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When Ford introduced the class redefining F150, it spent a hell of a lot of money in places no one expected of a truck, one of them being the fit and finish of the interior.

Realizing that some truck buyers would rather wear a tutu than drive a truck that didn’t seep rugged from every pore, Ford pulled a page from the Audi playbook – offer different atmospheres so a buyer could season their F150 to taste, just as they can with hauling caabilities by choosing among F150/250/350 iterations.

Ford’s pulled the same trick with the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr.

Too cold?: the Ford Fusion [click on 360 views>interior] gets an interior that is devoid of any flair to the point of being depressing. Cost cutting is so prevalent that the things that you touch not only don’t feel plush, they’re genuinely pain inducing. Touching the door pull, the shifter lever, the steering wheel, the cruise control or pretty much anything else is met with un unfriendly hard seam, as though the ieces were made with the same dies as the toys that come with a Happy Meal.

Too hot?: As much as we appeciate touches like heated and cooled seats with memory and a steering wheel that moves out of your way, the Lincoln Zephyr is a bit over the top and priced accordingly.

Just right?: The Mercury Milan is priced just $1,000 higher than the Fusion, and those $1,000 get you a power driver’s seat and higher grade cloth and dash materials. The Milan Premier has leather that’s softer than that available in the Ford.

Motor Trend’s editors have also evaluated all three, and similarly conclude in their January issue:

The differentiation works, at least to the extent that the Fusion has the blue-collar look appropriate for Ford, while the Milan comes off as more white-collar.