Detroit Report Part 2: The Ford Freestyle in Detail

Freestyle's Interior Made for Families

The Freestyle was designed to be a crossover vehicle with the exterior look of an SUV, but with the flexibility to carry people and cargo too, Marentic said. It has three rows of seats and can carry seven adults. And, while having a trunk that is more spacious than the Chrysler Pacifica, when the third row seat is

Designed to be a crossover vehicle, the Freestyle has the exterior of an SUV, but the interior functionality of a minivan. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

folded flat, it has 4,361 L (154 cubic feet) of storage space, and an additional 1,416 L (50 cubic feet) when the second row is folded flat too. Lastly, the front passenger seat also folds flat to provide even more room to haul long items.

"I'm married with three children--a daughter who's 10 and sons who are nine and seven--and all that I've learned has gone into this vehicle," Marentic said. "The vehicle to us really is about balance and we do believe that we bridge the gap between a sedan and an SUV."

The vehicle offers theater-style seating, where the second row sits higher than the first and the third row sits higher

The Ford Freestyle features a rear hatch, much like that of a minivan or SUV. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

than the second, allowing rear passengers to also have a good view of the road. There is also a bow in the roof to provide good headroom to passengers in the third row seats.

Just like the Freestar minivan, the Freestyle also features a "conversation mirror and sunglass bin in the overhead console," Marentic said. "I can flip down that conversation mirror and see my kids in the third row seat because they are sitting higher and I know exactly what they're doing... this gives me eyes in the back of my head which is very powerful as a parent."