The raised seat height and the excellent visibility are the first impressions of the cabin. Despite the thick A-pillar visibility all around is good and one does get a commanding view of the road - much as one would from an SUV.

The instrument cluster with its digital displays for temperature and fuel not only appears high tech but is actually fed all this information by the EMS through a can-bus.

The seats are comfortable and supportive with the front seats being adjustable for height. That combined with the steering adjustment, it is very easy to arrive at a good driving position in no time at all. Except that you do not know what to do with the left foot because there is not much space to put it on the left of the clutch pedal. So you have to withdraw it and then push it under the clutch pedal - a process that feels quite laborious perhaps because one is not used to it.

The air conditioning system features the same mechanicals that are used in the Ikon - so cooling is excellent but what is most annoying is that one has to press the re-circulation button each time either the system or the car is switched on. It may be a good thing for it to be in the fresh air mode most of the time but in the polluted Indian cities it works the other way round. There will be just a few occasions every week when one can use the fresh air mode without gagging or taking in fumes. One remembers that the button has to be pressed only when one wonders where the smoke is coming from. So it will be a good idea for the engineers at Ford to put the recirculating mode as default.

The cabin itself has a number of cubby holes and storage spaces, with the glove compartment itself not being too small. There are a couple of power outlets - useful for charging mobiles and the Fusion Plus comes with a removable centre console for the rear seat which can serve as an armrest as well as a cupholder and storage for knick knacks. In case four people use the car this can be left on all the time but in case the fifth seat is needed it can be removed and stowed in a custom-made bag that comes with the car.

The number of thoughtful features and storage spaces could by themselves make up a full article. Apart from those there is the rear seat which not only folds in three different proportions but folds over completely to provide an absolutely flat area for luggage. This makes the loading space of the Fusion one of the most versatile given that the tailgate opens right up to the luggage bay floor. The luggage area is quite decent at over 300 litres and with a net luggage bag thrown in, it means that you can carry objects of varying sizes with ease.

The in-cabin lights, which there are aplenty have theatre dimming and switch on when the car is unlocked. The headlights have height adjustment next to the main headlight rotary switch on the right of the steering wheel on the dashboard like in many American cars and the Mercs.

Where the parts have been taken from the Mondeo - like the steering wheel, we have no complaints but given the positioning of the Fusion, using switchgear from the Ikon is a huge no-no. The quality of some plastics and inserts does seem to be a little tacky and does not match the overall ambience of the cabin. One thing that does fit in perfectly is the gearshift lever and knob with the chrome going well with the steering wheel and the chrome used on the dash.

The Fusion Plus gets an in-dash CD player with four speakers which sounds good.