Let’s start with what you want to know about the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: I drove it for one week on city streets and freeways, in traffic and on clear stretches, and got a combined 37 mpg.

There are two things I love about the Fusion Hybrid: the LCD instrument cluster and its car-like appearance. The instrument cluster is as addictive as a video game — even though its designers were asked to tone done the gamey-ness of it. A green box to the left of the speedometer pops up when driving to let you know when you’re using EV mode, and I was obsessed with driving under battery power alone as much as possible. Not just for the good of the environment, mind you. Eco-friendly driving earns you a bushel of leaves over on the right side of the LCD screen. I wanted leaves! More leaves!

The exterior styling might not strike some people as anything to write home about, which is exactly why I like it. Personally, I prefer a bit more adventuresome designs, but the Fusion Hybrid looks like a regular car, not a lunar lander. This is a four-door sedan my mom, or even my grandmother, would feel comfortable tooling around in. The change from electric to gas power and back again is seamless, as is the start/stop technology.

When you turn the car off, the LCD readouts slide behind the speedometer and a trip summary pops up so you can see the number of leaves you earned and get detailed numbers on your fuel consumption. I delighted in telling everyone things like, “I drove all the way here — 12.5 miles — and only used .2 gallons of gas.” Everyone I told this to suppressed an eye roll, which I appreciate.

2010 Ford Fusion Specs

• 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine
• CVT transmission (no gears)
• Full hybrid with regenerative braking
• EPA fuel economy: 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway
• My fuel economy: 37 mpg combined
• MSRP as tested: $27,270

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.

Last week, a team of Ford engineers, hypermiler Wayne Gerdes, and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards pushed a new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid to its fuel economy limit, racking up 81.5 mpg–and $8000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The foursome traveled over 1400 miles of highway and city streets in the greater (much greater) Washington, DC, area in about 48 hours. The Ford Fusion, a full hybrid, is rated at 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway, and can get 700 miles on a tank of gas. This team, with careful driving but no modifications, doubled that.

I’ve been in the new Fusion hybrid for a short jaunt, and I was impressed with its capabilities as a gas-sipper and a comfortable sedan in the little time I had with the car. With the right drivers and a good-gas goal, it seems to be capable of more than I suspected, though real-life numbers are likely to be closer to the EPA estimates.

Image of the team breaking the seal on the gas tank at the end of their 1447-mile run on a single tank courtesy of Ford.