The Ford Motor Co. continues to exceed expectations with each new product it brings onstream. And that has translated into a remarkable comeback for the once-struggling automaker. So remarkable, in fact, that through the first half of the year Ford is the top selling brand in Canada.

Sales are up more than 25% in this country, compared to 2009, and at this pace the company will be close to the quarter-million mark by the end of the year. One of the vehicles leading this resurgence is the new 2010 Fusion family sedan.

Fusion is available starting at $21,499, but our test car is the hybrid version with a base MSRP of $31,999. It’s the most fuel efficient midsize sedan you can buy with a range of up to 1,200 km on a tank of gas.

I think it’s a terrific package – and I’m not alone. Ford’s next-generation hybrid system with SmartGauge, which made its debut in the Fusion, has been named 2010’s best new green technology by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). And in a recent Car and Driver hybrid comparison test, Fusion was a clear winner over the Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima. The entire Fusion lineup – gasoline and hybrid – won Motor Trend’s 2010 Car of the Year.

Fusion’s hybrid system features a 2.5-litre Atkinson Cycle inline four, mated to an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (CVT), that’s augmented by a 275-volt permanent magnet electric motor. On its own, the gasoline engine produces 155 hp, but the electric motor can boost that to 191 hp, which makes the hybrid quicker off the line than the gas-only 4-cylinder Fusion that makes 175 hp. In AJAC testing, the gas Fusion sprinted from 0-100 in 9.9 seconds and from 80-120 in 7.0. The hybrid model reached 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds and 120 in 6.1.

Going hand-in-hand with the hybrid technology is the SmartGauge LCD instrument panel that’s programmable in four different modes. So you can tailor it for how much information you want or need. It also will help you get the most out of the hybrid system. A cluster of green leaves grows or diminishes depending on how efficiently you’re driving. And, contrary to the norm, this car delivers better fuel economy in city driving where the gasoline engine doesn’t operate at stops or at slower speeds.

That makes it very quiet around town because it can be driven on electric power alone up to 75 km/h.

On the highway, there’s very little wind noise. Fusion’s ride is a little on the firm side for an American car, but that also makes it handle better than many family sedans.

Our test car comes with SYNC, the voice-activated communication and entertainment system that younger drivers love. Ford continues to provide new technology you can really use and an innovative feature of Fusion Hybrid called Trip Summary is surely going to be copied by everyone. When you turn off the ignition a screen on the instrument panel lights up with all the pertinent details of the trip just concluded. At a glance, Trip Summary displays distance travelled, litres of gas used and fuel economy. It’s brilliant, yet so simple you wonder why no one thought of it before.

Options pack our test car with even more technology in the form of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System), a rear-view camera and parking assist and voice-activated navigation with an 8-inch LCD touch screen.

Interior dimensions are virtually the same between gas and hybrid versions, but the latter’s nickel-metal hydride battery reduces available trunk space from 467 litres to 334. That’s still roomy enough for golf clubs or large suitcases.

As with most modern vehicles there’s not much to see when you open the hood with both the gasoline engine and electric motor under cover. To check the oil level a flap on the engine cover has to be raised to access the dipstick and, since it’s a long reach back to the oil filler cap, a funnel is tucked away in the trunk

Of course, safety is of paramount concern in a family vehicle and Fusion has you covered – literally – with six airbags across the model line plus a special knee airbag for Hybrid drivers. Standard brake-actuated traction control and electronic stability control help keep you on track, but should a collision occur, the SOS post-crash alert system flashes the hazard lights and sounds the horn to attract attention.

The 2010 Fusion recently was reaffirmed as a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Fusion had previously achieved IIHS standards for front, side and rear crashes, but had to pass the institute’s new roof strength test to maintain the rating.