Forget Ultimate Fighting; the real no holds barred fight to the finish pits the new Ford Fusion vs. the reigning champion Toyota Prius. Only one can emerge, so who will be victorious and who will die a horribly painful nationally televised death? Ok, so I got a little excited. But this is the Hybrid challenge we have been waiting for. Toyota has been king of the MPG hill for many years now, but Ford is the O.G. auto maker.
Fuel Economy
Let’s look at Fuel Economy first since this is the most important thing when considering a hybrid. The Fusion gives a darn fine valiant effort with 41 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway according to Consumer Reports. What is really cool about the Fusion is its ability to run on electric power alone for up to 47 MPH. This is what gives the Fusion an incredible in-town MPG compared to the rest of Ford’s fleet. This all looks great on paper until Toyota smacks you in the face with its 2010 MPG ratings for the Prius. Again we check with Consumer Reports to find out that the Prius gets 45 MPG in the city and 48 MPG on the highway. And the Prius does not have the ability to run at great lengths or speeds on electricity alone. So round 1 definitely goes to the Prius.
Appearance
Yes the Toyota Prius retains the wedge look that everyone has come to loathe. It does at least have some better looking headlights and rims. And the shape is part of what makes the Prius so fuel efficient. Still if I were to make love to the Prius I would have to put a bag over her head. On the other hand the Ford Fusion 
Hybrid looks like an everyday Ford. So if you really care about being GREEN, and not being seen in a green car. Then the Fusion is up your alley. But the recognizable shape of the Prius is what yuppies buy. Although the Fusion is a bit too normal looking is still wins in the looks department.
Accessories
Both these models come equipped with some really great features for 2010. The Focus is really cool in that it offers 
an ingenious system called the SmartGauge. There are 2 screens; one on each side of the instrument panel. They display all kinds of cool info pertaining to the hybrid system. The in-dash navigation system also shows a bunch of different modes of the hybrid powertrain. These are some of the awesome technologies that come in the new Fusion Hybrid. The Prius gets crazy stuff like solar panel sunroof which powers some air circulation system. Some safety features like Radar Cruise Control (which keeps the same distance between you and the car in-front), pre-collision system, parking assist, and lane assist. I would have to vote for the Fusion is this department too. Their cool Star Wars looking gauges tickle my fancy.
Space
The Prius already gets a leg up on the competition being that it is a hatchback. Hatchback car have much more cabin and cargo room than normal trunk cars. So it is no surprise that the cargo space in the Prius is almost double that of the Fusions trunk. But the Fusion does have 6 more cubic interior room for passengers, which really isn’t very much; so this one is a tie.
Driving
Many automotive magazines have touted the driving capabilities of the Fusion. It handles better, turns sharper, and feels crisper on the road. The Fusion also accelerates faster than the Prius.
Cost
Here is where the Prius gives the knock-out punch to the Fusion. The Prius will start at around $22k in order to contend with the ultra low priced Insight. This will only buy you the base model Prius with practically no really cool accessories. Conversely the Fusion will cost $6k more coming in at around $28k, but will be nicely equipped. I would much rather save the $6k knowing that the Prius will be strictly used for commuting purposes.
P.S. The Prius is manufactured in the U.S. while the Fusion is made in Mexico! Chew on that for a little while.
THE FUSION IS BETTER LOOKING , MORE ROOM FOR PASSENGERS AND MORE VALUE FOR THE PRICE. CHECK YOUR MILEAGE NUMBERS AGAIN AND YOU WILL FIND THAT THE FUSION WINS THAT AS WELL. LETS FACE IT…THE PRIUS IS AN UGLY LOOKING CAR
Wow Bruce, you are so right.. except for all the stuff you got wrong.
So, except for your entire comment, yeah! Your awesome!
Anyways, I can’t wait to try driving one of the new Prius models, the solar powered cooling system will be a HUGE help in keeping the car cool after being parked for hours in the sun.
What hilarious is the eco ignoramous’ who flock to hybrids like the prius, believing that they are better than everyone else because they drive a low emmission hybrid and are saving the planet. Scientifically speaking, even if the anthropogenic global warming theory was true, hybrids are not only more expensive for consumers than comparable much less expensive economy models, they are in fact harder on mother earth in carbon footprint and in pollution by toxicity. A hybrid car requires over 500 lbs of nickel, primarily used in the toxic nickel foam based batteries found on hybrid vehicles, while a normal vehicle avgs 50lbs. The amount of fossil fuels burned to obtain this extra nickel over a regular vehicle is MASSIVE as tons of rock is mined to obtain but a few lbs of nickel. Then there is the carbon footprint of the nickel battery man’f. process where the nickel travels all over the planet while it is made into battery material, which also is a lengthy and resource costing process in itself. Every asian car man’f in asia must be shipped to N.A. via sea ship, of which every single prius adds a further footprint of 900 litres of bunker fuel burned just to ship it here! Bunker fuel emissions on cargo vessels are very high in carbon and even worse is the toxicity as bunker fuel is nasty stuff. The modest difference of C02 emissions savings of a hybrid over any newer gas vehicle in the operation phase, pales in comparison of the true total footprint of a hybrid vehicle, including the C02 created in the man’f process, mining, shipping, recycling of expired batteries, and we haven’t even addressed toxic polution yet. Hybrids are for image/fashion conscious people, who if had any clue, a little knowledge, logical, and critical thinking ability, would realize what absolute fucking morons they look like to living breathing people who like to know the truth about the world they live in. These hybrid driving morons don’t realize that the very reason they bought the hybrid for to make them feel superior, or that there doing something good - is an about face lie and they are in fact ruining our world more than if they bought a like gas model. I hope every hollywood celebrity moron reads this an realizes the asses they really are - AGW Kool aid drinkers can but glance at the internet and find much more educated and qualified people than me say the same thing - hybrids are a cruel joke for the consumer and the planet!