Alongside updates to the conventionally powered Fusionfor 2017, Ford has tweaked up some evolutionary plucks for the Hybrid and Energi plug-in versions.

At a time when gas is down under three dollars a gallon even in California – and under two bucks in places like Oklahoma – selling hybrids isn’t a straightforward value proposition. There has to be a reason beyond mere fuel economy and the changes in the hybrid Fusions are aimed at making them more attractive as cars and not just as hybrids.

Yeah, they’re better. But they’re still pretty much the same electrified Fusion twins. And they’re facing fresh competition in the form of the revivified Chevy Volt and redesigned Toyota Prius.

The Fusion Hybrid S starts at $26,060, which is just about $3,000 more than a regular old Fusion S. The Energi, which is offered in SE trim and above, starts at $31,995 but gets the benefit of more government incentives thanks to the plug. Either way, that’s a big premium over the regular Fusion.

But both the Fusion hybrid models work very well. In fact, the biggest problem with them is that they look like other Fusion models. And that means they don’t announce the owner’s environmental virtue the way a Prius or Tesla does. In this market, that matters.