Ford's hit or miss.
Ford has been in dire need of a breath of fresh air for some time now. So, the people at FoMoCo decided to dip into their vast inventory of chassis and decided that the one found underneath the Volvo S80 / XC90, could be put to good use. The result is the Ford Five-Hundred, and its U.S. only twin the Mercury Montego.
Some experts in the auto industry have compared the significance of the Five-Hundred to that of Ford's Model A. Much effort has been put into this car in an attempt to curb declining sales and to attract new interest in the Blue Oval's product line. The crossover Freestyle, basically the wagon version of the Five-Hundred, is part of this endeavour from Ford to draw as many consumers into their dealerships by offering a little something for everyone. The price range for the Five-Hundred, from the SE to the Limited, front-wheel and all-wheel drive, is between $29,295 to $38,845. The tester is an AWD SEL with the Safety Package and it retails for $35,860.
Exterior styling
The exterior styling is uninspired. It reminds me of the Toyota Camry: It has a total lack of visual cues. However ordinary it may be, it is still a rather handsome-looking car. It is mildly inspired by some popular European cars such as the Volkswagen Passat, but the end result is a little plain. The bodylines are fluid although it is far from making any design breakthroughs, quite unlike one of its main rivals, the Chrysler 300. Panel fitment is good and paint application is fair.
The Five-Hundred's exterior dimensions are quite imposing. The first noticeable aspect is that the car is very tall. Parked beside a five-year-old Nissan Maxima for example, it towers over it by what seems to be five feet. The outside mirrors are huge. They look like they belong on Ford's F150 pickup. Because of their size, they produce a fair amount of wind noise once up to highway speeds.
Interior styling
The gauge cluster is as simple as it can possibly get. The tachometer has no redline and the speedometer only goes up to 200 km/h. The padded dash is well put together and thought-through, however it still looks cheap. It is not that the material is stingy; it has to do with the look and texture of the plastics themselves. The aesthetically unpleasant radio and faux-wood trim amplify this impression, but at least they break the monotonous greyness of it all. The door panels are also inexpensive looking with the faux-leather inserts; some nice cloth trim would have done the trick. The steering wheel is the most attractive item in the whole cabin. It is a nice size and thickness and the mounted audio and cruise controls light up.
The front seats are comfortable for short distances. They are very soft and the lower cushion is a little too short. It is doubtful that they will be supportive enough on a fairly long road trip. On the plus side, the Ford is really very roomy inside. Headroom is so plentiful that, without the sunroof, the impression is almost that of a cathedral ceiling. Front and rear legroom is voluminous in its own right. The trunk is also enormous, not to mention the front centre armrest that could almost double as a second cargo area. Its floor is low and it is very deep. Visibility is excellent in every direction.
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Some experts in the auto industry have compared the significance of the Five-Hundred to that of Ford's Model A. Much effort has been put into this car in an attempt to curb declining sales and to attract new interest in the Blue Oval's product line. The crossover Freestyle, basically the wagon version of the Five-Hundred, is part of this endeavour from Ford to draw as many consumers into their dealerships by offering a little something for everyone. The price range for the Five-Hundred, from the SE to the Limited, front-wheel and all-wheel drive, is between $29,295 to $38,845. The tester is an AWD SEL with the Safety Package and it retails for $35,860.
Exterior styling
The exterior styling is uninspired. It reminds me of the Toyota Camry: It has a total lack of visual cues. However ordinary it may be, it is still a rather handsome-looking car. It is mildly inspired by some popular European cars such as the Volkswagen Passat, but the end result is a little plain. The bodylines are fluid although it is far from making any design breakthroughs, quite unlike one of its main rivals, the Chrysler 300. Panel fitment is good and paint application is fair.
The Five-Hundred's exterior dimensions are quite imposing. The first noticeable aspect is that the car is very tall. Parked beside a five-year-old Nissan Maxima for example, it towers over it by what seems to be five feet. The outside mirrors are huge. They look like they belong on Ford's F150 pickup. Because of their size, they produce a fair amount of wind noise once up to highway speeds.
Interior styling
The gauge cluster is as simple as it can possibly get. The tachometer has no redline and the speedometer only goes up to 200 km/h. The padded dash is well put together and thought-through, however it still looks cheap. It is not that the material is stingy; it has to do with the look and texture of the plastics themselves. The aesthetically unpleasant radio and faux-wood trim amplify this impression, but at least they break the monotonous greyness of it all. The door panels are also inexpensive looking with the faux-leather inserts; some nice cloth trim would have done the trick. The steering wheel is the most attractive item in the whole cabin. It is a nice size and thickness and the mounted audio and cruise controls light up.
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