New Ford Fusion Adds to Safety Credentials with NHTSA Five-Star Rating

WATERTOWN, MASS. (02/04/2013)(readMedia)-- In December the redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion received the exclusive new Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Now the sleek midsize sedan has added another bullet point to its safety resume, earning a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in the New Car Assessment Program from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Like the IIHS, the NHTSA recently upped the standards of its crash-protection tests, expanding its injury criteria, incorporating broader data from dummies and introducing more tests starting with 2011-model-year vehicles. The new Ford Fusion proved it had all the angles covered in the stringent frontal, side-impact and rollover evaluations, thanks to a new Personal Safety System featuring advanced front crash sensors and a chassis composed of 10 percent more high-strength steel than its predecessor.

"The Fusion has been making waves for its bold new styling and impressive fuel economy, but it has quickly proven that it is built to protect its most precious cargo as well," said Peter King, general manager of Watertown Ford, a Greater Boston Ford dealership. "With available active safety technologies like a Blind Spot Information System and Lane Keeping Assist, the Fusion can help prevent accidents from happening in the first place, but buyers should take comfort in knowing that it provides optimum protection should the worst happen."

The Fusion family is expanding to include an all-new model, the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi. An advanced plug-in hybrid, the Fusion Energi was recently rated by the EPA to have a total range of 620 miles, which is enough to travel from Boston to Virginia Beach without stopping for gas. For shorter trips in and around the city, the vehicle can drive up to 21 miles on electricity alone, nearly three times as long as the all-electric range of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

Returning up to 108 MPGe in the city, the Fusion Energi is the most fuel-efficient sedan on sale in the United States, combining a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine and an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. Meanwhile, drivers can optimize all that efficiency using the Smart Gauge with EcoGuide cluster, which communicates detailed real-time information about fuel economy through two 4.2-inch LCD screens.

"You wouldn't think that the Fusion Energi is America's most fuel-efficient sedan by looking at it, because the Fusion is one of the more aggressively designed models in the midsize segment," King noted. "However, when you start to use all the intuitive technology that Ford has included inside, you begin to realize that its engineers have designed everything with smarter driving in mind."

About Watertown Ford:

Watertown Ford is where Greater Boston Ford lovers head for the best deals on new and used Fords. No other Massachusetts Ford dealer has the same dedication to the customer, and that dedication has earned Watertown Ford the loyalty of Ford owners all over the state. Their new and used Ford inventory can be viewed online at www.watertownford.com, and interested customers can visit their showroom at 625 Pleasant St. in Watertown, Massachusetts. They can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyWatertownFord and reached by phone at 800-584-6486.