Ford Freestyle AWD 2006

Ford Freestyle AWD 2006 - The Freestyle seems to fall into the same vague category as the Chrysler Pacifica. It straddles the line between SUV and minivan, claiming to offer the advantages of both while leaving behind the disadvantages. To simplify matters, we classify the Pacifica and the Freestyle as SUVs. The Freestyle will appeal to shoppers who want minivan practicality hidden by sport-ute duds.

What former minivan owners who get into the Freestyle will immediately notice and appreciate is the low step-in. The Freestyle has a low floor, and there isn't a whole lot of ground clearance; actually, it barely sits any higher than the Five Hundred sedan, so off-roading probably isn't in the cards. Once inside, you'll find seats that are perched high off the floor, providing the seating position so many drivers find as comforting as hot cocoa. Despite the Freestyle's car roots, you'll still be able to see over that pesky compact out front.

The Freestyle offers an exterior that looks butch enough not to embarrass you or the kiddies when you pick them up after school. There's a long SUV-like snout that protrudes far enough so no one will confuse this for a Freestar, and the tame front-end styling borders on anonymous. To soothe the nervous parent, there's all-wheel drive, adding $1700 to the bottom line, side-impact and curtain airbags that protect all three rows for $695, and a Volvo-inspired crash structure that costs nothing extra.

This is the first use of a CVT in something as large as the Freestyle, but its operation will be familiar if you've ever sampled one of these novel transmissions in a smaller car. Driven gently, the engine revs stay unobtrusively and quietly at low rpm, much as they do in a conventional automatic. But if you floor it, the engine will rev to 5800 rpm and stay there until you back off, whereas a conventional transmission would change to the next gear.

Our Freestyle did the run to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds, which beats the V-6 Explorer's 9.0-second time. It even beat the 8.8-second ramble of a Porsche Cayenne V-6. However, those 8.2 seconds are a bit uncomfortable, because the engine note never changes from a constant 5800 rpm, and the sound from the 3.0-liter engine is about as enjoyable as an American Idol reject.

Ford claims to be spending quite a bit more development money on its interiors. The F-150 pickup was the first to enjoy the extra cash, and its interior is far better than anything else in the full-size-pickup segment. The Freestyle interior shows some F-150 influence, but what is great in a pickup truck is merely good in a family vehicle. The plastics are nicely grained and the center stack has a tasteful metallic carbon-fiber-looking piece, but the entire dashboard feels hard and somewhat hollow to the touch.

Point the Freestyle down an interstate, and enjoy the silence. Wind and road noise are subdued, and the serenity goes a long way toward making the Freestyle feel like a more expensive vehicle. At 70 mph, the Freestyle registered a respectable 68 decibels, but to our ears the sound doesn't seem to increase much as you creep up into big-ticket territory.

Despite its larger dimensions, the Freestyle is lighter than the Explorer and feels smaller than its stablemate. No matter how bad the pavement, this SUV never sets a foot wrong or shudders from blows. The feeling of refinement is probably the most satisfying aspect of the Freestyle driving experience and makes it a far better vehicle to live with than Ford's own Explorer.

Clearly, the Freestyle is designed to move people instead of trailers. Certainly, its high level of refinement makes it a stellar people mover. So it's not a hard-core truck, and well, it's not a minivan, either. It's neither fish nor fowl, but rather a different type of beast that belies its 203-hp engine and combines plenty of utility with a decent driving experience.