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Comments
The towing capacity for the Freestyle is 2000lb. I'm assuming that the 1300lb is total weight of trailer and golf cart?
If so, it won't be a problem.
Odie
I don't believe a towing package is needed for towing below 2000lbs. 2000 is considered "light"
plus the only way you can get a hitch for the freestyle is aftermarket.
Since it's based on a car frame and it can only tow 2000 lbs or less, why should Ford spend time and money on products that most Freestylers won't need. The trucks and SUVs are where the heavy towing will be.
Ford should have made an available trailering package for the vehicle and beefed up the towing capacity to 3500lbs (like the escape). The only other problem I see with not having a towing package is you may burn your brakes up faster.
The CVT can not handle heavy towing due to it relying heavily on load feedback for gear ratio selection. Towing heavy trailers would make the CVT "hunt" for the proper ratio whenever you went over a bump and the trailer bounced. A 6 speed will solve that problem.
My guess is that the next version of Freestyle will offer both the 3.5L and the 6 speed as an option.
Note to everyone! Be very careful when putting larger wheels on this car. The owners manual has a warning that you cannot use any snow cables (even type "S") with the 18" wheels. I think that Ford chose the 215/65 size because that is the only size that would allow for snow cables. So if you live in a colder climate (unlike here in sunny LA) your might want to stick with the stock sizes. Unless you can find snow tires in 225/65 - maybe that would work and not need chains.
If anyone does try the 225/65 size, please post your experience with using snow chains...
I think that the 18" wheels come standard with AWD Limited models. I have no idea what Ford was thinking with the wheel tolerances - are Limited models just not supposed to slip in snow?
http://tinyurl.com/97now
Base curb weight
FWD 3,649
AWD 3,825
Of course, they also list a 6 speed automatic transmission, with the CVT as optional, so I'm not too confident. Sounds a bit like the Ford 500 specs to me. Maybe that is where the confustion over the gross weight is coming from. I had thought that the FS weighs about 4000 lbs. Actually, I still think that.
FWD 3,649
AWD 3,825
The 2005 FreeS was listed at 4,000 lbs, and it changed suddenly with the 2006 listing. Its the same vehicle, so I don't know why the difference is there.
The FS will do fine being offered along with the Escape (being redone soon as well), Edge, Fairlane (which will be vastly larger and taller). The FS sort of fills a niche that the Taurus wagon left. Ironically the Taurus wagon was the best seller, and in general Ford has the most wagon offerings across all their brands. (small useless factoid). Case in point, people want more space and flexibility in their vehicles.
The vehicle will receive the Duratec35 as well as Tire-pressure monitoring, a few extra toys and a new front fascia next year (2007 that is).
Hmmm, Edmunds lists 3649, other sites 3,959. I suspect the 3959 is correct for the SEL, and the other number is actually the Ford 500 number, which is listed at - you guessed it - 3,649.
Anyone care to drive their FS to some truck weights?
Is there another official Ford site to check with besides the media one linked above?
Steve, Host
The ford site doesn't list the weight with the specifications.
http://tinyurl.com/b94jk
http://tinyurl.com/b87gl
http://tinyurl.com/b87gl
http://tinyurl.com/dccz8
From the Kelly Blue Book ( http://www.kbb.com ), the first number listed is for the Freestyle SE front-wheel-drive 2005 model, and the second number is for the 2006 model. I don't know what to believe anymore:
Wheel Base 112.9 inches 112.9 inches
Overall Length 199.8 inches 199.8 inches
Width 74.4 inches 73.0 inches
Height 65.9 inches 64.9 inches
Curb Weight 3649 lbs. 3959 lbs.
Tires / Wheel Size P215/65R17 P215/65R17
2005 Model SE Front Wheel Drive:
Exterior
Length: 199.8 in. Width: 74.4 in.
Height: 65.9 in. Wheel Base: 112.9 in.
Curb Weight: 3959 lbs.
2006 Model SE Front Wheel Drive:
Exterior
Length: 200.7 in. Width: 74.5 in.
Height: 60.1 in. Wheel Base: 112.9 in.
Curb Weight: 3649 lbs.
Is this indicative of anything? The dealer did a "down demo" inspection and said the brakes had "more than 5mm".
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
You can also track down TSBs at www.safercar.gov. In the end, your high frequency hearing must be better than your spouse's. Enjoy your Freestyle. Hopefully you have a good dealer who can resolve your brake issue. :shades:
Welcome to the board.
First of all, Ford is not "abandoning" the Freestyle. If anything, with the "Way Forward" plan that was announced last month, Ford seems re-dedicated to continuing and improving the Freestyle, a vehicle which competes in the burgeoning "crossover" market. Ford does not want to cede sales in that market to anyone. As for it's supposed lack of power, well... a Ferrari it isn't. But what it is, however, is the fastest vehicle in it's segment from 0 to 60MPH, beating the Chrysler Pacifica (for example) by a full second despite the Pacifica's much higher horsepower ratings. Nuff said!
The present day Freestyle has a Duratec engine in it now. A newly developed 3.5 liter Duratec will start to appear in some Ford vehicles later this year in their '07 model year forms. It is not known whether or not Ford will put the 3.5 in the '07 Freestyle. Most of us here, however, believe it will almost surely be included in the '08 MY version of the Freebie which may appear as early as Spring 2007.
I might also add here that the Freestyle is built on the Volvo P2 platform (same as the Volvo XC90 CUV and S80 Sedan) and has achieved a 5 star safety rating in all the tests that NHTSA performs, even without the benefit of the optional side-curtain airbags.
I personally have never had any problems with my local Ford dealer's service department. In a previous life I have owned and driven both Honda and Volkswagen products. I would have less kind things to say about their service departments. The folks at my Ford dealer just seem a lot friendlier. As with any manufacturer however... YMMV.
I thought the sliding rear buckets was an option on the Limited? Is it standard?
I have the limited and I believe the sliding buckets were standard with the bench being a no cost option.
* Freestyle: 13.7%
* Escape: -14.4%
* Explorer: -22.5%
* Freestar: 4.1%
* F-Series: 7.0%
The Freestyle sales volume is one tenth that of the F-Series pickups, but growing twice as fast (this month).
Oh, and the Five Hundred grew 32.6% over 2005. There are no year to year figures for the Fusion, but for January, it sold ~ 40% more vehicles than the Five Hundred.
Just thought you would want to know. :shades:
"Do not use tire chains, cables, or optional traction devices with optional P225/60R18 tires."
Has anyone tried using chains with the 18" wheels?
The CVT tranny takes a few days to adjust to but I think I like it better than feeling the car pull through each gear.
I could go on but wanted to chime in for anyone considering getting one, I'm really impressed.
Having the Freestyle in the rental fleets is good and bad. The good is that Ford increases their sales by selling the vehicles into fleets which increases exposure to unsuspecting renters like me, but the bad news is that typically models that are sold into rental fleets on a large scale cause rapid depreciation for the entire model line. IE:The Taurus! This means our Freestyles are likely to be worth less down the road than they otherwise might.
Ever notice you don't see high resale vehicles like Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords in rental fleets?
- Chad
Interesting to me is the trend of the Explorer sales.
As a footnote, my first drive in a Camry was in a rental car in Orlando. :shades: It is a high-value vehicle too.
Out of Camry sedans, 8-13% are fleet. Solara enjoys around 15-19%, (and there's word of possibly more since it's not selling as well). Hertz has a load of them actually.
Accord, yes 4-8% are fleet. I dont have Altimas numbers, but last year they dumped quite a bit.
And if you really want to break down the math (I won't do it but someone pick up on the numbers if they wish to). If the Camry sells 430K units, and 8-13% goes to fleet...do the math. As oppose to a 500 which sells at 1/4th that amount but capped at 15%.
And only an idiot WOULD pay "almost-new-price" for a rental car vehicle. Which makes me suspect that Hertz doesn't really get that much for them, or there's a lot of idiots driving foreign cars. :P
I just bought a black-on-black Freestyle (and love it!), but with 2 small kids (and another on the way) I'm quickly realizing that dust and pebbles show up really well on the black carpet. I'm trying to decide on floor mats, and I'm having a hard time deciding between the Catch-All floor liners and the Husky floor liners. I've looked at all the floor mats posts on this board. Do you Husky owners use your floor liners year-round, or just in winter with the mud and snow? I'm looking for a year-round floor mat to replace the standard (small) Freestyle ones. The Catch-All ones look great, but do they show dust and dirt just as much as the stock Freestyle mats? And does mud and snow grime rinse out of them easily, or does it take a scrubbing? I prefer the less utilitarian look of the Catch-Alls, but I'm not sure they'll hide and resist the dirt like I need them too. Both mats look like they provide great coverage and a snug fit. Any general opinions on rubberized vs. carpeted-with-waterproof-backing floor liners? Basically, why do you love your floor mats? Thanks!
I agree. This country is too obsessive about AWD or 4WD. It makes gas mileage worse, handling a little worse (weight), raises noise levels a bit, and reduces acceleration. Front wheel drive with traction control is usually plenty.
I wanted to chime in with this also. For most people who learned to drive in winter conditions with FWD or RWD they will be fine with FWD. It is so silly to think you need to have AWD if you have to drive in winter weather. My hubby used to drive a Sprint Convertible to work (1 hour each way hwy) and I drove a Neon the same distance in the countryside around Ottawa ON. If you gear your driving to the conditions, 99.9% of days you should have no problems (unless its glare ice on the road). I think that AWD or 4WD gives people too much confidence and IMHO you only need 4WD to get out of the ditch, not keep you out. Driving training is a much better investment than AWD. Lasts a lifetime!