"We are not ready to publish fuel economy, but it will be several miles per gallon better than the Pacifica," Rennecker said.
The Freestyle comes standard as a front-wheel drive vehicle, but customers can opt for an all-wheel drive version as well.
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| The Freestar will come standard with front-wheel drive, but buyers can opt for the all-wheel drive version as well. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
"If you want to tow anything greater than 2,000 pounds, you want to go to one of our SUVs," Marentic said. "We did that purposefully. You have to stand for something and we wanted to stand for flexibility and great on-road performance. SUVs are where you go if you want to tow and if you're looking for off-road capability."
The CVT, made in Batavia, Ohio, is the product of Ford's joint venture with Germany's ZF Group. It replaces traditional transmissions gears with two, two-piece pulleys and a chained loop. The two pulleys change shape to produce different drive ratios, meeting specific driving conditions and improving fuel economy while reducing noise and vibration.
Come back tomorrow to read about the Ford Five Hundred in more detail.