We own/tow a Ford Fusion Hybrid, and LOVE it. The mileage is amazing, and it is one of the most simple automatic tranny vehicles to tow 4 down. Just put it in neutral and go, basically. No special procedures to go through when hitching up, no need to disconnect battery or fuses, no need to stop and run the engine every few hours like so many other vehicles require.
It is really, really nice to have when camping, as you can ride around the campground almost totally silent (in EV mode) without bothering folks or polluting the air. Its like having a big, very comfortable golf cart, haha.
๐I drive the Fusion to work and back every day, a 26 mile commute, about 80% interstate. I average 48-50 mpg on that commute. On longer highway trips, mileage goes down to about 43-45. Driving technique has a lot to do with it, though - Haha, when my wife drives it, mileage average drops to about 42. Still, even the worst mileage we've ever seen, is still way better than what any non-hybrid vehicle of this size could ever achieve.
When we bought ours, the Energi (plug-in) version was very, very difficult to find, almost no dealers had them. Only way to get one was to order from the factory, in which case you lose a lot of 'negotiating power' on the deal. Sooo, we went with the regular hybrid.
I've read the reports about unreliability with the C-max hybrids. From what I could tell, most of that was because of issues people were having with the Ford 'my-touch' touch screen system and with the latch on the back of the Cmax (that Fusions don't have). I was not crazy about that touch system from the first time I saw it, and purposely looked for a Fusion model WITHOUT that option (ours doesnt have it). Very glad I did. We've had ours over a year now and have over 20k miles on it, and it has been absolutely flawless so far. Only been back to the dealer for routine maintenance and a couple very minor recalls.
Only bad thing about it: Like already said, those batteries take some trunk space away, so you don't have as much trunk space as other models. Definitely something to consider when buying one of these vehicles, but has not really been an issue for us. We are camping at the beach right now with it, and this trip, I fit both an EZ-up (collapsible canopy/shelter) and a portable wagon in the trunk. Sooo, there still is fairly decent trunk space in it.
Bottom line: 'Tis one of the best cars I've ever owned. A blast to drive, very comfortable ride, amazing fuel mileage, and very simple and easy to tow 4 down. Really tough to beat, IMO.
Anyway, hope this helps.
Will and Cheryl
2021 Newmar Baystar 3014 on F53 (7.3 V8) Chassis ("Brook")
2018 Jeep Wrangler JK ("Wilbur")