We bought this vehicle in March after seeing it at the Philadelphia Auto show. My wife was looking for a car she would be comfortable driving. She didn't want a minivan, although she liked the conveniences they offered. She didn't want a SUV because she wouldn't feel confident driving a big vehicle. She enjoyed driving her Subaru wagon, but we wanted our new vehicle to have a third row seat.

Enter the Ford Freestyle.

The new "crossover" segment of the car industry is most welcome. A nice blend of the amenities offered in the wagon/minivan/SUV segments. We looked long and hard at the Pacifica, however my wife did not like it at all after test driving one. She felt, in her words, "entombed" in the Pacifica. The sights lines were not great and it had a nasty blind spot. Not so with the Freestyle. It offers open sight lines and a comfortable ride.

We purchased a Limited model with AWD shortly before taking a long car trip to Michigan with our two children, and really put it to the test early on. The DVD entertainment system was a godsend and really made the long trip with the kids much easier (on them and us). We experienced some nasty weather on the drive home, encountering heavy rain and sleet in Michigan and Ohio. The AWD really delivered and we sailed through with no problem. Several other drivers were not so lucky, as we passed five of them that had slid off the road.

The CVT transmission is terrific. It makes for a smooth, car-like ride. Not sure why anyone would have an issue with this. My father has been in the car business for 35 years and he raved about the CVT (he hasn't worked for Ford incidentally).

We really just love this car. It's sporty and classy looking, drives great, gets decent gas mileage and is very convenient. The third row seat is good to have when you need to transport more than four people. They also fold down easily when you need the cargo space.

There are just a couple of things we would suggest for improvement. The rear doors seem a bit light; almost flimsy. You really have to swing the door with some force to get it to close properly. The other thing I would add would be a power lift gate. It'd be nice if the lift gate would pop open with the push of a button on the keyless remote.

All in all, we highly recommend this vehicle.
Amount Paid (US$): 33,500
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: Limited AWD