Fords New Freestyle Crossover Earns IIHS Best Pick Crash Test Rating

Ford doesnt always get the credit it deserves, at least when translated into sales. Sure it sells more full-size pickup trucks than any other brand, and its Explorer has long been a favorite among soccer moms, but its starting to build some impressive new cars and, despite efforts to combine fuel efficient drivetrains with performance-oriented handling, what sounds like a winning formula, it comes up short.

Its new Freestyle crossover might just be the most obvious case in point. Hailed by many in the automotive press for its sophisticated Haldex all-wheel drive system, the same as used by Volvo, and riding on a version of that Swedish automakers S80/XC90 chassis architecture, resulting in impressive handling and safe, impact resistant rigidity, its a pretty sophisticated piece of engineering. Added to these features is a velvety smooth continuously variable transmission, that makes the best use of its fuel-efficient 3.0-liter V6 possible, resulting in reasonably quick acceleration, at least compared to other, more powerful vehicles in its class.

What is even more impressive is the Freestyles interior space optimization. While it doesnt appear large from the outside, its cavernous inside, seating full-size six-foot-plus adults in its third row seat, with room to spare.

Its even good looking, in an understated, almost nondescript way; the latter point likely the most critical complaint given by some automotive pundits.

But none will be able to argue its safety attributes, at least now that it has scored a "Good" rating, the highest possible, plus received coveted "best pick" honors by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its frontal offset crash test performance - a and that after recently being recognized as its segments top performer in the U.S. governments 2005 NCAP rollover stability test. Impressive.

The IIHS also deemed Fords Five Hundred sedan, F-150 pickup and Freestar minivan (which also suffers from overly conservative styling and therefore less attention from buyers than it probably deserves) as "best pick" performers recently, in its frontal offset crash test.

The offset barrier crash test requires an impact from 64 km/h, enough to cause serious damage to a vehicle as well as potential loss of life. The Freestyle fared so well, mind you, its cabin experiencing minimal intrusion by maintaining its structural integrity extremely well, that the IIHS chief operating officer, Adrian Lund, said, "The Freestyles performance is what we like to see." Lund continued, "Ford has done a good job of designing its newest vehicles to better protect occupants in frontal crashes."

"Creating safe, high-quality, affordable vehicles for our customers is part of our ongoing commitment to safety innovation," commented Sue Cischke, vice president of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. "We are very pleased to see this recognition of Freestyle and our other vehicles."

Adding to the Freestyles safety net, is what Ford calls its "Safety Canopy" system, providing side curtain-type airbags for all three rows of occupants.

Also, Ford laser-welds the side pillars and other structural components, strengthening the body which in-turn helps to redirect crash forces underneath the Freestyles seats.

An adaptive steering column, which collapses horizontally under impact, plus driver airbag deployment levels that are tailored to the size and position (gauged off of the seat track position) of occupant, enhances the Freestyles safety benefit package.

While the IIHS wasnt the first tribute to Fords Freestyle, its first year found Parents Magazines and AAAs best cars for families rating, while it was also named the Official Winter Vehicle by the New England Motor Press Association.