completely reliable.

My '03 Tribute had the older system, and it was fantastic. It was pretty much invisible, and you only lost 1mpg for the honor of having it. It was also fantastic in adverse weather, like snow. I sold the Tribute with 64K trouble free miles. There was no maintenance involved in the system.

Thus, there is no worrying about an AWD Ford. With Ford coming out with all these great AWD vehicles, my next purchase (a car this time) with be a difficult decision.

91_z28_4me

I am a Ford man now that GM has shown how many idiotic moves it can make in a short period of time but that is a pretty darn BOLD statement to make. Especially since Audi's quattro system is very highly vaulted. Add in the Mitsu EvoX and Nissan GTR system and you are setting the bar a little to high, IMO.

muckz

What do you base it on, that Ford's is the second best AWD system? Audi has its Quattro for some 25+ years, would be hard to believe that Ford beats it.

And what do you mean by "reliable"? How reliably it engages, or how repair-free it is?

edit:

The Mazda tribute's AWD system with 63K is nothing worth bragging about when it comes to reliability. You could be addressing those people who posted about their Ford drivetrain woes, but in my opinion, anything that doesn't last 100K miles is a rather poorly engineered piece.

This is where I'm coming from: my parents have 1993 Audi Quattro that has 160K miles. The car has a sealed transmission, meaning you never change the fluid. They also never had to touch the differentials. To me, this is a reliable system, especially since it's still seamless and smooth after so long and such use.

I understand Subaru's system is quite bulletproof as well, although I don't have any experience with it.

Also, Ford/GM have been making 4x4 trucks and SUVs for decades. I understand their system is much different than that of a car (or one that's offered by Subaru or Audi), still, they would have gained a lot of experience. I don't think they would build something half-baked, although I doubt their level of expertise and engineering in car AWD systems RIGHT NOW would match that of other long-timers.

Gold_Rush

I've had my fusion a year and a half now and the AWD system works fantastic. It's no half-assed system. I wouldn't say it's the second best system on the market (other awd systems like Audi's quattro, honda's SH-AWD, etc... come to mind), but it's a pretty good system.

Z28x

Anyone know if the 2010 Fusion will finally have AWD and the 4cyl. together?

Eric Bryant

To paraphrase one of my customer's comments from just last week (and this is coming from a well-respected manufacturer of driveline systems, including active AWD systems) - "Audi brags about about the 25th anniversary of the Quattro system, when really it just means that they're using 25-year-old technology"

This will be rectified soon, although their new torque-vectoring system was announced over a year ago and we've yet to see it put into production



Ford's system is far from being "second-best", and Subaru's is far from being the best. The in-house system used on the Fusion (which I believe is very similar to the Edge's system) is completely adequate for foul-weather use on a family sedan, and that's about it.

There are far better systems on the market, such as the AWD on the new VW Tigueon (sp), the aforementioned Honda SH-AWD (although that system is ungodly heavy and expensive), the active rear differentials on the Mitsubishi Evo X and BWM X5, and the Haldex XWD on the new Saab Turbo X. This can be measured in a variety of ways, such as the speed of actuation and the ability to route (or "vector") torque to the wheels with the most traction, as well as the sophistication that the vehicle uses in integrated the system with other stability-enhancing elements.

From reading the responses in this post, it's obvious that OEMs and AWD system integrators have a long way to go before the public can be considered to be "educated" about modern AWD systems.

Gold_Rush

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/attach...2&d=1225314870

No. You'd need to get the 3.0L SEL or the 3.5L Sport to get the AWD.

The good news on the 4cyl fusion is that they now come standard with a 6spd manual (6spd auto optional).