Car Buying

Ford drops 325-hp Fusion Sport for 2020

Expensive V6 Sport left buyers cold, will be removed first from the lineup

For the Ford Fusion, the culling is coming. 2020 will be the final model year in the U.S. for the 2012-introduced sedan, and in preparation, Ford is cutting extraneous trim levels. Cars Direct says Ford is simplifying the Fusion lineup to "focus on more popular styles," which means the powerful but expensive and slow-selling Fusion Sport will be the first to go.

The Sport is the flagship Fusion model, combining the 2.7-liter, 325-horsepower EcoBoost V6 engine with all-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission. It's essentially based on the Titanium trim level with more power, but the styling add-ons live more to the Sport name, with darkly colored 19-inch wheels, black mesh details and carbon trim. The part leather, part suede seats are shared with the Titanium.

With the Sport gone, the most powerful Fusion one can buy in 2020 will be one with the 2.0-liter Ecoboost engine with 240 horsepower; while the 2.7-liter Sport has all of 380 lb-ft of torque, the two-liter makes do with 366. The Sport was introduced for the 2017 model year, so its tenure will be short-lived compared to other Fusion alternatives.

The problem was price. Spec up a 2.0 Fusion Titanium with all-wheel drive, and the price is $3,600 short of a comparable Sport, no matter the difference in power and a very impressive 5.3-second 0-60 mph run thanks to all that 2.7-liter turbo V6 power. With destination fees included, the '19 Fusion Sport costs just over $41,000, which is surely the reason why it hasn't sold like hot cakes. Keep in mind that's almost double the price of a base 2.5-liter Fusion S.

When the it was introduced and we drove it back in 2016, the Sport's starting price tag was a lot more palatable, at $34,350. Like Cars Direct notes, a 301-horsepower Camry XSE is cheaper than the 2019 Fusion Sport by more than $5,200, which buys a lot of replacement front tires.

Ford Fusion Information

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