By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Example, my house is so air tight, when I open the front door, I hear the windows in the foyer flex from the air pressure. Same situation in the cars. The nickname "fartboxes" allow for the pressure to dissipate to the exterior.
My old VW Bugs had them, but you still had to crank the window down a bit if you wanted to easily shut the door.
Getting rid of the helicopter noise will be good; people complain about that in many different discussions.
Steve, Host
The e-mail is faster than the webmaster.
Sam
The website has new pictures of Freebie, showing off some colors. What got my attention is to see several with 2nd row window tint. Cool!
For example, look at the T-Green SEL, and the Red Fire SE. Those are newly added.
* What vehicles you thought Freestyle was far better than? Worse than?
* What driving sensation you had? For example, "Reminded me of..."
* Other things you may think of?
I'm no cat, but curiosity is killing me!
Sam
compare to what?
it's nothing like a minivan. ride is not as 'smooth', but it handles the more extreme situations a lot better.
Now, on the other hand, the Freestyle I have driven less than two miles! Enough to know that I much prefer the Five Hundred, with which I was mightily impressed.
Then again, as I have said numerous times here, I am a *CAR* person, not a crossover, SUV or truck person. So why am I here, you might ask? And fairly so. To learn as much as I can about the Five Hundred, the Freestyle's cousin. That's why!
People asked for impressions. I gave them mine.
That is all!
Link: http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ncb?kbb.AR;071517;AR051&71- 909;suv;t&6;Ford;2005%20Freestyle&M9M19A9;;M9M19&&- ;&&nyrnc
Johncillini... How is the Freestyles ride & quietness compared to a Chrysler minivan you drive occasional?
I drive a Chrysler minivan in my business, and I'm impressed with the smooth ride and noise level.
How much quieter could it be? As much as a luxury car? Lincoln's Navigator is a very quiet vehicle. I would like to compare the quietness between the 2. The Navigator shows that if Ford really wants, then...
Actually there's a good reason for having it on the passenger side. Have you had a vehicle that has had it on the driver's side, and you park next to the pump and open your door, there's a huge chance you'll hit the pumps, or worse, those concrete pillars.
While having it on the passenger side, there's less chances a passenger will open up and "WHAM" against the above mentioned.
"How much quieter could it be?"
It's a very muted, quiet ride. Think Town Car in quietness, and don't be surprised if some in the media compare it closely to Lexus, in quietness.
But if the Freestyle are as quiet, it will be a winner for sure. Many people choose import brands for the quietness and refined feel.
That's true, but do you have pumps that have that auto-latch, where you can click it a few ticks and it continues to pump for you ? On the few that have them here, we usually use it whenever there's heavy rains with winds.
"The Town Cars engine is really noisy when pressing the gas a little hard! "
It's the plastic manifold intake that causes that noise, but in the 500/Freestyle it'll be somewhat a bit more muted than that though. A refined sound.
I must have it bad... I loaded the Freestyle wallpaper from the ford website, so now I can look at it when I sign on. My husband is getting cold feet because he thinks he won't get what his four year old Impala with low mileage is worth -- but I'm working on him. Anyone need a loaded 2000 Impala with under 30,000 miles on it?
He placed it on e-bay. He named every rust spot and bent part, like "villain" fenders. As a result, the auction had 100,000s of hits. The winner bought it for thousands above Edmunds' TMV. And he/she lives in California.
Sam
We both had major problems understanding how to flip the second row seats.
As he said, it's great I spent $30 on the rental upgrade, than $30,000 on a car I would hate.
Driving-wise it was OK.
I bet Freebie will beat it, based on your feedback.
BTW, could anyone compare Freebie to a Windstar/Freestar?
Sam
Question for all of you who have been lucky enough to drive the Freestyle... Can we talk about comfort? Do you remember how the seats felt? How comfortable were they for things like back support and position of all the controls, etc? Did it feel like an "old shoe"? (i.e., you go to the shoe store and slip on a pair, and feel like you could run a marathon in them?)
How about the console and other storage? Did you poke around a bit while you were inside? It's so hard to tell from a picture!!!!
I prefer it on the driver's side, but I wouldn't mind it on the passenger side so much if all cars were just consistent.
Most cars do have a little arrow or triangle on the gauge to remind you which side it's on but most of the time I forget to look until I'm already at the pump.
Steve, Host
I haven't driven any recent Chrysler minivans but the Freestyle seemed eerily quiet and smooth even under hard acceleration, I really floored it and even when standing on the brakes from about 30-35 mph and goin over rumble strips while braking! Unfortunately I couldn't try it out on my favourite stretch of horrible road in Detroit -- John Kronk. The Ford guy who was sitting next to me when I tested the Five Hundred had the windows rolled down so I can't compare the quiet level of the two cars but I was impressed, even more by the lack of body roll or lean in very hard cornering.
Sam
Both my Hondas have the fuel door on the left.
And if you go to full service (as in NJ) you can have a better view of the pump to see the little running numbers how the gallons are filling up in your car and the price... And is easier to talk/pay for the gas guy...
I wonder if there is any specific reason why Ford places the gas tank sometimes on the left side and sometimes on the right side.
ANT ??
The third row is cloth, except on SEL/LTD leather upgrades (vinyl). What got my curiosity is that only LTD shows a 3rd row with split personality. I thought all (SE, SEL & LTD) had it.
From fordvehicles.com - Freestyle page:
Look for the "photos" tab. The first interior photo is an SEL with 3rd row split.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/freestyle/photogallery.asp?name=INTER- - IOR
ford.media.com website - Freestyle Overview press kit:
"...The second-row seats fold down and then flip forward to provide easier access to the third row. The third-row seat folds, flips toward the rear of the car and stows in the cargo floor, creating a level load surface. Levers and straps are clearly labeled for intuitive operation of the folding rear seat, which is available as a full bench or 50/50 split. Second-row seating is available as captain's chairs or 60/40 split bench..."
http://media.ford.com/products/presskit_display.cfm?pressitem_id=- - 3353&make_id=92&vehicle_id=1054
The only mutually exclusive options are:
a) 6-seating w/2nd row console
b) 7-seating w/2nd row 60/40 bench
The picture above shows the 2nd row bench.
My suspicion is that the SE will not have the 3rd row split bench. Remains to be seen, and not the first time I'm wrong.
Sam
ANT14 also stated they'll pool them until they can send "X" number to their distributors/dealers.
Don't worry that Arkansas was left behind on the innovation drive. So was NYC.
Sam
I'm with you. I was inches to get a Monterey in addition to the Windstar my wife drives. I then thought, we need something different. The Freestyle is it.
Freebie AWD will give us an advantage on snow. Also, it's more attractive than the minivan.
Sam
ANd certainly quicker than our current family wheels (a '99 Quest).
It wil be interesting to compare the Freestyle to the new '05 Odyssey, the current front runner for next family car.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.