2005 Ford Freestyle Review & Photos

2005 Ford Freestyle
Are you sure you're meant to be here?

Ford's Freestyle was in trouble in its run for the calipers the moment a Motor Trend staffer started calling it "Freestar." As in Freestar minivan. Despite vague SUV styling cues, the Freestyle looks more like a neat and useful station wagon than a brawny sport/utility. Which is precisely what it turned out to be.

As a wagon, the Freestyle works well, taking advantage of an overall length 0.9 inch longer than the Pacifica and 2.1 inches longer than the Dodge Magnum, with a capacious interior--85.2 cubic feet of cargo space with all the rear seats folded flat. Ford has given mixed messages during the Freestyle's long rollout on how original its platform is, but lately has proudly declared the car a derivative of the flexible Volvo S60/S80/XC90 platform that also underpins the Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans, and in early 2006 spawns a Mercury crossover with significantly different sheetmetal.

Ford is using its Volvo connection to play up the Freestyle's safety features. It comes with the Safety Canopy, which is three rows of curtain airbags, but only as an extra-cost option. Standard safety features include an adaptive steering column that provides two levels of resistance in case of front impact, dual-deployment airbags, LATCH child-safety seat system and Volvo's Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) tube, under the center console, which directs forces beneath the front seats.

The Ford is available in front-drive or Haldex all-wheel-drive configurations. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and traction control are standard. There are three trim levels--SE and SEL, with 17-inch wheels, and the well-equipped Limited, with 18-inch wheels--and three rows of seats, either 2+2+2 or 2+3+2. The third row is a split-bench configuration, and the optional split second-row buckets slide forward and back and recline. Ford set the first-row H-point at 25.2 inches off the ground, a number it finds ideal for aging baby boomers, who don't want to crawl up into an Explorer or down into a Mustang, and for generous legroom.