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"Quick Review of the Ford Fusion Energi Best for: A couple or a small family Will make you feel like: An eco superstar Ease of parking (from 1 to impossible): 1 Gas sipper or guzzler: Sipper\u2014even better if you can find a place to plug it in Who should be behind the wheel? Leonardo DiCaprio&amp;#039;s mom Space for: Three people if you have stuff with you. The trunk is a miniscule 8.2 cubic feet, so my friend had to hug her luggage in the backseat. Dashboard intimidation factor: Medium The Rejuvenating Escape  I&amp;#039;m not normally one to want to lounge around a spa all weekend, but with spring springing, I decided my friends and I don&amp;#039;t pamper ourselves nearly enough (like, ever), so we should have a couple of days ignoring our regular lives in the bucolic town of Saratoga Springs, NY\u2014famous for its restorative mineral baths. Kids, pets and significant others were most definitely not invited.  When the weekend finally arrived, we were so thrilled to embark on our mini-vacation that we didn&amp;#039;t even mind a little car mixup. We hopped into what was supposed to be a Ford Fiesta (and I had a party pun all picked out and ready to go, which will have to be saved for another time, sadly), but turned out to be a plug-in gas-electric hybrid Ford Fusion Energi. My friends immediately dubbed it the &amp;quot;Space Car,&amp;quot; with its red-and-black leather interior. I usually drive a serviceable compact hatchback that has now comfortably settled into its used status, so the roomy interior and light touch on the Fusion&amp;#039;s gas and brakes were the first things I had to get used to. (Sorry, friends! You&amp;#039;ll get to relax once we&amp;#039;re all at the spa. In the meantime, zoom, screech, zoom, screech!) The Space Car has a push-button start and a persnickety navigation system that ended up being fine once I got used to it and didn&amp;#039;t try to input anything while driving (one of my passengers was trying to enter our destination point while I drove, but the nav system only lets you use it when you&amp;#039;re going slowly or in park, to prevent the driver from attempting it and taking their eyes off the road\u2014safety first!). We arrived at the Gideon Putnam Resort, which is a gorgeous, mansion-like hotel in the 2,200-acre Saratoga Spa State Park that immediately transports you to another time. Winter is their slow season, so it&amp;#039;s the time to score a great deal on a room. And we had the best breakfast buffet I&amp;#039;ve ever eaten, hands down. Fluffy eggs, delicious potatoes, fresh fruit (we went back for thirds) and the manager&amp;#039;s specialty: a rocking Bloody Mary. The Roosevelt Baths and Spa is on the same property as the Gideon Putnam, and if you&amp;#039;re a guest, you can use their steam room and lounge area for free. Our appointments weren&amp;#039;t until Sunday, so we headed over Saturday morning to take full advantage of the relaxation the place has to offer. Relaxed and refreshed after breakfast and the steam on Saturday morning, we hit the Saratoga Farmers&amp;#039; Market just down the road. We bought local cheese, pure maple syrup, pickles, fruit and a Guinness Chocolate cookie, then went into town for lunch. Ha! Parking in the town of Saratoga Springs is challenging, and we circled for a while before we found a spot. The car went into super-stealth hybrid mode at low speeds, so I wasn&amp;#039;t burning gas as I crept along looking for a space. We finally parked and did some window shopping that quickly turned into actual shopping. Highlights: Northshire Bookstore has an entire second floor of kids&amp;#039; books, a working model train and super-friendly staff. Violet&amp;#039;s of Saratoga is an incredibly well-edited store that has an amazing selection of shoes\u2014and I ended up buying two pairs on sale. But while I was drooling over them, my friends mentioned all of the cute dresses they had that weren&amp;#039;t stocked over a size 10. That&amp;#039;s a shame. That afternoon, we went back to the hotel for a restorative nap, then returned to town for dinner. Parking didn&amp;#039;t get any better, but it&amp;#039;s a good thing I&amp;#039;m an excellent parallel parker. The Space Car&amp;#039;s tight turning radius and warning system that beeps when you get too close to something made it even easier than usual (as would the rear camera for someone not quite as good at parking as I am). We ate at One Caroline Street Bistro, which has jazz almost every night of the week. The duo who played was fantastic. On Sunday, I immediately regretted that I didn&amp;#039;t schedule a mineral bath, but I inadvertently stumbled onto the best deal ever: I had scheduled a scrub (after this harsh winter, I needed the entire top layer of my skin removed by a professional). And how do you rinse off from the scrub? With a mineral bath. I win! Twofer! I also got a fantastic facial since this was a splurge weekend. My skin has never looked or felt better. Well-fed, well-entertained and well-treated, we hit the road for the drive home. Even with all of the driving we did, we only had to fill the tank once. I wish I had been expecting to drive the Space Car, because I definitely would have found a plug-in station to test that aspect. They&amp;#039;re cropping up more and more if you keep an eye out for them, but we had to rely on good old petroleum to get us there and back, which wasn&amp;#039;t bad at all because the car is so fuel-efficient. When I walked through the door, I was greeted with a huge hug by my husband and toddler holding a &amp;quot;WELCOME HOME&amp;quot; balloon. We had a great time away, but it was good to be back. Read more about the Ford Fusion Energi at Car and Driver. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/travel-tips/tips/a7330/ford-fusion-energi-review/>