metroplex

That's my thought as well, kind of like on a MTB where you lockout the fork for more efficiency on flat roads.

Ah I forgot the hybrid has a CVT. So everything else applies then since it is the same CCD suspension. I found that Ford did not calibrate my height sensors correctly so the Fusion Sport had wonky steering during turn-in with cornering. I was able to recalibrate the sensors and the CCD suspension feels much much more predictable during turn-in. Ford's CCD suspension works pretty much the same across all the vehicles that use it. The Expedition had it, and the Fusion and MKZ share the same dampers. It's a spool valve that is electronically controlled, and as I mentioned it mainly seems to adjust the rebound circuit and not the compression. And yes the tires make a difference. The MKZ has thicker sidewalls, so that helps a lot. My Fusion came with 235/40R19 from the factory while the MKZ 3.0 has 245/45R18 stock with 245/40R19 available. Switching to 235/45R19 made a huge difference in ride quality.

"Comfort" = The softest and floatiest suspension setting, with easier steering effort. Think of it as the Baby Bear setting. Not as floaty and soft as an old time Town Car, but floatier than "Normal" or "Sport". "Normal" = The middle ground in suspension and steering assist stiffness. Think of it as the Mama Bear settings. Or as Lincoln describes it in the video...''The Signature Lincoln Driving Feel". "Sport" = The stiffest suspension setting and stiffest steering assist. Louder synthesized engine noises, possibly altered transmission shift strategy (not sure about that in a Hybrid) Think of it as the Papa Bear setting. To me the suspension settings only adjust the rebound circuit via the spool valves. Comfort tends to float/bounce more on undulating surfaces. Normal is less floaty, and Sport mode recovers as fast as possible. No real change to the compression circuit so if you hit a bump in the road, it felt the same to me in all 3 modes. The steering can be adjusted separately, and like what was written above, Comfort/Normal has the most steering assist with Sport being the least for a more "sporty" feel. Tesla has the same settings for its steering. The fake engine noise is indeed more noticeable in Sport mode. There is a different Sport mode transmission shift schedule, but Sport mode also activates rev-matched downshifting during hard braking events, and allows you to hold gears. On the 6F55s and 6T70s/6T80s and basically Fords/Chevy's that don't have a sport mode, you can engage the same mode by driving aggressively (braking, turning hard within a time window) to kick in a "Performance Shift" mode. I believe the police cars have this in a different setting as well, but all perform similar functions. The PCM doesn't seem to have the rev-matched downshifting tables, so I am assuming it is part of the Vehicle Dynamics Module (VDM) that has to be edited separately. Ford and Lincoln shared so much stuff across the CD4 platform (My Fusion factory air dam under the radiator has a huge LINCOLN embossed logo) that I found it funny how Lincoln marketed these features and refused to call the 3.0 the 3.0 EcoBoost to make it exclusive, yet a few years later the 3.0 EcoBoost made its way into the Bronco Raptor, Explorer ST, etc except with a belt-driven oil pump. While the CD4 2.7/3.0 still use chain driven oil pumps.

Has anyone observed any fuel economy differences between Comfort and Normal suspension modes? I used Normal mode for several fillups and drove it in Comfort mode for the next and noticed a 2 mpg drop given the same driving conditions. It's not a lot but was wondering if anyone else tracked theirs. I have the same CCD suspension on my 2017 Fusion Sport. The Vehicle Dynamics Module (VDM) on the MKZ 3.0 is slightly different from the Fusion Sport in only a few areas like the torque vectoring rear diff etc but the actual dampers are shared. To me, the Suspension settings really only affect the rebound circuit. The compression circuit feels about the same. But on an undulating surface, the difference is clear as night and day between the 3 modes.

The foam attached to the paper filter is something the Europeans call a moisture barrier to prevent snow/rain from soaking through the paper element. I am surprised that Ford would include that older style paper filter in your airbox unless someone got an aftermarket replacement installed. The reason being that Ford removed that foam layer from the paper filter for the Fusion/MKZ airbox around the same time the Ford GT came out and the GT uses two of the Fusion/MKZ air filters (one for each turbo). When I buy Motorcraft replacement filters for my Fusion 2.7 EcoBoost, they are just the paper elements (no foam layer).