[flivver]

I too have just driven all three cars & like many others find the Fusion to be far & away the best deal for the money and it has striking good looks.  The Mercury and Lincoln are also good looking cars from the outside.  On the inside, I think the use of light wood with the Chrome is tremendous!  Thus the Lincoln wins hands down for me.  The leather in the Ford looks like nagahide (sp) from the 1970s and somehow cheapens the car.  The interior of the Merc is simply non-discript, like Mercury's identity.  From a driving standpoint, both the Ford and Mercury excelled and were fun to drive.  Great accelleration and braking--nice ride in between.  The Lincoln seemed mushy, like an old-man's car.  Maybe it was because I had just driven my BMW 330 CI to the Lincoln dealer.  I won't part with the Bimmer Coupe--it is like no other driving car, but I'm looking for a fun-to-drive sedan & the Lincoln Zepher is not it!  The Ford Fusion, however, while not quite a BMW, was fun to drive, handled well and & I would be proud to be seen in it.  (Unlike the really sad looking groupthink Ford 500 which my pesky Ford dealer kept telling me I should be looking at.)  I like this Fusion and when the AWD option becomes available, I may very well buy one.  I can't have two dogs in the snow, my Bimmer and a Sedan.  But overall, I do like this car because of its performance, ride and exterior looks.  Way to go Ford!