 |
|||
Even when Ford Motor Company announced "The Year of the Car" the temptation to create the 2005 Ford Freestyle as another SUV cash cow was too great. With a long history of successfully skirting safety and environmental regulations, manufacturers made millions by converting commercial pickups into suburban station wagons and mass merchandising them as sport utility vehicles. Ford was so successful with their trucks and truck based sport utility vehicles such as the Escape, Explorer, Expedition, and Excursion they simply neglected the car market. Now that the popularity of truck based sport utility vehicles are beginning to soften, Ford simply couldn't help adding a crossover sport utility vehicle based on the new Ford Five Hundred family sedan. The Ford Five Hundred is a wonderful sedan; available in all wheel drive and excelling in rear seat legroom. In my opinion Ford would have been better served by offering the Five Hundred as all wheel drive sports wagon rather than just another crossover SUV but research shows that the public still views the station wagon with contempt. Exterior styling of the Freestyle is clean and modern but certainly not exciting. For those that buy the Freestyle because of their minivan phobia, the Freestyle is not offensive, hiding ever so slightly the reality that this indeed a minivan with car type doors rather than sliding doors. The huge "C pillar" and recessed glass develops a large blind spot but not as bad as the Chrysler Pacifica. While the Ford Freestyle competes with a large array of luxury models such as the Acura MDX, BMW X3, Buick Rendezvous, Cadillac SRX and Chrysler Pacifica, it wins the price war based on content and capabilities. The interior is very attractive, borrowing extensively from the Ford Five Hundred. Wood grain accents, color coordinated instrument gauges and leather trim on my Freestyle Limited appeared borrowed from an expensive luxury sedan. Front seats seemed small and the driver's side legroom was a bit narrow for my robust frame. Obviously the Freestyle is targeted at the female driver. Adjustable pedals ($175) and parking aid ($250) both are desirable options for men and women alike. Heated seats are welcome not just in cold climates but are great for sore backs and might be considered a safety feature reducing monthly road rage in women of childbearing age. Conspicuously absent from Ford, are any telemetric or navigation devices available from most all other manufacturers. While aftermarket suppliers can provide some of these features, nothing works like systems fully integrated into the vehicle. Even the DVD based rear seat entertainment system with drop down seven-inch screen and wireless headphones appear to be an afterthought. The Freestyle is built on the very successful Volvo S80 architecture including safety innovations such as crash force management and the famed optional Haldex all wheel drive system. Winning the government's highest safety award even without the optional side curtian air bags, the Freestyle scored a 5 Star rating with the NHTSA. For $695, I highly recommend the optional package including side impact air bags, perimeter alarm and 3-row safety canopy with rollover sensor. Seating for seven is available even though entry and exit from the third row seat requires a small child or adult contortionist. If you really need seating for seven, swallow your pride and buy the minivan. Flexible theater style seating helps provide visibility for rear passengers and folding seats provide unparallel utility for hauling long objects. The 203 horsepower 3.0 Duratec V6 is seriously underpowered for aspiring stock car drivers populating rush hour traffic but adequate for around town driving. I fear the CVT transmission may prove to be the weak link for this platform. Some manufacturers have abandoned the continuously variable transmission in part because of durability questions and horsepower limitations. With the less than stellar history of transmissions in the Taurus, Ford should have erred on the side of caution in regards to the CVT. While I personally did not see a pent up demand for a fifth model of sport utility in the Ford lineup, obviously there are some that want a car like sport utility vehicle. The crossover SUV is the hot ticket in the near luxury segment and Ford answered with a reasonably priced, very comfortable and capable model. In my opinion the Ford Five Hundred is a much better vehicle and buy than the Freestyle but it will not meet the demands of many growing families. The 2005 Ford Freestyle represents the freedom to drive whatever you personally desire.
2005 Ford Freestyle AWD Limited
Duratec 3.0 V6 Engine
19/24 EPA MPG Price as tested $34,845 Additional Web only Information and Resources For Additional Reviews: |
©2005 - Stan Risener