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Adult occupant protection 
Frontal impact driver | 
Frontal impact passenger | 
Side impact driver |  |
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Child restraints | 18 month old Child | Britax Roemer Baby-safe, rearward facing |
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| 3 year old Child | Britax Renaissance, forward facing |
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Pedestrian protection No image car front available |
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Safety equipment | Front seatbelt pretensioners |  |
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| Front seatbelt load limiters | |
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| Driver frontal airbag | |
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| Front passenger frontal airbag | |
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| Side body airbags |  |
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| Side head airbags | |
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| Driver knee airbag | |
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Car details | Hand of drive | RHD |
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| Tested model | Ford Fusion 2, 1.4 |
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| Body type | small MPV |
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| Year of publication | 2003 |
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| Kerb weight | 1080 |
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| VIN from which rating applies | rating applies to all Fusions |
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Comments The Fusion uses the same structure and running gear as the Fiesta supermini and performed similarly. The passenger compartment proved strong and suffered only minimal deformation in the frontal impact. The driver and front passenger ran some risk of chest injury from high impact forces fed through to their chests from the seat belts, however. Ford has worked hard to make the driver’s knee impact area safe but some hazards remain. The car protected reasonably in the side impact for a model without a thorax-protecting airbag. Child protection was judged fair while protection for pedestrians was similar to other cars of this size.
Front impact
The restraint systems worked but the driver in particular experienced high forces from the impact fed through to his chest. The Fusion proved strong and suffered minimal distortion at fascia level and in the footwell. As with any small car it is hard to provide room to protect the driver’s knees and here the steering column and shroud presented hazards. Despite substantial padding, it was judged that the ignition barrel and adjuster lever increased risks for the driver’s knees and legs.
Side impact
The driver experienced a high chest loading but he was reasonably protected without a side airbag. His ribs were loaded by contacting the door panel and his abdomen by a protruding arm rest. The trim below the arm rest loaded his pelvis via a foam block within the door.
Child-protection
The recommended restraints, forward-facing for the 3-year-old and rear-facing for the 18-monthold, protected their heads. But the chest load on the older child in the frontal impact and the chest and neck loads on the younger one were high. Labels warning against fitting a rear-facing restraint opposite an airbag were permanent, well designed and fixed to both sides of the passenger’s sun visor. Ford offers an airbag on/off switch as a dealer-fit optional item.
Pedestrian protection
The bonnet was fairly compliant where an adult or child’s head might strike but the Fusion’s wings and front were unfriendly. The bonnet’s leading edge gave protection but the bumper did not.
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