Ford Freestyle - Taurus X

jrtexas

Mine's a crossover (either from a SUV to a station wagon or vice versa ). Whatever you want to call it, it is a great vehicle and much better than previous vans and stations wagons that I have owned. At least for the first 6K miles I've driven it.

explorerx4

if it is like the aux climate control in my explorer, it can provide heat also. the 3rd row passengers appreciate that too.
i've got a v8 explorer. anyone want to run their freebie for pinks?

jschreiber

Well I appreciate your thoughtful analysis and I agree--they seem adrift. The sad thing is, here we have a great product that everyone is raving about, is a joy to drive in rain, snow, sun and appears to be very well built with some nice innovations. How often has an American car achieved this recently!
Ford, unlike Toyota for example, doesn't seem to have the guts and persistence to stick it out and define this vehicle as a star. Stay with it and improve it and tweak it every year until perfection--the Toyota and Honda technique. Instead it is quarter to quarter and give up if you have a bad one.

From my perspective I couldn't afford the Volvo XC90 and this vehicle for the money is fabulous. Ford get your act together and when you have a winner tell everyone.

lenw

Thanks for the help. Your steps are different than the one's in the owners manual.

nvbanker

Amen to all of that......

tim156

What's wrong with labeling it a wagon. I consider mine a wagon. Making comparisons to other vehicles mirrors or the shape of the air vents doesn't make it what it is. Watching the commercials for the employee discount plan, they only show a corner of the front end for a brief second. Ford is not trying to sell this vehicle, whatever it is. The conspiracy part of my brain still says to me that this was the plan all along based on how it's been marketed so far. Ford needs to get out front with the Freestyle. Labeling it a crossover is too generic. I think they need to market it as the new style in station wagons. Gone is the long land yachts of yesterday. The new style of family wagon has more safety, comfort, versatility, room for your family, or six soccer kids, and the stuff you need to haul from the grocery store or the lumber yard. Sell it to both mom and dad. I'm single, but often have one or two riders in the back seat. Riders in the back, and the front, comment on how comfortable the car is. My third row stays down, and I've cut a piece of 1/4" fiber board to remain in the back to protect the carpet. I'm always carrying stuff from the Home Depot, my golf clubs and I plan to cut a piece of foam so with the second row down I can nap back there on long road trips. That's what I remember a station wagon was used for.

johnclineii

Ford has come to the conclusion that every Freestyle sold is lost profits...the additional profit they would have made by selling an Explorer instead.

Look for the Mercury version to sell for many more bucks than the Freestyle....

That's my guess....

barnstormer64

"hmmm.. SedUVan"

LOL . . . sounds too much like used van. Or at least LOOKS like it.

barnstormer64

I stand corrected on the tires . . . didn't notice they were 55-series on the sedan. I still say, though, that the two vehicles drive practically the same.

I still stand by the mirrors, though. They look identical in dimensions (or very close, without actually measuring all the different dimensions).

I still say it's a wagon, though. Or at best a wagon that crosses over a bit into a minivan.

It's built on a CAR chassis . . . which is the main reason NOT to classify it as an SUV. SUV's are built on a TRUCK chassis, IMO. Though you do find a few that are built on a minivan chassis.

It's a wagon that crosses over to a minivan, but has been designed to LOOK like an SUV. At least from some angles. From a quarter-front view (down low), it still looks like a (tall) wagon, to me.

Granted, I'm one who'd like to tell all Hummer-II owners that they're really driving a fat Tahoe. LOL

branty

For the last couple of weeks Ford Canada has been running TV ads for the Freestyle several times during the evening (Toronto). Not sure if you have seen the ad in the US but it in fact starts off with a child sitting in the back of a Country Squire (I think) station wagon. They take the kid to an adult (parent) and morph the wagon into a Freestyle showing all the great features. I think it in fact does suggest that the Freestyle is the best of both worlds. Kind of a neat ad.

northlakes

Another 43 posts and we will reach 4000 posts on this site. Go baby go! :shades:

barnstormer64

"starts off with a child sitting in the back of a Country Squire (I think) station wagon. They take the kid to an adult (parent) and morph the wagon into a Freestyle showing all the great features."

Wow, that's it!

Have I got the perfect song for Ford to advertise this baby with, too.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thomshepherd

Check out Track #2, "Country Squire"

PS: You might recognize Track #5 as a #1 Hit by David Ball.

And as a blatant plug, here's Thom's latest CD

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thomshepherd2

Track #6 is a current release by Craig Morgan.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Thom's a friend of mine. I think he needs to contact Ford about this!

northlakes

In digging around for crossover vehicle info before choosing the Freestyle, I collected a few facts that might be of interest. Crossovers tend to be built on a car chassis, wheels pushed to the edge for stability and handling, and a ride height somewhat lower than an SUV.

* Lexus RX300/330: "Like many smaller ``crossover'' SUVs it was built
on a modified unit-construction car chassis, with front- or all-wheel
drive and fully-independent suspension for car-like NVH and ride
and handling characteristics. But it also had the cargo-carrying
ability, high-eyepoint driving position..." Review by Carey Russ on another site.

* Nissan Murano: "Nissan calls it a "sculpture in motion" that fuses the best traits of a high-rider sport-utility wagon and a pavement-hugging sports sedan." "Like the SUV, Murano gets a wagon's format with five seats and four doors for passengers and a liftgate in back for access to the cargo bay." "But like a sports sedan, Murano rides on the front-wheel-drive (FWD) chassis of a car. The platform, which also underpins Nissan's Altima and Maxima sedans, supports the 111-inch wheelbase and a wide track of 64.2 inches up front and 64.0 in back. Pushing wheels to edges of the chassis brings stability to the stance and enhances Murano's agility when cornering. Murano carries an independent suspension system mounted on subframes, with struts in front and a multi-link arrangement in back plus stabilizer bars fore and aft..." Bob Plunkett of Road and Travel.

* Ford Freestyle: "Freestyle, trumpeted by Ford as "Goes Anywhere," and "Holds Everything," gets close. With Freestyle, what you get is a good looking truck substitute one wouldn't mistake for an auto outfitted as a wagon. With its solid, SUV-type face and sporty accessories, it won't settle into the minivan mold. With its silky driving dynamics we'll get to a bit later there's not a hint of bucking bounce, just the easy driving comfort of a luxurious sedan." "Behind the wheel, there's evidence of Volvo heritage in the crispness and handling, with a wider stance compensating somewhat for the taller profile. Freestyle's foundation is the same as the new companion Ford Five Hundred sedan. Both are on a derivative of Volvo's XC90 crossover architecture noted for solid handling characteristics." "There's virtually no perceptible change during acceleration, just a smooth move up to speed that lets the newly-refined 3.0-liter Duratec 30, 24-valve engine seamlessly take advantage of every possible fuel-saving gear point. "Awesome," was one tester's initial reaction." Martha Hindes of Road and Travel.

Note the crossovers' similarities. Mazda, Jaguar, BMW, GM, Kia and Subaru are also entering the crossover game. It is a design point. One more thing in common - most of the crossovers are luxury vehicles. In Ford's stable, that sounds like a Mercury. Smart folk will realize the Freebie is a steal. You just don't get burled walnut trim, scented air conditioning, and marble C-pillars. With the Freebie having more space, better mileage, and costing thousands less than the others, it was an easy decision. :shades:

luisd

Thanks for your thoughts, folks. We live in a very moderate climate (San Diego), but I know I'll have times I wouid regret not getting the rear air/heat.

Now all I have to do is find one with my options! I'm jazzed!

northlakes

Enjoy that new car smell when you do find your Freestyle!

saram

Re: Starting problems

Got my FreeStyle back today. The dealer had it all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and half a day Tuesday. Could NOT duplicate problem. They drove it over 80 miles trying to duplicate the starting problem and it wouldn't. They told me if it did it again, don't try to restart it and just have it towed to them. I guess they can learn more from the computer that way. It was about ready to turn over 7,000 miles so I went ahead and had them change the oil and rotate the tires. No other problems. Guess we will just wait and see if the starting problems happen again.

Take care,
Still lovin my FreeStyle! SEL FWD

442fool

It is amazing that this vehicle is an orphan after a couple years in production, the resale value is going to be very bad, very soon.

nitromax

LOL

Nice profile and history of posting..... joined today and slandered six different vehicles.

~The hills are aliiive, with the sound of ......

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy.

:-)

bigred13

Ok, I'm hearing all of the opinions about what a Freestyle really is, but has anyone taken this thing for a spin yet? No, I mean 'open it up' and see how it really drives. Impressive to say the least. Most impressive so far is it's handling around corners, especially the on and off ramps on the freeway. This thing holds the road like a sports car. I've driven many a vehicle from sports cars to SUV's to wagons and sedans. Whatever the classification of the Freebie, it blows away most in pure handling. I was trying to get the tires to squeal and they wouldn't.

Now that I've said all of that, I'm going to take it easy a bit, afterall we're only at 750 miles so far. Think I'll let it break-in a bit more before I take on my brother and his RX-8.

This, all from a guy that still has a 5 speed Jeep Wrangler and just came out of a very sporty 5 speed Isuzu Rodeo. I had my hesitations about the freebie at first, but the more I drive it the more it's growing on me. Can't wait to try it in the New England snow!

garandman

Note the crossovers' similarities. Mazda, Jaguar, BMW, GM, Kia and Subaru are also entering the crossover game.

Subaru didn't enter it, they created it by raising the roof and putting bigger wheels on a unibody AWD Legacy Wagon and calling it an Outback ten years ago. The combination of load capacity, drivability, operating economy and all-weather traction essentially defined the "Crossover" but that name hadn't been invented yet. "Sport Utility Wagon" was as ridiculous as "Sport Utility Vehicle." What is sporty about an SUV - the ride and handling of beam axles?

After it became the best selling wagon in the country, the Big Guys started taking notice and Crossovers were invented. The Freestyle is a much better all-around vehicle than the Outback, which is grossly underpowered with the 4 cyl and not very economical with the turbo or H6.

442fool

Yeah your right, Ford is not stopping production, and this car will hold its value just great. Slander is not stating a correct fact. A long time making bad posts doesn't make them any more valid by the way.

northlakes

You are correct about the pioneering that Subaru did. Thanks. I was referring to the recent Subaru B9X entry which is called the Tribeca crossover. Edmunds has a Forum on it. :shades:

tidester

joined today and slandered six different vehicles.

That's not possible. One can only slander a person - by definition! You might be accused of anthropomorphizing!

tidester, host

442fool

Nice word, even better if you just made it up you still fooled me.

428cj

"It is amazing that this vehicle is an orphan after a couple years in production, the resale value is going to be very bad, very soon."

But enough about the Honda Ridgeline. This is the Freestyle forum.

428cj

This is the Freestyle forum under the SUV heading. Why don't those who really think their Freestyle is a station wagon start a new "I THINK MY FEEESTYLE IS A WAGON" forum?

barnstormer64

"This is the Freestyle forum under the SUV heading. Why don't those who really think their Freestyle is a station wagon start a new "I THINK MY FEEESTYLE IS A WAGON" forum?"

We'd feel bad about leaving you alone with only one or two others? LOL

hault

My Freestyle has 900 miles on it. I have encountered the non start three times. When the key is turned it starts to kick over then stops. The next try gets it started. Since it does not occur regularly it's a waste to take it in. After filling my gas tank the gauge did not move from 1/2 to full. Instead after about 20-30 minutes of driving it had edged up to above 3/4. I will probably take it in soon if it acts up on the next fill up.

verdugo

>The Freestyle is a much better all-around vehicle than the Outback, which is >grossly underpowered with the 4 cyl and not very economical with the turbo or >H6.

That's not correct. With AWD, the Freestyle has a fuel efficiency of 19/24. The H6 Outback has a fuel efficiency of 19/25. The Outback turbo has Manual: 19/25 mpg, Automatic: 19/24 mpg.

Yes, I know the FWD Freestyle has 20/27 fuel efficiency, but if you are going to compare it to the Outback, you need to compare the AWD model to make it a relevant comparison.

442fool

No, the Ridgline is selling well, the Freestyle has had its production cancelled, please do not make things up. Ford has said that they had to sell the Freestyle at cost to move them off the lots, sorry maybe its a good vehicle but very few people are buying them.

johnclineii

When and where did "Ford" say it was selling Freestyles at "cost?"

Who said it?

This really peaks my interest...

428cj

Fool442, you are the one short on facts. Honda is brooding over why the Ridgeline is not selling. I think it is more than the turkey cooker they substituted for a grille (or maybe Honda just took the name "grille" a bit too literally.) The biased automotive press will not drill down on this story when they can attack an American car company.

Freestyle sales are climbing. June was a good uptick and I bet July will be better. Overall Ford sales were up 18% for July as of last week. There was a shortage of 18" wheels and Pirelli tires and AWD was more popular than planned, so some late winter and early spring Freestyle sales were artificially low. The current run rate will meet the Ford goal for the Freestyle sales this year.

It is interesting that my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 428CJ was discontinued in 1970, but according to the Mustang Monthly magazine currently on the newsstand, it is valued at $75,000. By your logic, how much more would it be worth if it was still in production?

explorerx4

it's hard to compare sightings of freestyles vs 'ridges, since freestyle has been available longer. did quite a bit of driving in the last month. saw exactly 2 'ridges. maybe they are all being kept in garages, or they are driving around off-road.

globecanvas

There are posts that add value to discussions and posts that don't. The usual rule is to ignore the ones that don't add value, rather than engaging the poster in what is sure to be a useless back-and-forth.

It's pretty obvious when a post is made just to be inflammatory. A defense of "just stating the facts" is usually a signal that the poster isn't looking for a productive conversation.

globecanvas

Most of my driving is with kids in the car, but today I had to run a solo errand in the Freebie, picking up millwork from a shop about 10 miles away. So I cranked the tunes and tore down the back roads with the windows open. I've owned fast cars and slow cars, but the Freebie is a unique beast. It held the curves at speed much better than I anticipated (good thing too, when I met the guy with the trailer coming the other way in an S-turn), the turns were a blast actually. But what I especially noticed was this: the thing doesn't gun off a stop by any means, but because of the CVT you get an amazingly wide power band once you're moving. The 0-20 mph times are nothing special but the 20-60 mph times felt ridiculously fast. Every time, I was going way too fast before I even realized it, in fact I caught myself going 70 mph up a curvy hill posted at 30.

Then when I got where I was going I parked next to another Freebie. Pretty cool.

I know people will disagree, but personally the only thing I'd change is some of the exterior styling to make the Freebie look more like a wagon and less like an SUV.

gtee

A couple of months ago I was shopping for a new SUV/VAN. We test drove Freestyle, Pacifica and all minivans. My wife liked the Freestyle the best. I also liked the Freestyle, but I was too afraid to purchase it for two reasons.

The main reason was that it was the first year of production. I have a 2003 Expedition, and its been at the dealer toooooo many times. I feel like I purchased a prototype. So that left a bad taste in my mouth.

The second reason was depreciation. I knew that come June-July prices would drop, and they did with this "Employee Discount". Now the Freestyle is about 2K cheaper then in May. That is a huge hit in three months.

So in the end I ended up buying a safe Honda Odyssey. The prices on them now are the same as in May so no depreciation, and no visits to the dealer.

The point is that it is hard to spend so much money on a depreciating product that you can't trust. Maybe if my experience with Expedition was better I would have purchased the Freestyle. My wife sure did like the Freestyle. I had to hear about it for some time why I did not purchase it.

barnstormer64

" the thing doesn't gun off a stop by any means . . . The 0-20 mph times are nothing special"

To improve the 0-20 times, you need to really PRESS the accelerator. Chase the rpm's. Try to get it at least up to 3500 or 4000 and keep pressing HARDER to keep it there.

Or just hold it back to about 2500, and accelerate like everybody else does. It may SEEM slow, but you'll still be keeping up with everybody else. Except the drag-racers.

But you're right . . . once you hit 30, it's EASY to suddenly be going much faster than you thought you were if you keep holding down the pedal.

barnstormer64

Looks more like a wagon than SUV to me in that pic.

OK, enough with that . . . call it what you want!

428cj

Where's the comparison? Park it next to a 500 and point out the similarities to me. There should be considerable overlap if it is a station wagon version of the 500.

northlakes

I saw a redfire AWD SEL drive by over the lunch hour - and though identical to mine, it wasn't mine. They seem to be catching on in tundraland.

P.S.: If we are worried that the Freestyle will be downsized in 2007, remember that the Mustang II followed the Mustang. It might be good to get this version of the Freestyle, before Freestyle II comes out. ( I could go for a hybrid, crossover convertible Freebie with a targa bar at the b-pillar - that would really confuse the marketers).

Are we at 4000 posts yet? :shades:

barnstormer64

"There should be considerable overlap if it is a station wagon version of the 500."

You're thinking too "old school".

To my way of thinking, the Five Hundred is a lot different than a normal sedan . . just like the Freestyle is a lot different than a normal wagon. So why expect the normal relationship between sedan and wagon to hold, as well?

nitromax

That's not possible. One can only slander a person - by definition! You might be accused of anthropomorphizing!

I guess it's just been beat into my head that it's not the car, it's the driver.

:-)

nitromax

How about this method. If a vehicle is wider than it is tall, then it is a wagon/car.

Freestyle measurements:
74.4 wide
65.9 tall

wagon

Show me an SUV that's wider than it is tall.

:-)

indybell

After spending another few hours having coffee at Borders and having a free catch up of all the latest car magazines (they probably hate guys like me), it seems the automotive press likes to call vehicles like the Freestyle ---"Crossover Wagons".

barnstormer64

"Show me an SUV that's wider than it is tall. "

Freestyle? LOL . . . well, it IS the obvious answer.

Whatever it is, I still love my wagon.

van8

Your wife is the smart one! The Freestyle is a great car that she would have loved. The Freestyle as stated in recent Fortune article uses" the same engineering platform that its Volvo division uses for its crossover vehicles. But that platform, which Volvo developed in Sweden, is more costly than the ones Ford uses in the U.S." Its also a great platform. This vehicle is actually way under priced in relation to costs so it is rumored that Ford is going to move this vehicle to Mercury Division and raise prices substantially to better align costs and revenue. You could have had a great vehicle way below cost! I have also learned better to buy what wife wants as wives never let you enjoy your reasoned purchase. They always believe you left them out of your reasoned equation and you pay for that big time!
Best and Try and enjoy Odyssey!

nitromax

How about another one.
Fords SUV line always starts with E (the E series)

Escape
Explorer
Expedition
Excursion
Everest

hmmm.....Freestyle

Nope, doesn't fit....must not be an SUV

:-)

magdad

To answer your question...

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/investing/articles/0,15114,1085971,00.html?cnn=yes

Yeah, I know it has been referred to, but with almost 4000 posts I'm not looking through them all for this URL.

saram

If it is a crossover, SUV or wagon??? Don't we all still LOVE our FreeStyles no matter what they are classified as???

kjnorman

Ford has come to the conclusion that every Freestyle sold is lost profits...the additional profit they would have made by selling an Explorer instead.

That may be the case but this is a shame. We bought the Freestyle and like it a lot. It is a very well packaged car. We would not have bought an Explorer. If Ford did not have the Freestyle, then we would probably ended up with a Pacifica or settled for something like a Pilot which in my opinion is a much more poorly planned out product.

Yes the Freestyle is not sexy, I'd be the first to admit that, but the styling has grown on me and now I kind of like it. I would however still prefer the styling of the Mercury MetaOne, but can't help thinking that Mercury is a brand with no future.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future..