The First 5000 is an article series in which I drive a vehicle for the first 5000 miles of it’s life and report to you my first impressions, update you on any shop trips the vehicle makes, and in the end give you an overall summary of what I thought of the vehicle.

This time around I’m driving a Ford Fusion. It’s a White Suede FWD Fusion SE with a 3.0L V6 that MSRP’s to around $24,000. It’s amenities stop at about Leather and Sync. If I were to purchase a Fusion it’d definately come equipped with a few other things like keyless entry on the door, automatic headlights, and the sport appearance package. I’d love to get my hands on an AWD version as well so I could compare the two. I’m willing to bet that an AWD system on this car would only help handling and acceleration.

It’s been to Dallas, TX and back and has a little over a thousand miles on it at this point. I love the ride quality of the new Fusions. The smoothness of a highway ride reminds me of the first time I drove my grandmother’s Lincoln. You don’t feel a single flaw in the road that you weren’t meant to (aside from the botts-dots and those “hey wake up, dumbass” grooves on the side that were meant to keep you from falling asleep and driving off the side of the road).

The V6 it has comes well equipped with 221hp and 205ft-lbs of torque. While that may not seem like much it puts it to the ground nicely. Cars.com states the V6 Fusion has a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds and a 1/4 mile time of 15.4 seconds at 90mph. It certainly doesn’t lack much in terms of power, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it with about 280-290hp. The handling is nice as well. Moving from an Escape to a Fusion is world of difference in handling and ability to take corners and perform evasive maneuvers at high speeds. In the Escape, 60mph felt more along the lines of 90mph and in the Fusion 80mph can sneak up on you before you realize it. This is largely due to the smooth ride disguising road noise and vibration you usually get at higher speeds. That and the aerodynamics handle windspeed and crosswinds very well.

All in all I’m looking forward to the first 5000 miles of this Fusion. I’ll update as soon as something comes up!

Also read: Motor Trend First Drive: 2006 Fusion