This reality became completely apparent when I was asked to sit in the back seat, yes the third row, while being driven around
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| Ford's new crossover features more interior room than segment rivals Buick Rendezvous and Chrysler Pacifica. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
downtown Milwaukee. Wow! I'm only five foot eight and my head hits the roof of the Pacifica when stuck in the rear, and while there's plenty of headroom in the Rendezvous there isn't enough legroom to even come close to stretching out and the Buick's third row bench seat is far from comfortable. The Freestyle, however, is minivan-like cavernous in its third row, with room enough for six foot one adults and leg and shoulder room to spare. Finally a crossover sport utility that can truly replace a minivan. On that note, long objects of up to 10 feet in length can be accommodated inside too. But in driving dynamics, it gets much better than that. Most minivans aren't known for stimulating the senses, and for that matter, neither are the majority of SUVs and crossovers. The Freestyle, on the other hand, pulls its general architecture and much of its suspension hardware from the very capable Volvo S80 sport/luxury sedan. If you don't yet know the connection, Volvo belongs to Ford Motor through its Premier Auto Group division, which also owns Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. The opportunity to share components with the premium Swedish brand elevates Ford's Freestyle much higher up the feeding chain than most of its rivals. Chrysler did a similar thing with its
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| The Freestyle pulls its general architecture and much of its suspension hardware from the very capable Volvo S80 sport/luxury sedan, which makes it a joy to maneuver through the cones. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Pacifica, pulling some components, such as suspension parts, from its Mercedes-Benz sister brand. Ford makes greater use of Volvo than Chrysler does of M-B in engineering the Freestyle, however, and it shows in all aspects of the design. For instance, while its lighter weight and sophisticated suspension setup helps it to outmaneuver the Pacifica through the slalom, making use of the same Haldex Traction electronic all-wheel drive system that Volvo incorporates into its AWD models means that no rival offers anywhere near the grip in inclement weather than the Freestyle with AWD, except maybe the much more expensive Volvo XC90 that uses it too. Other automakers that use Haldex AWD are Volkswagen, and its many brands including Audi, Seat, Skoda and Bugatti, with its Veyron. Not bad company.
