I AM ABOUT TO BUY A FUSION 2008, BUT I AM TRAPPED BETWEEN BUYING A 4 CYLS ENGINE OR A 6 CYLS ENGINE. I COME FROME AN ERA (56 YEARS OLD), WHERE HAVING A 4 CYLS CAR, OR EVEN A 6 CYLS, WAS A TABU. DOES A 4 CYLS CAR LASTS THE SAME THAN A 6 CYLS?, I AM AN EASY DRIVER, I DON’T DO QUARTER MILE RACES, MAYBE MY PROBLEM IS ONLY PSYCOLOGICAL OR PERCEPTION. PLEASE HELP ON THIS.
I have owned both types. My feeling is that for just a little more power with the 6cyl, it’s not worth the less gas mileage.
I currently own a 6cyl and my next car will be a 4cyl. It will have less giddyup, but I can handle that. Good luck!
I made a one liter (61 cubic inches) three cylinder Geo Metro engine last 280,000 miles. If you take it easy, the only thing you will gain with the six is more difficult/expensive maintainence and it may possibly need premium gas.
A four cylinder engine that’s cruising at 65 is under less strain than a 6 that’s going 75 mph, assuming that the six has 50% more displacement.
One will last as long as the other if the maintenance is kept up. Personally, I prefer the 6 as they generally have a better powerband and pull better.
If you are as easy on the pedal as you say, you may get almost as much mileage with the 6 as with the 4. People generally buy a 6 because it is a little quicker and sometimes smoother. I would not spend the money on a 6.
No difference in longevity mechanical wise. However if your unhappy with the power of a 4 cylinder produces you may be more apt to trade/sell your car earlier which is far more expensive than anything. Drive both and see. I treat the cars I like/enjoy much better than those I do not, also tend to keep them. I like the extra omph. The fuel penalty is minor on most vehicles.
For the type of driving you do, based on your description, you would really be better off with the 4-cyl engine than the V6. The initial cost is less and there is a fuel savings. Some folks have the psychological need for more power but the Fusion’s 4-cyl engine has all you really need.
Those four cylinders have plenty of power. Enough so the other drivers won’t notice that you are a practical person. I’m right in that age range and even I know that that era is over. I know, I owna 4WD GMC Sierra with the 4.8. These days it sounds big but…which era am I in now? I was driving a Saturn Vue with the four cylinder and it was faster than this pickup truck. 2.2 engine I think. I live with snow now and a slight hill in the driveway. I can’t walk in snow so I think I need the big pickup. I hate to get gas now.
I usually get 4s, but my last purchase I had choice of 4 with turbo or a V6 (passat), and went with the V6. Have since found out I made the right choice as the 4s had lots of sludge problems and ignition coil problems.
However, almost all 4s have plenty of power for average driving, just avoid the turbos.
As the others have stated, modern vehicles with 4-cylinder engines have sufficient power for acceleration onto a highway. And, once you are up to speed, they will get better mileage than a 6-cylinder engine.
That being said, there is also the noise factor to consider. When accelerating, most 4-cylinder engines have to work much harder than a 6-cylinder engine, thus making them much noisier on acceleration. That is one of the reasons why I opted for a 6-cylinder engine in my present car. I am willing to pay the 1 mpg “penalty” for the smoothness and quiet of the six.
And, if you find a Ford Fusion being sold in the US market with a V-4 engine, please post back with information on that unique car!
You should be aware that the 4-cylinder engines currently being marketed in this country are either I-4 or H-4 engines (the Fusion has an I-4). The sixes that are on the market include V-6, H-6, and I-6 designs, with the Fusion utilizing a V-6.
If you tell a car salesman that you want a V-4 Fusion, that will mark you as someone who they can take advantage of, due to a lack of knowledge. Try to be as knowledgeable as possible when dealing with a car salesman, and you are less likely to be over-charged.
I suggest you try both then decide for yourself.
I suggest you try both then decide for yourself.
That’s about the best advice you can get.
When wife bought her 1996 Accord we were thinking about buying either V6 or V-Tec engine. We test drove all 3 engines and ended up buying the base model 4-cylinder. It had MORE then enough power for us. Wife sold it last year with well over 200k miles and it was still in great shape. Just keep the maintenance up and a 4-cylinder will last as long as you want it to.
As for Gas mileage…They keep improving…Wifes new Lexus with a MUCH MORE POWERFULL V6 engine then was in her Accord…And a much bigger/heavier car…gets the same gas mileage as her 96 Accord did. Very happy with that vehicle.
The only vehicle I have ever seen with a V-4 was a motorcycle. That being said, four cylinder engines have come a long way since the days when they were underpowered nightmares. For example, my mother’s 1984 Ford Escort would only accelerate at a decent rate going downhill with a tailwind. However, today’s Ford Focus can actually accelerate going uphill. Test drive some four cylinder cars and you will see that they are not all the same. Some four cylinder cars are small lightweight economy cars and some are midsize cars with decent horsepower. If you want to look at examples of four cylinder cars with horsepower, I suggest you test drive the four and six cylinder versions of the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima. The way a car fits your needs is more important than the number of cylinders it has, especially if you care about fuel economy.
A four cylinder will be cheaper to buy and likely cheaper to operate, maintain, and insure. Therefore, as long as the 4 provides enough power for you, that’s the sensible way to go.
They will both last a long time. Drive them both and see which one appeals to you most. Factor in gas mileage when you make your decision. The new EPA ratings are 18/26 for the V6 and 20/28 for the 4-cyl. At $4 per gallon, you’ll save about $200 each year with the 4-cyl.
All else being even, the 6 is likely a little larger and will have a little more power and it will likely run a little smoother. It also likely will use a little more fuel.
All else is seldom equal. I suggest you give both a test drive and see which you like best. That gut feeling does count. As for how long they will last, who knows. Luck, accidents, maintenance type of driving etc. all play into that one and I would put the 4 vs 6 at the bottom of the list.
My wife and I have 2 Honda Accords, both 4 cylinders. My '92 has a manual transmission and 231000 miles. Her '98 has an automatic transmission and 190000 miles. Both cars can cruise at 75-80 mph all day. Both can keep up with city stop and go traffic. On long uphills it becomes obvious that the power is limited, but we don’t consider this a problem.
Driver attitude is the key factor. Some advice here has been to test drive both 4s and V-6s. If you do that, you may not be happy with a 4 cyl. It’s like test driving a Ford Escort after taking a test drive in a Lincoln. Tough to compare.
You don’t have to worry about beating a modern 4 cyl engine to death. As long as you do the scheduled maintenance they’ll last as long as you want.
Re: V-4…Saab had a V-4 many years ago, long before GM bought them. This is the only car that I can remember that had a V-4 engine.
“Re: V-4…Saab had a V-4 many years ago, long before GM bought them. This is the only car that I can remember that had a V-4 engine.”
You have a good memory, Lars!
However, there was actually another car with a V-4–in fact, it had the same V-4 as the Saab. That engine was actually developed by Ford of Germany for their Taunus (that’s right Taunus–NOT Taurus!) sedan, and Saab merely purchased the engines from Ford. This was a fantastic little engine, and was great improvement for Saab over their 2-cycle engine.
I would like to add that there are some four cylinder sport cars out there that produce plenty of power. Look at the Honda S2000 for example. Over the years there have been several lightweight four cylinder sport cars have power-to-weight ratios higher than (or at least comparable to) some modern V-6 cars. I wish I could remember some of them so I could cite a list. Did Alpha Romero make one? What about Porche? Someone help me out here.
Thank you very much to all of you, very helpful, y just went for the 4 cyls fusion 2008, they offered a very good deal (I think), $16,200, and for the 6 cyls, $20,000, so it was $4,000 dlls difference. I bought de 4 cyls, hope I’ll be happy with it.