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Opinion Summary
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New Ford Freestar Leaves Lots to Be Desired
by tracey28 | Jun 29 '04
Pros: New model, conversation mirror, overhead console, cornering lamps, tri-zone climate control, kid controls.
Cons: Nothing special, no DVD, 1 CD only, road noise, bad cornering, dismal gas mileage.
Return to opinion
OVERALL RATING
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Date Written |
Trip computers (Reply to this comment)
by pvreditor,  in Cars & Motorsports
Yeah, my trip computer offered both instantaneous and average readings... I was thinking that it was the instantaneous reading that gave this reviewer such low numbers.
--Bob
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Jun 30 '04
5:52 am PDT
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Re: Re: Gas mileage (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh,  in Cars & Motorsports
Pvreditor, you're confusing instantaneous and average fuel economy readings. Many trip computers offer both.
As for the Freestar's price, it is high, but this is largely counteracted by HUGE rebates. That said, I also found it odd that heated seats, an increasingly popular feature, are only available as a $245 option on the Limited. All in all, it's almost as if Ford did everything it could to ensure the Freestar would flop. And it has, big time.
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Jun 29 '04
9:49 pm PDT
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Re: Gas mileage (Reply to this comment)
by tracey28
I agree that a computer read-out provides just a "snapshot". How unfortunate that this particular one happened during a test drive. I have read that actual mileage can be 30% below reported ratings. So I can expect to get as low as 11.2 mpg, if I calculated correctly.
I'm not sure why I have such wide spaces between paragraphs. I'll see what I can do. Thanks!
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Jun 29 '04
3:29 pm PDT
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Gas mileage (Reply to this comment)
by pvreditor, in Cars & Motorsports
I've had only one car with a fancy gas mileage calculator and found that it had horribly low readings when I accelerated but wonderful readings when I coasted downhill. For example, I might get 5.6 mpg when I was nailing it on an entrance ramp but 200 mpg (or off-scale) when coasting downhill. I'm not familiar with the system in this Freestar, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was similar. Remember, gas mileage is a process of averaging, not an instantaneous snapshot.
I also found that the gas mileage that the car calculated was a little optimistic when I compared it to what I got doing it the old-fashioned way. For instance, the computer told me I was getting 25.6 when I was actually getting 23 mpg.
Otherwise, interesting review, although I'm not crazy about the wide open spaces between your paragraph. I suggest one blank line, although sometimes Epinions forces me to have two for some reason.
Thanks for sharing!
--Bob
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Jun 29 '04
3:16 pm PDT
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