Maybe it’s me, but I don’t think the RS really “drifts” in the sense that I chuck it into a corner at a normal speed and mash the throttle like a RWD car. It seems like one must throw it in at way to high speed and initiate a slide and then the AWD drives out of the slide. Maybe it’s because there is to much grip and…

LOL. Sure Keith :)

So many replies now, not sure if this link has been posted.

THANK GOD FOR PHYSICAL BUTTONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree... but I could still never own one of these, even though realistically it would probably do a better job in many ways than a real truck.

Don’t forget a good fluid flush also helps as well.

These aren’t that aggressive. I am 99% sure you will have no problems. I am in the NE, Philly, so the weather is a bit more mild than you may be. I drove my Mustang on Yellowstuff for a couple of years and that pad requires a lot more heat. No issues, especially given that tires also don’t grip as much, you physically…

I agreed. It’s very refined for what it is and the price point. Super quiet, super smooth, and nicely quick. It’s shocking how much stuff you can fit in this car. I think a lot of that has to do with with the rear package tray being so high up. Here I have about 700lbs of wood flooring in the back :) It did not bottom…

Goodness. You rack on the miles! That’s almost 100k more than our 11 :D

Column shift 4 lyfe!

We were in your shoes as well when we bought our Fusion. We looked at the C300 and C350 but was more than we wanted to spend. In addition I was skiddish about the maintenance costs. In general Fords are quite reliable and cheap to maintain. In 50k miles, we have had no real failures from the car. One door entry PIN…

Indeed :) I also find that half throttle starts sometimes feels quicker than full. I can’t explain it but probably has something to do with the tune. For brakes I upgraded the front pads to EBC Greenstuff back in August. Not to agressive, but I notice a nice improvement. Also flushed the fluid to the good old standby…

Probably not as it will just hook. It actually hooks fine with traction control on, but of course it pulls power. I feel like with a proper tune (full power) it would be noticeably quicker.

Thought I would also share a few fun facts about unique specs to the sport.

Oh and the tune... yeah, I would really like a tune to fix a few issues with the trans never being in the gear you want. I also wish we had paddle shifters like the next generation did. I mean this is still a commuter sedan, but with 268hp, and the fact it doesn’t handle that terrible, it can be fun from time to time.…

The Sport model is dark chrome. A nice extra touch.

There are some things. Remember this is basically a reskinned Mazda 6. Nearly all or all of the MazdaSpeed 6 stuff bolts right on. If we keep it, I plan on putting a set of springs and struts, and probably a stiffer rear swaybar. I am having difficulty finding springs though. Most aftermarket drop ti more than I want…

Agreed. It was one of the selling points for us. This one is fully loaded, minus AWD, the aluminum pedal covers, and lighted door sills. The interior (w/ features) feels more premium than the price point. Amazing value in 09-12.

It’s not to shabby. 268hp. The rumor on the forums is it will run a high 14. It’s probably about right. I plan to take it sometime, just haven’t got around to it. The biggest issue is MASSIVE wheel hop whenever the front tires spin AND when/if they do, it will also not shift into second until you physically let off…