Monday, I took the Fusion in for an oil change tire rotation. The dealer had a PB on his lot so I took it out for a test drive. It was an XLT with 302A, 4x4, and 5' box. It did not have the 7.2 Kw generator option. I had ordered one on 09/01/21, but never actually driven one.

Salesman put on the dealer tags and off I went. It was a 17.9 mile test loop that included a drive through town with stop lights and 35mph speeds. Then there was a stretch of 45 mph while still in town. Then there was a long stretch of 55 mph 4 lane country road. Coming back was interstate driving at 70 mph. And for once, luckily there was a 2 mile back up on the interstate before I got off, back in the town. It was good to experience 5 mph driving in an interstate back up.

My impressions. 1) I noticed the somewhat harsh transmission shifting. Does not shift as well as the 6sp in my current 2014 EB. Definitely noticeable, but didn't seem to be as bad as some folks are posting about on here and other F150 forums I frequent. 2) I didn't find any fault in the braking. It's a little different from ,y truck, but it's a little different from my Fusion. 3) Even though it was a FX$, the tire tread seemed to be more like all season tires rather than A/T tires. The ride was definitely much quieter than the BR Goodrich KO2 A/T's on my 2014 truck. 4) It handled in a very civil manner. 5) I never heard the back up noise while outside. From inside it didn't sound very loud.

I got 23.7 mpg in the 17.9 mile mixed course, and 4.4 miles of electric driving.

The window sticker shows a dealer, Crossroads Ford, in Apex, NC which is at Winston Salem, NC. However the PB truck is sitting on Sheehy Ford's Ashland, VA lot.

 

Wow that payload is even lower than my 302a XLT pb and mine is loaded up pretty good

 

I got mine in mid September with 3.2 miles on the odometer. For the first few hundred miles the shift was harsh and start/stop on the hybrid mode were very jerky. After that it smoothed out. I’m just over 500 miles on it now. It shifts perfectly smoothly and the hybrid transition from electric is much better (you can still tell but the truck doesn’t lurch around). It probably just needs time for the parts to break in

 

Well, Did it reassure you of your order?
Mine had 18 miles on it when I took delivery. It is pretty clunky in upshifting, and when the engine kicks on. Talking to a friend with a Prius, he said he can't tell when the Prius engine is on or off. I also notice the jerk from 1 to 3rd, apparently skipping 2nd in some cases. There is a fairly constant pretty obvious whine, I am assuming the electric motor, present most of the time under 40 mph.
Today I got 28 mpg on a 7 mile trip around town. The truth will be in the first refill.

I was backing out of the driveway today and an alarm and flashing light came on. I stopped, looked in the rearview mirror, and THEN some kids on bikes came past my driveway. The truck had detected them before they were behind me. There is a hedge which blocks the street view of the person in the drivers seat, especially with a longer wheelbase. As the kids rode by they were looking at the truck, I assume because the backup signal was beeping. Altogether very valuable features. I'll accept the whirring and clunking.

 

Kinda did. Certainly didn't dissuade me.

The clunky tranny didn't seem as bad as some on the various boards have talked about. I definitely liked the gas mileage when not towing. Obviously I couldn't test the generator.Nor could I test it while towing.

 

Mine calmed down after a few hundred kilometers. I get the odd clunk when something abnormal in my driving happens, usually to avoid getting hit.

 

Yeah I just may not be bothered by it, I don't know, but both my 2019 and 2021 shifted great. The only time I noticed issues were in situations that it was excusable for the trans to act odd, like If was was accelerating and when the truck was about to shift I had to get on the brakes, and the truck does this weird clunky shift into the gear it started to change to but then starts shifting again due to slowing down. That can feel a bit rough, but most vehicles I have had do that to an extent, you just increase your chances of being in that situation because the truck has more gears and does more shifting than an old 5 or 6 speed automatic. In normal predictable driving, it is smooth and doesn't give me any issues.

As we discussed in the thread on how much the truck rolls once in park, there is a lot more going on in a long rear wheel drive vehicle than something like a Fusion. As long as everything runs fine I really couldn't imagine being bothered.