A car’s cup holder is a bigger deal than most people realize. In fact, a 2003 survey showed that more than 50 percent of American consumers will not buy a car that does not come with a cup holder. It does make sense. How else are you going to secure that cup of Starbucks coffee on your commute to work? Ford is all too aware of this, which is why it has completely redesigned the cup holder for the 2017 Ford Fusion.

The newly designed Ford Fusion has a rotary gear shift dial in place of the traditional shifter. With this modification comes extra space, which designers were able to exploit for creating two new cup holders. These are not your ordinary slots for installing two cups of beverage.

For one thing, one slot is placed in front of the other rather than side-by-side. The front slot is also about 6 inches closer to the front than the cup holder for the 2016 Ford Fusion. This strategic move also allowed designers to extend the armrest by about 3 inches.

According to Ford instrument panel and console manager Jolanta Coffey, poor cup holder design may be a minor annoyance, but it is an annoyance that drivers have to put up with on a daily basis. As such, it can really have an effect on overall driving experience.

Cup holders are important for another reason. They’re often used as storage space for small items like mobile phones and sunglasses when they’re not being used to hold a beverage.

Come to Folsom Lake Ford and speak with a Ford dealer near Elk Grove, CA to learn more about the new Ford Fusion. There is so much more we can show you besides the awesome new cup holder.