But none will be able to argue its safety attributes, at least now that it has scored a "Good" rating, the highest possible, plus received coveted
"best pick" honours by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its frontal offset crash test performance - a and that after recently being recognized as its segment's top performer in the U.S. government's 2005 NCAP rollover stability test. Impressive.
The IIHS also deemed Ford's Five Hundred sedan, F-150 pickup and Freestar minivan (which also suffers from overly conservative styling and therefore less attention from buyers than it probably deserves) as "best pick" performers recently, in its frontal offset crash test.
The offset barrier crash test requires an impact from 64 km/h, enough to cause serious damage to a vehicle as well as potential loss of life. The Freestyle fared so well, mind you, its cabin experiencing minimal intrusion
by maintaining its structural integrity extremely well, that the IIHS chief operating officer, Adrian Lund, said, "The Freestyle's performance is what we like to see." Lund continued, "Ford has done a good job of designing its newest vehicles to better protect occupants in frontal crashes."
"Creating safe, high-quality, affordable vehicles for our customers is part of our ongoing commitment to safety innovation," commented Sue Cischke, vice president of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. "We are very pleased to see this recognition of Freestyle and our other vehicles."
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| The Freestyle has scored a "Good" rating, the highest possible, plus received coveted "best pick" honours by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its frontal offset crash test performance. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
The IIHS also deemed Ford's Five Hundred sedan, F-150 pickup and Freestar minivan (which also suffers from overly conservative styling and therefore less attention from buyers than it probably deserves) as "best pick" performers recently, in its frontal offset crash test.
The offset barrier crash test requires an impact from 64 km/h, enough to cause serious damage to a vehicle as well as potential loss of life. The Freestyle fared so well, mind you, its cabin experiencing minimal intrusion
 |
| IIHS chief operating officer, Adrian Lund, said, "The Freestyle's performance is what we like to see." (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
"Creating safe, high-quality, affordable vehicles for our customers is part of our ongoing commitment to safety innovation," commented Sue Cischke, vice president of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. "We are very pleased to see this recognition of Freestyle and our other vehicles."