Wife found it on the internet. It has been a big surprise. For such a big car the MPGs are great. I get around 24-27 going to work each day. About 45 miles one way.

I highly recummend this car to anyone. Very capable. Pity my wolf hound decided to grow too big for it. He now rubs the roof when he stands on all fours. Had to go order a expedition for the little guy. :)

Then I drove one a bit during a weekend visiting family in Detroit. Brother and sis-in-law of the (formerly) significant other bought one of these. I figured they just had a kid and since they got employee pricing, just decided on the FWD, CVT 200hp Freestyle.

I spent probably 150 miles driving this thing. Around town. On the highway. I actually REALLY liked it. It was really comfy, had a lot of room, yet was really easy to manage in traffic and around town. The power was weak, but I surprisingly didn’t mind the CVT much. Even with 200hp, it seemed more than adequate to move the thing. Then I put gas in it and was surprised at how little it took.

I was seriously sold on it. Not for myself, but when people have asked, I have mentioned the car as worth the look. I don’t think anyone has actually done it though. A Pacifica was another one I liked, but the Ford got the job done better (though less style).

It isn’t the highest quality piece out there, but overall a really really really solid car for what it is intended to do. The only other car I have driven in the past 2 years where I had the same bad-image going in and a very good one coming out is the Chevrolet Impala. Excellent car. Pretty well done interior. Good power, excellent economy for the size, lots of space, and really really well priced.

I try not to dismiss anything anymore without driving it first….

Of course, Ford did not market that car, and when they go and fix the big issue in the motor/trans, they still don’t market it. Truly puzzling.

Now I have two kids and my wife remembers her friend’s Freestyle, so I know we will be looking at the T-Rex. If only it could tow more than 2000 lbs, but then it would be nipping at the CX-9.

I’m not a fan of the styling revisions.

Introducing a “Freestyle” a year after introducing a “Freestar” was sheer marketing stupidity.

I might pick up a used Freestyle myself. As others have noted, they are great used car values.

Phil–your E63 rates 12/19 on the 2008 EPA test cycle, not 14/20.

Reliability has been very good so far:

http://www.truedelta.com/results0907.php

I am wondering how the CVT in the Freestyle will fare as those age. The Taurus X has a conventional automatic.

Amen to that! My wife and I had a sequence of minivans — Ford Aerostar, Ford Windstars and Mazda MPVs — that perfectly suited our family’s needs. She especially liked the space efficiency, flexible seating and nimble handling of the MPV. When Mazda decided not to export the ‘07 MPV to the States, we listened to the Ford marketers and leased a Freestyle instead of buying a minivan from another manufacturer.

BIG mistake. She hated it.

She complained about poor access and tight space in the third row, a lack of cargo space behind the third row, a load floor that was too high with the second and third rows folded, and narrow footwells and an intrusive center console in the front row. She repeatedly pointed out that the family dogs didn’t even like to sit in the third row.

When I offered her a choice between a 2008 Taurus X lease and a used minivan, she jumped at the chance to get back into a minivan and is now the happy owner of a 2003 Dodge Caravan SWB with a 3.3-liter V6. Despite the lack of Stow-and-Go seating, she likes the Dodge much better than the 7-passenger Ford crossover, and I’m pleasantly surprised at how spacious and comfortable the Caravan is and how well it drives. I doubt she’d even look at another crossover after her experience with the Freestyle.

Now, what is considered a ‘minivan’ is really more like a ‘midivan’, actually much closer to the size of a full-size van. So, to fill the gap, car companies are coming out with tall, conventional rear-door, ‘crossovers’ that are between the size of a regular station wagon and the old, SWB minivan, i.e., Taurus X, Chrysler Pacifica. Mazda, especially, is trying to cover all bases with the Mazda 5, 7, and 9, all of which seem inferior to the old MPV in terms of practicality.

I don’t think people in the market for something like the Taurus X are going to cross-shop quasi-SUVs like the Edge. The real market for vehicles like the Taurus X are the people who used to buy the old SWB minivans in great numbers which, to me, are still emminently more space efficient than any ‘crossover’. The inherent efficiency of the original, two-box minivan package was the whole reason they completely wiped out the entire station wagon market in the first place.

Every time I point the Freestyle/X out to her, she responds with a “meh.” This car occupies NOBODY’S mindspace, apparently. Despite having been partly designed by the highly-lauded J. Mays (of VW Beetle/Passat, Audi TT, and latter-day Ford T-bird fame), somehow the styling is completely bland and lacking. Or is it “timeless”?

Maybe it’s time for an eye opening new campaign…or at least a massive discount. “Taurus X: By Any Means Necessary”

Having lived in Midwest, South and both coasts I observed a clear delineation on what is considered ‘cool.’ Whereas Corvette nets you max cool points in da U.P., Michigan, it’s downright a liability on the left coast. Wagons are just the opposite. Where the Mustangs roam, Wagons do not fly.

But there is another problem. Customers who are comfortable with Wagons are likely driven by knowledge and less by vanity – they understand that Wagons provide most of SUV functionality with less weight and hence better mileage and agility. (Sure there is always some vanity and there are legit needs for SUVs, but in general I think these trends hold.) Since I’m on a roll, I’ll also make a claim that dealerships peddling domestic brands don’t know how to cater to people who are armed with knowledge and expect certain level of professionalism and excellence in service. (Detour: back in the college days I drove Chevy cavaliers, ford escorts and the like, but once I experienced BMW/Audi vehicles and the service I haven’t switched. Every once in a while there is a domestic vehicle that stirs my interest but I’ve never gotten far enough to drive it – for example, when I wanted to drive CTS-V, dealer told me I’d have to buy one if I wanted to drive one; I went back to my BMW dealer, drove an M3 and bought one).

I do a lot of skiing and my Audi A4s, whereas excellent in slippery conditions, would too often bottom out in deep snow and rutted-out parking lots up in the mountains. So, when I looked at something that is not too heavy (<4200lbs), has higher clearance 6+in, AWD and three-pedal manual transmission and ideally turbo for high elevation performance, my options quickly narrowed down to Subaru Outback and Audi allroad. (I went with the allroad and love it). I saw the X (Freestyle) then and thought the shape was good, clearance and weight OK, but the anemic engine and CVT transmission knocked out of the running. But, a bigger question looms: even if X came with a solid engine, manual transmission, higher quality interior and excellent gizmos (like the Sync), would I be able to close the deal at the dealership given horrific service? The Death Watches point this problem out; not sure the not-so-big 2.8 get it though.

That’s the thing that really kills the Freestyle/Taurus X. If someone is in the market for a practical vehicle with no regard to its appearance, why would someone spend minivan-money for a vehicle that’s not as useful? Even the Chrysler Pacifica, the Taurus X’ closest competitor, has a little style. In comparison, the Taurus X is downright plain.

It’s yet more proof that 23 years after the first successful minivan was introduced (and that after Henry Ford II had the idea from Iaccoca but fired him instead), Ford still hasn’t figured that market out.

Don’t disagree with your statement at all. Just saying to Zarba that Ford with the Escape (RAV 4), Edge (Highlander), and Explorer (4 Runner) are no more loaded with very similar (read Marketing Nuanced) vehicles than other manufacturers such as Toyota.

Of course, they do all get purchased by suburban soccer moms who ignore their actual automotive needs and practicality. They also buy Benzes, but you’re not going to say a G-wagen is the same as a M-class, are you?

Wonder what he did with his buyout?

Nice to read that it is a decent car…but at the price point, and without a scintilla of marketing support…..doom.