Into a...

The Ram got a bit irritating both as a vehicle and in the mileage department (14.5mpg average over 280mi). Early impressions of this Freestyle are that its roomy, very comfortable, puts out respectable performance, and gives a nice view of the road without being perched too high. Nissan needs to reverse engineer this CVT because its surprisingly smoooooth and graceful in performance, not curiously 'hunting' like the Murano. Designwise, like a depressed Taurus wagon, but not too bad at all.

On a humorous note, the guy I always deal with at Enterprise mentioned he also had two Sonatas and then quickly said, "But I wouldn't do that to you guys. Those things are crap." He went on to mention to me how people think they look nice and how they are decent-looking, but they fall apart and people do complain about them after driving them. He then even demonstrated how the struts and a body panel squeaked already on a car with 5,000 miles. Funny stuff.

What kind of trans does it have?

And, are you going to respond to my PM? :AH-HA_wink:

What kind of trans does it have?

And, are you going to respond to my PM?  :AH-HA_wink:

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CVT

and yes...!

I've never really understood why these things haven't sold well. I would prefer a 6 speed step transmission, but otherwise, it's an excellent family car compromise, afaict.

Edited November 16, 200619 yr by ocnblu

I've never really understood why these things haven't sold well.  I would prefer a 6 speed step transmission, but otherwise, it's an excellent family car compromise, afaict.

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Exactly. The Freestyle is an EXCELLENT family car. All it needs is some style.

Looks...inoffensive. Puts me to sleep just looking at it.

The F-style is a pretty nice car to drive...

Could use edgier looks, more poines.....

fly, before i got my 500, it was the FS i was looking at. yes, the cvt is smooth, it just doesn't have enough power to work with, although it does an impeccable job with what it does have. the FS weighs about 3-400 pounds more than the 500, so i went sedan and wanted the extra speed that goes with it.

anyways, i assume your freestyle has the revised cvt programming otheriwse you would have mentioned more about slow starts. just like the 6 speed on the 500, the freestyle's cvt was originally set to market so you'd have to FLOOR it to get the CVT to 'downshift' aggressively. Maybe now its better. Even so, passing acceleration needs help because of the low hp engine. Its not a complete dog, you just do notice how underpowered AT TIMES it can be compared to say, a Maxima. And you need to learn where to put the throttle exactly to get it to respond how you want, i.e. if you just want a steady surge in rpms, or a big burst in rpms, or gradual non-fussy acceleration.

And I did not ever drive a Murano but I have heard the Murano w/ CVT is not really any faster than the FS w/ CVT, if you believe that. And the FS gets great mpg I hear. If its like my 500, and it has the CVT on top of that, you should see at least 20 and maybe 22-23. IN TOWN.

the freestyle handles decently for such a large ride. it does feel more like a station wagon/sedan. In fact, i think its set up to steer quicker than the 500's.

The interior of the FS is more agreeable than the 500, but probly still has the dash glare.

the 3 row packaging is just about perfect and the seats are nice and firm but not too shapely.

I bet the radio sucks huge.

The thrid row seats if you have the split folding ones are quite trick. There is a usable trunk behind the 3rd row. Folded, its still good size, but i know the lambdas will be a fair amount bigger.

its dull to look at. I think Ford was going after the Subaru forester look, bloated. They may have pulled it off.

The engine is noisy I bet. But below 2000 rpm it should be fairly quiet.

Its too bad ford botched parts of this thing. The packaging concept is good. It needs TLC. the duratec 35 should fix the engine woes. Its lighter than the edge.

Is yours a FWD?

it doesn't surprise me about the sonata. the first time i saw a new sonata i could tell it was garbage.

that battleship gray is tasty, isn't it. inside and out. someone could puke in a gray ford and no one would ever know.

Edited November 16, 200619 yr by regfootball

Yeah, its FWD. I already put 60 miles on it. I have to admit when I get rentals, I drive somewhat aimlessly for fun. God Bless America.

I'm actually again just really, really surprised at how smooth the whole vehicle is - smooth ride, smooth engine (yes, the Duratec is smooth), super silky CVT. Its stunning.

Freestyle vs. Murano, no question the Murano felt faster in that I guess its CVT was geared to give a big wallop at higher revs, but the tradeoff is that you have to sit there for unbearable seconds with the hammer watching the tach climb to 3000RPM before anything kicks, and it does kick. Do it a few times and you think you either broke the car or your cranium. Actually, I don't know what sucked more with the Murano - the CVT or the fuel burn.

You're right about it not being extrodinarily powerful. Its not. But adequate is a great word for it. I played around with the second-row and its stupid simple to work. Compared to the system on the GM Lambdas, its clunkier and not as graceful, but seems so much simpler. I'm irritated at the rear right speaker, though. It keeps buzzing at times regardless of how I futz with the equalizer.

I think the first day's impression is that I wouldn't mind it if it were a Mercury. I say that with the thinking that a Merc would have a neater interior, that a Merc would have better materials, that a Merc wouldn't look depressed. Like I said, its an unoffensive design overall, but the more you look at it, the less happy you feel. Two shades of gray inside with two shades outside combined with those droopy headlamps and I feel like cutting myself or something. It needs jazz. Badly.

as much as ford botched this vehicle, its a bigger botch to make the ugly fairlane and kill this thing. all they need to do is fix a few things. and yes, maybe it should exist as a mercury.

the third row cupholders kick ass.

imagine how nice the lambdas will be.

Edited November 16, 200619 yr by regfootball

Like Emp mentioned, the major strike against the Freestyle is its ultra bland looks. That front clip just screams "90's reject."