2013 Ford Fusion

[outback_ute]

Seeing as I raised the point (and my comments were on the Fusion not the MKZ), why does it matter? Well I'd estimate that most days I would scrape the front of my (work) car on a driveway or over a speed hump despite taking reasonable care. Its not something that I enjoy, nor is slowing down to tippy-toe speeds to cross a gutter.

It's not necessarily about the length of the front end of the car, fwd cars tend to have a minimal clearance from the a pillar to axle, related to the transverse engine layout ahead of the axle. It can be reversed to have the engine behind the wheels - see Toyota iQ - which would also improve weight distribution. All for the cost of having the front wheels a bit further forward, the only downsides I can see is a slightly larger turning circle and the front suspension/wheels would be a bit more vulnerable in a crash but by that severity it doesn't really matter. For the VE Commodore they relocated the front axle on the chassis rails. (perhaps because they knew they would also be basing the Camaro off the platform?)

In any case it was just an observation on the way the whole industry is going, not intended to stir up controversy!

Finally I think the picture Wretched posted is fairly easily explained, the 2.0 Ecoboost is a mainstream/launch engine and the US has a large proportion of sales as AWD, it makes sense that combination is available. Also I think the hybrid model is most often seen in light blue, you can pick it by the round charging port cover on the LH front guard.