It sounds just as good as the FM stations. To be honest, I haven't really listened to music with it, yet -- just podcasts. I just hooked it up for the first time yesterday. Prior to that, I was just listening to local FM radio.
On the '99 Honda Accord EX that I traded in, I had installed the USA Spec iPod adapter. It connects to the factory radio's CD changer port, somewhat similar to the PIE unit that is sold for the current Ford vehicles. With the iPod adapter that I installed, there was no need to play with the volume level on the iPod, to pause/play the iPod manually, or even to touch the iPod, for that matter. Someone ought to sell an inexpensive adapter for cars like the Fusion which have DC power and audio inputs near each other, where the adapter pauses and resumes the iPod based on power being provided to the DC port ("cigarette lighter"). This way the iPod would automatically stop and turn off when I turn off the car. The USA Spec adapter was awesome, but it took a couple hours to install and it was something like $120. The SiK imp is probably good, but won't do the pause/play automatically. Neither will the Belkin auto kit, which also suffers from having its own amplifier control, which I imagine will slightly reduce sound quality. Also, both are overpriced for what they are.
I now miss the stereo setup from the Honda. It was all stock factory stuff, but it sounded so much better than the Ford "premium" sound radio. Ford's setup is missing a lot of the mid-range, and the highs are not crisp. Even podcasts don't sound natural. I've tried tweaking the treble and bass, but it still isn't great.
Ford's done a really great job keeping the cabin quiet, though! There is very little road and wind noise at highway speeds compared to my '99 Honda. Really nice!
