2005 Ford Freestyle Test Drive

Go to Ford's website and you'll find the new Freestyle listed under both the car and SUV menus. Wait a minute, Ford -- if you can't figure out what the Freestyle is, how are we, the consumers, supposed to? Is the Freestyle a car? An SUV? A minivan? A wagon/SUV crossover? If you've ever tried to tap-dance, whistle, deal cards and chew bubble gum at the same time, you'll understand the Freestyle's major problem. $25,595 base, $30,135 as tested, 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

First Glance

So what exactly is the Ford Freestyle? Your guess is as good as mine; I think it's a cross between a minivan with a cut-down roof and an oddly-proportioned station wagon. Even the name is misleading. Freestyle -- sounds youth-oriented, right? From the pictures I expected something small and sporty, but the Freestyle is big, almost as long as Ford's minivan. The styling takes cues from several Ford vehicles; it's modern and trendy in a non-offensive sort of way. Under the Freestyle's skin is a Volvo-designed platform (Volvo is a subsidiary of Ford). Like Volvo, Ford has been making an admirable commitment to safety. Freestyle offers an optional "Safety Canopy", a system of side-impact airbags that cover the windows in the event of a rollover. The Freestyle also offers a technologically advanced all-wheel-drive system for good grip in rain and snow. The Freestyle is a car for grown-ups. Ford is great at grown-up cars; that just wasn't what I expected from the Freestyle name. It's sort of like Roosevelt Grier, the famous football player-turned-reverend. You never really get used to the idea of calling a 300-pound defensive tackle "Rosey".

In the Driver's Seat

The Freestyle's dash is an incongruous mix of high-quality and low-rent plastics adorned by disharmonious chrome bits. Ergonomics are good; rotary dials make the A/C easy to use but the stereo is too complex. The front seats are tall and remarkably comfortable. For the second row, Freestyle offers a choice of a three-place bench or separate "captain's chairs". My test car had the latter, but lacked the optional ($95) center console. The floor between the seats is high enough for kids to use it as a table for toys, snacks, etc. Problem: Brake hard and all that stuff slides off. Because the front seats are so tall and the floor under them relatively flat, a panic stop can result in an object as large as a soda can or water bottle sliding clear underneath and possibly getting wedged under the pedals. Very dangerous! The third-row seat will accommodate two adults in something that bears a passing resemblance to comfort. There's enough cargo space behind it for shopping but not enough for a family vacation. The seat folds down into the floor, leaving a huge cargo area with a flat, slightly elevated floor. Another potential danger: With the captain's chairs, there's nothing to prevent cargo from being launched forward in a panic stop.

On the Road

The Freestyle is powered by a 3.0 liter V6 mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The CVT is similar to an automatic, but instead of using four or five speeds (gears), the CVT provides an infinitely-variable gear ratio. It drives just like an automatic except you won't feel it shift, because it doesn't. Floor the pedal and there's no lurching or surging, just a smooth, steady flow of power and strong acceleration. CVTs provides a smoother drive plus better fuel economy than a traditional automatic and stronger acceleration than a stick-shift. The CVT is the automatic transmission of the future, and I'm glad to see Ford embracing this technology. The Freestyle rides comfortably, steers accurately and handles crisply, just like a car. Big mirrors and squared-off styling provide excellent sightlines, and though the Freestyle is easy enough to park, a backup assistance system makes the process even easier; it beeps as the back bumper gets close to a solid object. I averaged 17 miles per gallon in town; that's good for an SUV, lousy for a car and OK for a minivan. I'm withholding my opinion until I can figure out which one the Freestyle is.

Journey's End

The Ford Freestyle is a good car marred by bad planning and packaging. You can't call it a crossover SUV; it's not versatile enough. You can't call it a minivan; it's not practical or roomy enough. It's closest to a station wagon, though even that's a questionable call what with the oddly-shaped cargo area and smallish second- and third-row seats. I'd advise you to cross-shop the Freestyle against other crossovers (try the Subaru Forester or Outback), car-based SUVs (Toyota Highlander, Honda CR-V and Pilot), big wagons (Dodge Magnum), and minivans (Chrysler or Dodge). You may also want to look at the Ford Five Hundred, which offers many of the Freestyle's best and most innovative features in a four-door sedan. Even if you can live with the Freestyle's oddities, the price is pretty steep once you start adding in options. And then there's the potential for objects to slide underneath the front seats and become entangled in the pedals, a blatant design flaw. Too bad, because the Freestyle is competent and enjoyable to drive. If Ford had focused a bit more tightly and not attempted to make the Freestyle all things to all people, it could have been an impressive car. Er, SUV. Um...Crossover. Wagon. Whatever the heck it is.