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This is from another forum. I'm sure you all know that the Freestyle shares some things w/Volvos. Here is the question - is it really less safe? Comments -
"Personally, I will go with XC90 2.5T AWD ( and I have one) if you can afford it. I believe that authentic Volvo has better built quality and unique safety "know how" that is not shared with Ford. "
As far as build quality, I can't really say (never owned a Volvo).
I did double-check for "torque steer" this morning. If there's any there, it's very slight.
Not really complaining. But I would like to get that extra $768 from Ford that I missed by 3 days.
I probably would've got the letter sooner had I indicated I was ready to buy NOW (instead of 1 to 3 months) when I visited fordvehicles.com and requested the brochure. But at the time, I figured it would be a month. And it practicaly was.
That's the XC70, right?
We got the car back and the dealer service invoice said they re-tourqued a bunch of stuff (don't know much about this, sorry) and tightened the engine mount, as well as re-adjusted some other mounts. They claim these things took care of both problems.
Upon pickup of our car, my wife said the clunking noise is gone and she doesn't think there's a slipping feeling anymore, but it's hard to tell b/c now the alignment is totally off (the wheel is quarter-turned with hands off it) and it was a short trip home, so the slipping/sliding sensation could still be there. So we have to bring it back ASAP to fix the alignment.
Has anyone heard of these types of problems with the Freestyle? Particularly, I am interested to learn more about the slipping/sliding problem, which irks me, and I would like to yield to anyone's expertise as to what this could be. Note that we test drove another Freestyle previously and it rode just fine. I appreciate any info you can give. Thanks.
GC - 8.2 XC70/8.9 XC90
Pretty sure the Freestyle is lower...
I've experienced that only once so far, but I was doing about 75 in a 55 when a fairly tight S-turn came up.
Don't ya hate it when they post the speed limits appropriately? LOL
At any rate, it was very brief. Not sure if the AWD / traction control kicked in to stop it, or if me letting off the gas is what did it. Don't think I hit the brakes at all.
Your alignment may be just fine, even if your wheel is off by 1/4 turn. If you can let go of the wheel and it drives straight, the alignment is probably OK. It's just annoying to have that 1/4-turn in the wheel. I'd definitely get it fixed, but under that scenario, it shouldn't be of any concern (regarding safety or tire wear, etc).
I've had this happen before to a car, and it's easily fixed/adjusted by the shop.
The lower GC will certainly help lower the CG on the Freestyle. But the extra height of the Freestyle compared to the XC70 would tend to raise the CG.
I want to say that the GC on the Freestyle is about 5.5 inches, and may be 1 inch higher on the AWD version. But my memory's probably off a bit.
I think the Freestyle is longer/wider than the XC70, which should actually help with regards to "tippiness".
So, on second thought, perhaps the Freestyle is actually LESS "tippy" than the XC70.
Thanks -
http://www.carconsumers.com/SUVsafety_1.html
Are you sure you are referring to the Freestyle AWD when you said it has self leveling shocks. There is mention of that in the Ford 500 and Montego's literature but nothing I've seen in the Freestyle literature that mentions this nice option.
The 2.5T is quite slow for the heavy XC90, Freestyle is quicker in response. The 2.5T also requires premium gas, and the Freestyle's structure (while being a revised version of the Volvo's) has a few added member's which allow it to post great side crash testing results.
Volvo has been experiencing issues with it's 5 speed automatics supplied by Toyota's supplier.
But both vehicles do their job a bit different, it's all about preferences.
Ranger,
It's not an option, it comes standard. The sedans also feature the self leveling shocks in AWD, as well.
And $$ - to get a comparably equipped XC90 is over $40k (Z plan) - then the mtn, gas, etc.
Apparently the Volvo dealers are getting cross shopped quite a bit with this. I deal w/a dealer at work and he has no knowledge of the Freestyle but did mention several people asking about them when they were looking at the Volvos.
Interesting....
XC70 has torque steer problem
Volvo has or I hope had problems with the Aisin (Toyota brand) auto box for the 5 cylinder. We had problems solved with a new valve body. If that failed, then the Lemon law would have kicked in and it would have been traded for a new xc70.
It was a combination of a single static test (which the Corvette, of all things, did miserably on . . explain that one), and another dynamic test.
The most interesting part, though, was just how few rollovers there are that result from a single-car crash that DON'T involve running the tires off onto a shoulder/ditch, etc. Basically, you have to "trip" the vehicle to get the rollover, and the tires aren't really "grippy" enough to do that.
I think this may have been in the January Car and Driver . . but I'm really not sure.
Without measuring (can try to do that tonight), I'd say it's about a foot. But it'll depend on exactly where you want the measurement taken. At the top of the seat-back it might be a bit lesss. I'd be surprised if it's under 9 inches, though.
http://www.safercar.gov/NCAP/Cars/3089.html
No side air bags or curtains.
14 inches at the bottom by my tape measure. The glass curves slightly toward the rear of the seat at the top.
Glad you are here...
The XC70 (wagon) is no where near as roomy and the third seat (optional) is rear facing. No adults there or even preteens.
The XC90 is closer in layout but the Freesyle has more room in 2nd & 3rd seats. But the 3rd seat is a bench can't split 50/50.
They do have the exact door handles - just a little thing I noticed.
My LTD AWD is due in to dealer 1-24...
YUK
Did they say what year? haha. Just kidding.
That one I was waiting for in Tulsa arrived sometime yesterday. Just think . . if I'd waited, I could've used the $768 rebate and saved the $900 on the DVD, too.
Still waiting to hear back from the dealer on whether they can get me that rebate before I call Ford myself on it.
I haven't seen any Freestyles on the road yet, either. But it took a while for me to really start noticing any Magnums or the new Chrylser 300C's out there, too.
I'm reading the fine print, and here is what it says:
"This offer is in addition to all other publicly available Ford Motor Credit retail offers in effect at the time of purchase; it MAY NOT be combined with another private offer. A, Z, and D plan sales are not eligible. Ford Division reserves the right to substitute any offer for another offer of equal or greater value."
So, I guess it boils down to whether the X-plan rebate of $750 is a "private offer" or not.
Any lawyers out there? LOL
I guess I'll call the 1-800 number on the rebate offer tomorrow and see what they have to say. Never hurts to ask, right?
I thought I saw somebody else say (on this forum) that he had combined an X-plan rebate with a "customer loyalty rebate" like this one, though.
http://www.hitch-web.com
Oh - and search under SUV not Wagon...
got $750 X-plan rebate and $750 customer
loyalty rebate for the Explorer I returned. The dealer never heard of the Ford financing rebate. Oh well I'm still happy.
That makes two people, then, who've managed to do this.
I'll have to mention this to Ford when I call.
Can I borrow somebody who likes to yell and scream on the phone for part of a day?
1 1/2" hitch balls are designed for up to 2000 lb loads.
I'm not sure of the actual numbers, but a 2" hitch is designed for loads higher than the Freestyle can handle. Therefore, I highly doubt that there will ever be a 2" hitch for it.
I don't know what you are hoping to tow, but the stuff that you want to tow most likely has a 2" hitch on them because they were designed that way.
remember the car can only handle 2000 lbs towing load...you also have to add the weight of the trailer into that. So a trailer with a weight of 350 lbs can carry a load of approx 1600 lbs (1950 lbs total) before going over the 2000lb tow limit of the Freestyle.
That puppy was expensive and I've either got to buy another one or swap out cars when it is time to take the kiddos Mtn. Biking.....not cool!
Bummer.
Thanks,
xnappo
That puppy was expensive and I've either got to buy another one or swap out cars when it is time to take the kiddos Mtn. Biking.....not cool!
I was just looking around online for some reference for you and I can't seem to find any 1 1/2" hitches. (When I think of hitch size, I am thinking of the diameter of the ball itself) Here is a link to a website that may help you.
http://www.hitchesonline.com/acces_includes/hitchball_main.htm
From the link, you can see that the load rating for a 1 7/8" ball is 2000 lbs....I'm guessing that's what the freestyle will have since it handles up to 2000 lbs.
If that's the case then you shouldn't have a problem then. Just take the 1 7/8" ball out of the hitch and replace it with a 2" ball. The threaded shanks on both should be the same size.
For what it's worth, they didn't notice that rebate when I bought the vehicle. It was the next business day when they apparently noticed that I was entitled to it, and informed me of it.
I am in Calgary (-35F today), but I would suggest that you just try calling some local hitch shops and ask.
Good Luck
Brrrrrr- it is 68 here today.
Have you seen this? http://autoshow.msn.com/as/article.aspx?xml=FordConcepts&shw=- autoshow2005&src=autoshow2005Coverage>1=6065
Check out the concept Ford Fairlane--not quite how I remembered Ford Fairlanes--a bit boxy and long, yes but a cutting board and refrigerator and wifi? Sign me up! I keep joking that all I need in my car now is an espresso machine and a porta potty. My car is my office--I'm a traveling special ed teacher--5 schools a day--and really, I would just settle for the espresso machine at this point!
Also, and I'm probably the last person to find this function, but on the volume control that automatically adjusts as your car is making more or less noise, you can adjust how much you want the volume to go up or down--pretty cool.
We use to ride to school w/a friend that had an old Fairlane and listen to Meatloaf really loud.
Oh my goodness, it was nothing like this new
Fairlane.
Think that should be hubby's new ride - 99 Suburban now.
I'm finding that a value between 1 and 3 (probably 2 will end up being best) seems to work pretty well.
Since the scale goes from 1 to 10 (not counting OFF), this means that the Freestyle is VERY quiet compared to the noise that the radio was designed to be able to compensate for.
Concerning the air-tightness: I haven't had any problems closing the doors. Then again, I'm kinda known for slamming them.