Introduction
This epinion is a compilation of what our family likes or dislikes about our 2000 Ford Windstar. It is not a list of vehicle equipment specifications as those are available elsewhere. It describes what we enjoy about our Windstar and I hope it will provide a prospective Windstar owner with valuable purchase & selection information.

Why we bought a new vehicle at all
The main reason was that we needed more room. We have two adults and three kids in our family. When the kids were little it would work but now they are 13, 9 & 9 and it is no longer feasible to expect them to sit three across in the back of our old Ford Escort wagon without fighting. Of course we didn't want to spend the time & money to buy a new vehicle, but we figured a larger vehicle would go farther to preserve their parent's remaining sanity than years of costly therapy. Other reasons to buy a minivan were a desire for improved road performance over the 4-cylinder Escort and a vehicle large enough to provide at least a chance of surviving an encounter with one of Colorado's innumerable monster SUVs. And to be ...um... honest, Dad wanted a new luxury car and that was never going to happen as long as Mom was driving a 1995 Escort....

Why we bought a new Windstar SEL and not something else
The Windstar certainly met the needs I stated above, but as the rest of this epinion hopefully demonstrates, there were several reasons to chose this particular vehicle. We did a lot of research before our purchase, much of it online, and we also considered, in order of preference, the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

The Sienna was included because we knew Toyota made good cars and the Sienna had received good reviews. However, it didn't get further than a cursory consideration because it was too small. There is very little storage space behind the third row of seats. It's probably a good minivan but didn't meet some of our fundamental needs.

The Odyssey comes highly rated from several sources as I'm sure you know. But, as I'm sure you know, you can't get one unless you're willing to wait several months and pay whatever the dealer is asking. We didn't think any vehicle was worth paying unreasonable markups just to wait four months for delivery. (That was in Feb 2000. Maybe it's different now?) If you are willing to wait and willing to forego negotiating a better price, you should consider this mini-van.

The Grand Caravan had enough room, there were plenty available and they came with great financing terms back then. However, when test driving one we couldn't help but get the feeling that, "This minivan is less expensive for a reason." The Windstar has better intangibles like interior and exterior styling, better fit and finish and I think, a smoother ride. The Caravan had too much bounce & jitter when driving over rough & patched inner-city streets. The Grand C seemed determined to let you know about every expansion joint, pothole and asphalt patch in the road. But, this is a real decent, basic minivan. (Some of the GM minivans might be less expensive but their performance, safety and repair records turned us off right away.)

The Town & Country was a very, very close second to the Windstar and in fact, when we began shopping it was our first choice. It provides everything that the Windstar does and looks better doing it. Frankly, I preferred the interior styling of the T&C and really enjoyed the ride. My wife on the other hand, felt the Windstar had a better ride and I think I would agree with her. While it doesn't produce the "tin-box" bounce and noise of the Grand Caravan, it still created more rear tire thump than the Windstar. One final (local conditions?) drawback to the T&C, we couldn't find one with the list of features and options that we wanted. Higher model Town & Countrys with those last few options are hard to find in the Denver area. Maybe that's a reflection of their popularity but I think they just aren't offered much around here.

Who else would want to buy this minivan?
People who need room for hauling people or cargo and want at least some comfort, performance and style. People who are willing to pay a bit more for some creature comforts with the expectation that arriving at their destination cool, unworried and relaxed is worth the extra money. Acknowledge the importance of these intangibles up front and spend money on them rather than thinking about them later when you can't do much about them.

Result, we bought a new 2000 Ford Windstar SEL back in February 2000. Without inundating you with specs and lists of features that you probably have already seen elsewhere, here is what we like and don't like about our Windstar after 8000 miles......



-------AN INSIDER'S VIEW-------

Ergonomics
The stereo controls are poorly designed. They aren't quickly intuitive which is necessary while driving. To operate the in-dash stereo system requires too much time with your eyes off the road and peering at the control panel. I think it is the size and placement of some of the controls. For instance, the power and volume are both located on one, small turn knob. My wife and I both have the problem of reaching to adjust the volume and touching that little knob just a bit too hard and turning it off altogether. If you want to do anything else with the stereo it is safer to ask your front-seat passenger to do it. (Ford should seriously consider adding steering wheel mounted stereo controls for additional safety and convenience.)

The cruise control deactivates off every time the engine is stopped. This Windstar is the only car I've driven that operates that way. What I mean is, every time you want to use cruise control you first have to turn the system on and then set your speed. It's annoying & distracting and I'm not sure why Ford built it that way. Also, there is no indication when the cruise control is activated and ready to be set.

The kiddie-watch mirror, Ford calls it a "conversation mirror", is very useful. It helps a great deal to fold that down and be able to view all of the rear of the mini-van at a glance without turning around. Also, an added benefit is the increased visibility out of the back of the Windstar. For instance, proper use of that little mirror lets you check behind you before making lane changes.

Maybe because of its large interior space the Windstar's AC fan speed has to be turned up too high to cool the interior. Maybe some people like a lot of air but in order to keep the interior at a comfortable temperature it seems the front passenger and driver have to be subjected to an arctic blast.

There's not as much storage as we expected, especially in the portion of the van behind the front seats. The front doors offer large map pockets that can hold a fair amount of stuff, the center console has some decent, undivided room under the flip lid and the glove compartment is large enough for, well, a pair of gloves. But there really is nothing else in the rest of the van. No under seat storage, no compartments in the final two rows of seats, etc. Not that the kids would always use compartments but the rear of the van ends up looking like our old Escort used to --- stuff all over the floor and seats because there isn't any other place to put it. Not what you would expect from a minivan.

The front panel display is interesting and informative but not distracting. There is a wealth of information available and as my kids say, it looks cool at night.

The second row cup holders are in an awkward location. They fold down from the out-board lower sides of the seats, right in front of the power sliding doors. Since the kids usually don't fold them back up when they're finished, the cup holders get stepped on during exit and entry into the van. So far, I've always been able to "pop them back in" but it's a poor design and I don't know that they'll last. If they're left down, they really get into the way of anyone going through the side doors.

The rear hatch takes more effort to close than it should and is difficult to operate for children or anyone smaller than a full-size adult male. The door is heavy, i.e., not well counter-balanced, and the extenders have to be pretty strong to lift the lid. Consequently, you have to be fairly strong to compress them again. The height of the open lid provides great clearance, which is important, but reaching up and closing it again requires you to pull down on the convenient interior handle until the lid is partially closed and then quickly switch your hand to the outside of the door to completely close it. That requires some dexterity as the lid begins to rise again while you're doing that. It has a strong potential to pop the person closing it right in the chin. This should be easy for Ford to improve.

Styling
The exterior looks pretty nice. Our SEL is Medium Blue on top with a light silver on the bottom 25%. Thank goodness it looks decent so van owners don't have to slink down the street announcing to everyone they're driving a "kiddie-bus". A mini-van will never be as sexy as a Porsche but it doesn't have to be ugly either. The interior of the Windstar however is not all that outstanding. With the Medium Blue Ford offers a monotone dull gray interior. With our SEL we at least have nice (synthetic) wood grain spread over the dash but the rest of the interior is not particularly pleasing. The Windstar's interior aesthetics are just .... bland.

Performance
One of the first pleasant performance things I noticed were the brakes. The Windstar is big but these babies clamp down securely and bring the van to a short, controlled stop without nose diving. The vehicle stays level under all hard braking we've put it through. Really outstanding.

The Windstar SEL doesn't lack power which was a concern of mine before I drove it in the Colorado mountains. We've had the SEL up to the Eisenhower Tunnel (elev. 11,000 ft) and Vail pass a couple of times this summer and each time we were able to comfortably maintain a steady 65 mph speed - with the AC on the entire trip. This leads me to recommend one option that we bought - the towing package. No, we're never going to tow anything with our van but this package adds additional radiator, oil and transmission cooling which I strongly recommend. Driving a full load of passengers at 65 mph up Mt Vernon canyon or the steep grade from Georgetown to Silver Plume (elev. 9000+) during a hot summer day with the AC on is just as demanding on your Windstar as hauling the boat at sea level. Get the towing package.

The wind noise at high speed isn't bad. Really. It's better than my old Toyota Tercel, a much, much smaller vehicle and better than any truck I've ridden in. Set the stereo to a respectable volume and you won't hear wind noise or tire whine.

Last winter, both my wife and I were very happy with the Windstar's steady, secure tracking in snow, slush and ice; conditions we see "occasionally" here in Colorado. It isn't going to charge up a hill in three feet of wet snow but around town it's every bit as road-worthy as any cramped SUV.

Gas mileage. Your perspective here will depend upon whether the Windstar is replacing a compact car or an enormous SUV. You'll spend less $$ at the pump with the Windstar than if you previously drove an Excursion but my wife was shocked at the $35 fill-up total after driving her small Escort for five years. At least the Windstar doesn't demand premium grade.

Useful options
Other epinions have already mentioned this but the reverse sensors are pretty slick. Since no mini-van is ever going to offer as much of a rear view as a compact car, the assistance of the rear-bumper mounted acoustic sensors is more than just nice. Once you've driven a van equipped with these devices, you won't want to ever drive without them. I think these will become standard on all mini-vans within two years. One note though... we discovered that during the winter, any van equipped with these sensors requires you to clear the windows and the rear bumper area of all snow and ice. Otherwise, every time you put the van into reverse they're going to signal that there's something right there behind you.

We sprung for the additional front side air bags which protect the head and shoulders of the front seat occupants. This is one option I hope to never use but felt it was worth the extra money.

As I mentioned above, I recommend paying the extra couple of bucks for the towing package regardless of whether you ever intend to haul something behind you or not. The additional cooling capacity should increase the service life of your van.

The xenon headlights really do provide a brighter, clearer view of the road ahead. Since mini-van buyers usually have safety as a high priority, why not add an option that helps you avoid a mishap rather than just steel-beams and air bags that help you survive one? The same goes for the traction control standard on the SEL.

Other
The dual power doors can't be beat. Parents, if you have more than one child letting themselves in and out of your van, you want two power doors to avoid fights over who gets in or out first. Non-parents, you probably won't care.

Finally, one of the things that my wife mentioned after her first month of driving, the higher seating position of the Windstar really makes her feel more secure when surrounded by giant SUVs and greatly improves her view of the road.

CONCLUSION
The 2000 Ford Windstar is solid transportation with a lot of nice features. The vehicle's performance and braking are excellent, the ride smoother, quieter and more stable than any other mini-van we test drove. The van is easy to control and at least for my wife, (I'm still learning), easy to park. We've had ours 6 ˝ months and have had no problems whatsoever. It isn't a sexy performance coupe, it isn't a powerful prestige car to impress clients, but no one should be ashamed to own or drive one either.