2005 Ford Freestyle Review

Specifications

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Ford has been in need of new models to bolster its new car lineup for some time, and the upcoming Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle crossover SUV could be just what is needed.

I was recently invited to test both during a press event that had journalists making time on high-speed Interstates, exercising the suspension systems on curving, potholed rural backroads, and even taking on a gravel pit to test out the all-wheel drive system, on our way from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois.

If youve never been, Milwaukee is a clean, architecturally stimulating city with wide open prairies on one side and water as far as the eyes can see on the other. Ford chose the impressive Santiago Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), located right on the lakefront, as a backdrop to launch the new models, symbolizing the contemporary styling approach design head J. Mays has taken with the pair.

I particularly like the minimalist lines of the Freestyle. Theres nothing particularly new about its styling, especially the trademark Ford grille that appears in some form or another on most of the brands sport utilities, but just the same it is attractively understated.

Walking up to my test car after leaving the MAM, it didnt look as large as I expected it to be. After all, Fords North American regional president Joe Padilla had just been informing me, along with a group of fellow journalists, that its new entry features more interior room than segment rivals Buick Rendezvous and Chrysler Pacifica.

This reality became completely apparent when I was asked to sit in the back seat, yes the third row, while being driven around downtown Milwaukee. Wow! Im only five foot eight and my head hits the roof of the Pacifica when stuck in the rear, and while theres plenty of headroom in the Rendezvous there isnt enough legroom to even come close to stretching out and the Buicks third row bench seat is far from comfortable. The Freestyle, however, is minivan-like cavernous in its third row, with room enough for six foot one adults and leg and shoulder room to spare. Finally a crossover sport utility that can truly replace a minivan. On that note, long objects of up to 10 feet in length can be accommodated inside too.

But in driving dynamics, it gets much better than that. Most minivans arent known for stimulating the senses, and for that matter, neither are the majority of SUVs and crossovers. The Freestyle, on the other hand, pulls its general architecture and much of its suspension hardware from the very capable Volvo S80 sport/luxury sedan. If you dont yet know the connection, Volvo belongs to Ford Motor through its Premier Auto Group division, which also owns Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. The opportunity to share components with the premium Swedish brand elevates Fords Freestyle much higher up the feeding chain than most of its rivals. Chrysler did a similar thing with its Pacifica, pulling some components, such as suspension parts, from its Mercedes-Benz sister brand.

Ford makes greater use of Volvo than Chrysler does of M-B in engineering the Freestyle, however, and it shows in all aspects of the design. For instance, while its lighter weight and sophisticated suspension setup helps it to outmaneuver the Pacifica through the slalom, making use of the same Haldex Traction electronic all-wheel drive system that Volvo incorporates into its AWD models means that no rival offers anywhere near the grip in inclement weather than the Freestyle with AWD, except maybe the much more expensive Volvo XC90 that uses it too. Other automakers that use Haldex AWD are Volkswagen, and its many brands including Audi, Seat, Skoda and Bugatti, with its Veyron. Not bad company.

Ford took the opportunity of showing off its new best-in-class all-wheel drive system by renting out the corner of a massive gravel pit, and having us power up a 35 percent grade of sandy dirt. Thats steep by the way, and the exercise brought to light the good, bad and ugly of all-wheel drive systems. Obviously the Haldex system fared best, but what I wouldnt have believed without testing its competitors on the same hill is the disparity between best and worst. There arent many vehicles in this class yet, I mean true wagon-like 6- to 7-occupant crossover vehicles. Ford provided a Chrysler Pacifica AWD and a Buick Rendezvous AWD. I started with the former, and it handled the hill fairly well. Even when I stopped halfway up, and then attempted to take off it spun its front wheels, needing to roll backward a bit to get out of a rut that had developed before making its way up and over the crest. I thought, hey, thats pretty decent. Then I jumped into the Rendezvous, expecting much of the same. Not so, GMs entry made it up the first half of the hill, but when I started out after stopping there was nothing but spraying dirt, a revving engine and a deeper rut. I rolled back a bit, tried it again and repeated the futile process. I had to back down the hill, take a run at it and use momentum to carry me over the top. The Pacifica all of a sudden started to look pretty good. That is until I tried the same routine with the Freestyle. All it took was a tap of the throttle and its Haldex all-wheel drive lifted the big wagon up and over the rut with as little fuss as moving it forward on a level patch of tarmac on a dry day. Wow! The difference between all-wheel drive systems was made beyond clear.

As was the Freestyles ability to maneuver around a makeshift autocross course. I have to admit that the Pacifica handled the course well too, but the Freestyle felt lighter on its feet and resultantly quicker in transitional response, important during emergency lane changes. The Rendezvous, well it has a nice ride, but it lists from port to starboard like the analogy suggests.

Another aspect of the Freestyles performance surprised me too, acceleration. After all, its got the smallest displacement, least powerful engine in the mix but somehow manages to chop an entire second off of a sprint to 100 km/h over the previously quickest Pacifica. How does a 203 horsepower 3.0-liter Duratec 30 DOHC V6 manage to speed away from a 250 horsepower 3.5-liter V6? In addition to the Freestyles lighter weight, its all about the Fords sophisticated continuously variable transmission (CVT). Its really one of the simplest gearboxes in the business, in theory anyway, as it only features a single “gear” that expands and contracts to push a belt up or down creating a larger or smaller ratio. When larger, it works better for scaling hills at low speed, and when smaller it can maintain highway velocities. The best part is its the most efficient type of transmission in the industry while delivering top-tier acceleration.

Inside the Freestyle offers an attractive dash layout, excellent ergonomics, good fit and finish and decent plastics quality, especially on the dash and upper door trim. If youre used to Volkswagen or BMW perceived quality, though, you might be disappointed as the new Ford exposes a little more plastic than average. The Pacifica delivers nicer tactile quality as well, but for a great deal more money.

And thats really the most important part of the Freestyle story. Its really inexpensive considering all it brings to the table. Starting at $25,595, a front-wheel drive SE delivers 7-occupant seating. Comparatively to the equivalent 7-occupant front-wheel drive Chrysler Pacifica, the Freestyle SE is thousands cheaper. All-wheel drive Freestyles start at $27,295, again less expensive than the Pacifica with AWD and the Buick Rainier.

The 3.0-liter V6 is standard, by the way, putting its power through a CVT gearbox in both front- and all-wheel drive trim levels. The brakes are all discs and feature standard ABS, while a 17-inch alloy wheel and tire package is also included.

Inside, an AM/FM/single-CD audio system also comes standard, while power door locks with remote keyless entry and door-mounted keyless entry key pad, power windows with drivers door one-touch up and down, and a 6-way power drivers seat with manual lumber adjustment are also included.

Like the Five Hundred, the Freestyle is available in three trim levels, SE, SEL and Limited. Again, as in the Five Hundred,
the optional all-wheel drive can be had on all three trim levels for an extra $1,700.

While the new Chrysler Pacifica is an obvious rival to the two new Ford models, the Five Hundred and Freestyle are more conservatively drawn and therefore will attract a different set of customers. The Fords offer much less power than the Chrysler products as well, with a focus on fuel economy rather than out-and-out performance. Corresponding high fuel costs may mean that Ford hit the mark with regards to timing the launches of the new pair, which should be reasonably fuel efficient due to its smaller 3.0-liter engine and CVT transmissions.

Fuel efficiency? The Freestyle achieves gets 27 mpg on the highway and 20 mpg in the city in front-wheel drive trim and 24 city and 19 city when set up with all-wheel drive. Comparatively the Chrysler Pacifica gets 23 mpg on the highway and 17 in the city, plus 22 on the highway and 17 in the city in front- and all-wheel drive configurations respectively. Buicks Rendezvous comes close to the Ford at 26 mpg on the highway and 19 in the city when fitted with front-wheel drive, and 24 mpg on the highway and 18 in the city in AWD mode. How does the Toyota fare? In V6 trim the front-wheel drive Highlander manages 25 mpg on the highway and 19 in the city, while the all-wheel drive Toyota gets 24 on the highway and 18 in the city. Like the Camry, Toyota will introduce a Highlander HEV for 2006, which will improve on the 3.3-liter V6s power while reducing fuel consumption too. Ford will no doubt be considering the adaptation of its Escape Hybrid powertrain into the larger Freelander to combat Toyota.

With the clear fuel economy advantage currently in Fords court, those looking to reduce monthly budgets without sacrificing interior roominess and style may want to consider the Freestyle.

As expensive as gasoline has become, North American buyers havent shown a major shift away from larger V8-powered vehicles such as SUVs. Still, with slow sales overall it is difficult to speculate whether the sales of large vehicles will pick up with sales of all vehicles, if and when the economy improves, or when fuel prices fall back toward affordability. If fuel prices dont drop, however, Ford could be sitting pretty with its thrifty new entries.