In 2004, I reviewed the 2005 Ford Freestyle on this site. At the time, I thought the vehicle was above average, but I was nervous about buying a brand new vehicle. My husband had been burned buying a first-year (1999) Mercury Cougar, and we wanted to see if the Freestyle would prove problematic.
I am happy to report we purchased our 2006 Ford Freestyle on December 30, 2005. After the Cougar died (again), we desperately needed a new car. We tested a Chevrolet Uplander, but it felt small and was less equipped than competitors. I liked the Dodge Grand Caravan, but it lacked automatic headlamps in an affordable price range. The Chrysler Pacifica had terrible gas mileage.
As for Ford products, the Freestar felt like a school bus. The seats were uncomfortable, and I could not make myself like it. The all-new Fusion was sporty and youthful. It had a surprising amount of space, but 1) I could not see past the C-pillars when I backed up, and 2) where would we put a third child if we expanded our family? The brand new Five Hundred was enormous, and the trunk was bigger than our half bath! The ride was smooth, and the car was luxurious. However, we could not fold down the seats to take home plywood. It was a tough decision, but we finally came back to the Ford Freestyle.
There are some aspects of the Freestyle the competition cannot deliver. Our mid-level SEL delivers an average of 20.9 miles per gallon, although the range was listed at 20/27 city/highway. However, we are always in traffic jams between the daycare and home. If it is not in that mess, it is on an expressway. I am comfortable with the gas mileage because the tank is large (a purported 19 gallons, but I would argue it is just 15-16 gallons), plus I have a trip computer that teaches me the effects of gunning the engine at stop lights! That's an awesome tool.
Automatic headlamps are standard on the SEL. To trigger them, I simply turned the dial to the left of Off. I can also manually turn the lamps (or parking lights) on by flipping the dial to the right. To activate the fog lamps, I pull the dial toward me. No one taught me that, so I'm letting you in on the trick. In addition, I have security puddle lamps under the side mirrors. These calming blue lights are tiny but spread far on our driveway. They were a surprise feature, and we love them. They illuminate our path to the house at night, and if we dropped something, we could actually find it before morning. Wonderful!
The car we leased had a front row comfort package, which I thought sounded incredibly indulgent. For $495, you and your passenger have separate temperature controls. Who needs that? Well, we do, as it turns out. I knew my husband prefers a much cooler environment. He also closes the vents to keep the air from blowing in his face. I leave my vents wide open. The engineers who thought of this feature must have known couples like us.
The optional feature I requested was the auxiliary climate control for rear passengers. I grew up in minivans, and I remember freezing while the front passengers turned down the heat because they were sweating. Auxiliary air ducts in the Freestyle solve this problem by pumping air/heat to the second and third rows. In addition, there are separate fan and temperature controls both in the front and on the ceiling above the second row passengers. My five year old can open his own air ducts and adjust the fan to his liking. Who wouldn't love that feature?
In addition, there are more cupholders than we could ever need - for once! There are two in the center console, four in the doors, two in the center console (for second row passengers) and four in the third row. We can finally buy those facial tissues packaged in a coffee cup! I will complain about the door cupholder design, however. These are too wide and tall, so they swallow a small McDonald's, Wendy's or Costco cup. A large Steak N Shake to-go cup fits. I think they only tried a 7-11 Big Gulp cup when they tested it. Still, I appreciate having them!
My husband's favorite option was the second row bench, which expanded the capacity from 6 to 7 passengers. Seating is supremely comfortable. We did get leather, but it came with the car and was a free incentive (an $895 value). The leather seats were not heated, which I love in my Ford Escape Limited. They are not slick though, so I do not slide around like I did when I test drove the Ford Freestar. The seats are high, so I am almost as high as in my Escape. This helps me to not think of the car as a station wagon, but it does not give the illusion I am in an SUV. Because the second and third row seats are tiered (like in a theater), the car never feels like a bus or a minivan. I can see my kids but still see out the back. Brilliant!
Legroom is wide and ample for the driver and front passenger. When I make an on-ramp loop in my Escape, my body is pressed up against the door. There is no room! But in my Freestyle, only my knee bumps into the door on the same turns! My legs can fully extend in the passenger seat. The middle row passengers have good legroom, but then my kids are still puny (5 and 2). I have sat in the third row because the company claims an adult can sit there comfortably. It is true. I am a large AND tall woman with too much derriere, so my knees press into the third row seats. However, thinner adults should have no problem.
Cargo space is great. With the third row seats in use, there is a smallish space that recesses below and actually under the third row. It has worked for us during grocery trips. I think one big suitcase would fit. With the third row down, we can go to Costco! Our stroller actually looks tiny, and we have never filled it up when shopping. With the second and third row seats down, we were able to bring home several sheets of 48 inch plywood and a number of long 2x4s. The rear door has no separate glass door (like our Escape), which I miss. You would not be able to open the glass to let lumber or a tree protrude. You could still leave the back ajar and tie it down, of course.
There is no towing option, and the engine would not support a heavy load. I think we could move about 1000 pounds if we did install a hitch. I'm thinking homemade compost hauler! The lack of hauling capability does not help illude me about this being an SUV. I had hoped they would fix the oversight on the 06, but maybe for 07 they'll upgrade the engine.
This is my first car with continuously variable transmission (CVT), and I like it. A steel pulley performs the shifting flawlessly and seamlessly, so you experience no jerks from one gear to the next. Acceleration feels heavy to me, but I have never had a heavier vehicle (a Fairmont, Prizm and Jetta were in my comfort zone). This is a big, solid car. It responds quickly to highway acceleration, but it is not the fastest or sprightliest car on the market. Still, it beats the Buick Rendezvous and Chrysler Pacifica according to Ford's website. The Duratec engine has 203 horsepower, which means nothing to me but might impress you.
I highly recommend the rear parking sensors if you are not used to driving a large or long vehicle. Even with them, be very careful. I almost backed into a cargo van because the beeps are softer than I am used to in my Escape. If you have the DVD system, your rear view is mostly blocked. I am not sure why engineers cannot design a moveable rear view mirror. An inch or two to the left is all it needs. I also have some trouble seeing to the left or right with my children's car seats and the C pillar. The windows are high, the seats are high, and the car seat and booster seat we have are both equipped with high head protectors. You may have no problem with your child seats. In addition, the side view mirrors are ideal to compensate. They are very wide, and they help with my blind spots. Unfortunately, they do not easily fold. I thought they were fixed, but my husband said they have some "give."
Now for the complaints! I know you were hoping for something. We cannot use the CD holder in the armrest. CDs fit just fine, but when we end a trip, the CDs are always laying outside the holder. Why can't they stay in there? I have no idea. We have to put the CDs in the door's map pocket, and they rattle loudly in there. That's an annoyance.
Second complaint? When we hit 3000 miles, we needed a tune-up. One Friday afternoon, I could not get the car to start. It repeatedly tried to turn over, but it was almost like the battery was dead. After letting it sit for a couple of minutes, it started reluctantly. No problems all weekend, fortunately, but that scared me. I also noticed a time about three weeks before when I started the car and it sounded like a lawn mower running over a piece of paper. I thought I had a bird or mouse in the engine, but nothing fell out on the driveway (sorry, I know that is gross). Again, it only happened the one time.
The third glitch was a surprise. I started the car one day and realized the gas mileage had leapt from 20.9 to 26.8. I was floored! Then, it started dropping a point every few seconds until it stopped around 23 mpg. It is now down to around 21.9. I think a computer glitch is causing these problems.
The last cautionary note is to check your paint job. We have a weird spot on the hood that looks like a dent, but it is perfectly smooth. It is a darker coloring, and we were told it could be condensation. I didn't buy that, so I made sure it was put into our purchase contract. I saw another Freestyle last month with some paint problems, so I am very glad I did. This was just one car out of dozens and dozens I have seen, and it looked like the owner was not the best driver (dents, dings) anyway. I would not blame Ford without more information.
Update: Last week, my husband accidentally left the moonroof up before a driving rainstorm. Astoundingly, there was no damage. The armrest was wet, but the rain did not move down its sides. There was no rain in the cupholders, the driver's seat was dry and the coats on the passenger's seat were just slightly damp. The moonroof was superbly designed!
February 2007: We have had the car for around a year now. It gets about 18 - 19 mpg with our city driving (stop and start). Each full tank takes us 385 miles. We have had no new issues with starting the car or the mileage going up and down. I realized it is very easy to reset the mileage, which will cause it to soar and then drop as I reported above. With the auxiliary heating, we noticed the heat will shift from front to back, which can be weird when you find yourself cooling off and warming up again in winter. Also, in the summer, this system caused an intense warming right under the driver's seat that bothered my right leg. My husband did some investigating and linked it to the air conditioning. I guess there is a duct under there. The car handles exceptionally in winter. We have noticed little slippage and almost no fishtailing. If the traction control has kicked in, we have never felt a vibration in the pedal. My husband still complains that the radio does not list the station or song being played (which we have in our 03 Escape Limited), but I don't find that to be a big nuisance.
I could go on about every minute detail of this car, but I think this is enough to go on. The Freestyle is an awesome car. It has plenty of room, it looks good and it performs well.
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