[Mikelonis]

If so, what do you think?

It's that time in a man's life when he's got to buy a real family car. I couldn't convince my wife that our 2001 F150 Super Cab could double as an SUV. I have to agree.

So, even though I think these Freestyles are a little pricey for what they are I am gonna do my best to keep everything Ford at the house. Expeditions are hard on gas and we just don't like the Explorers.

The Freestyle Limited looks pretty sharp with those 18-inch wheels and it's much roomier inside than it appears online.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[ford4v429]

I looked at one with the wife at the auto show- but I'm the kind that looks under, more than over...the one we looked at had gaps in drivers door crimp(by striker/latch) where it looked like the inner door shell was actually kinda too short? anyway, I didnt care for the gaps, as in Ohio, salt gets everywhere, and door bottoms in my opinion are usually first to suffer from salt...bottoms of rear doors were not even crimped flat, more like folded 60 degrees over the inner shell...looked to me like a 'salt scoop'...similar gaps around rear door/roof seams.
Long story short, after she put up with me oogling over the gt(40) and shelby, and some others, she wanted to look at the hyundai tuscon- I was like 'no friggin way will I buy one of those POS...', but she insisted I owed her at least a look...dude, we are in trouble. every frigging seam/gap/weld was sealed tight, and painted- you could literally wax the doorjambs without snagging a towel. 10 yr warranty, half the price, better fitment of panels...door drains looked very good too.
I still am a 'buy american' guy, but competition aint exactly junk anymore. I didnt ask where freestyle is built, but if its from hermisillo like the fusion, I would have to give the 'other imports' a shot...I hope to never reward them with my business for exporting jobs. Had the new mustang GT been built in Mexico/China, I woulda cried and walked away...thank God it wasnt, as its a blast!!!

If friggin hyundai built that tuscon here, I would probably lose the foreign car arguement with the wife...luckily its still an import...

one thing to consider- I heard the freestyle got canned, being revamped as merc fairlane(?) or something like that crossover thing- havent seen any pics yet, but thought it was going to be a 07 model? perhaps it will be better, as the lackluster sales of the freestyle might point towards low tradein/resale too...hard to say.
Our windstar is going to need replaced pretty soon, I'm still hoping for something better to come along...cant talk her into another (v6) mustang for her...

 

[65Galaxie]

I bought a Freestyle SEL about five months ago. My wife usually drives it (Im perfectly happy in my '88 F150). I personally like the thing. With two kids, it has plenty of room. We opted for the CVT transmission and all wheel drive. The AWD take the avergae mileage down to around 23mpg, and the CVT takes some getting used to. It sort of feels like the trans is slipping, although it isn't. I can tell you that the AWD works great, it chews through snow with no problem. Overall, my wife loves it. As for me, I don;t get to drive it very often

, But I do really like it.

Almost forgot: The Freestyle is built in Chicago, along with the Five Hundred. And my Ford rep says the killing of the freestyle is just a rumor, and that Merc may get a version, but there are no plans to discontinue it. You will probably see a mild facelift in a year or two, with Ford's new 'corporate' three bar grille design, like on the Fusion.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 65Galaxie on 4/22/06 10:44am ]</font>

 

[Mikelonis]

Hey, thanks guys for the info. I'm going down tomorrow to take a drive. Gonna pay special attnetion to that tranny.Shooting for a deal on the Limited. Got some X-plan pricing working for me.
Thanks.