We bought our new 2000 Ford Windstar last October and have been extremely happy with our purchase so far. There have been no mechanical problems at all!!!

Here are some of the features that we like best about our Windstar:

It drives much more like a car than a van. It doesn’t have that top-heavy, awkward van feeling to it on corners. We were also impressed with the amount of pep the engine has. While it’s not a Porsche, it does have very impressive acceleration for a van – much more similar to a car again than to other vans I have driven.

On the back of the back seat there are these great little hooks that you can use to hook grocery bags onto when you go shopping. This seems like a small feature, but we really love it. You no longer have to worry about the ice cream falling onto it’s side and leaking, and you never have to repack your bags with all the items that spilled out during the drive home.

The idea of removable seats is great. We often take them out when we go camping and put a mattress in the back. It makes for an extremely comfortable sleep. The only thing that would be better would be if they could make the seats lighter. You need to be fairly muscular to take out the single seats (we took the four bucket seats in the first two rows and the bench at the back option), while the bench seat at the back is really a two-person job to remove and reinstall.

Having the sliding doors on both sides is a very helpful feature that allows you to easily access just about anywhere in the vehicle. We used ours to move across the country, and found it very helpful in packing and accessing our belongings once they were packed in.

We were quite impressed with the stereo system. Before hearing it, we had discussed having a better system installed, but once we had our first listen, we decided we’d keep the factory-installed model.

The climate control system is quite good for the people in the front two seats. From a cold start it heats up or provides air conditioning very quickly, however there are no air vents to provide circulation to passengers in the back. A couple of times now when we’ve had a full load of people, we have either had to bake or freeze in the front to keep our passengers in the back comfortable. I’m not sure if there was an option to have rear climate controls, but if there is it will be something we will think about getting next time. We don’t often have many passengers, so it hasn’t been too big of a problem for us, but if you frequently carry a full load of passengers, it’s something you might really want to think about. I should add that there are two windows at the back that open slightly to help with air circulation, which is great for your passengers when it’s hot and you don’t want to use air conditioning. The tinted windows that we opted for help with this too.

Finally, if you like to bring beverages in the car with you, there are more cupholders in the van than you would believe.


Amount Paid (US$): 20,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000
Model and Options: The LX with 2 sliding doors, tinted windows, middle row capt. chairs.