2005 Ford Freestar Review (continued)
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Walkaround

The Ford Freestar is based on the old Windstar, and looks it. The only obvious differences are the hood, grille, headlamps, front fenders, and rear liftgate.

Freestar sticks with traditional, mainstream minivan styling. Freestar does have one odd, distinguishing feature: The front side windows drop below the inside portion of the door trim which, say the Freestar's designers, remains at a comfortable arm-rest height. The SES model offers a sporty new liftgate spoiler for 2005.

All Freestars come with dual sliding side doors with child-proof locks. Power operation, a convenience much appreciated while running through the rain with armloads of groceries, is standard on Limited and available on SEL ($900). A power-folding rear liftgate is also available.

Freestar received a five-star rating in driver and passenger front impact as well as passenger side impact. It received a four-star rating in driver side impact and roll-over resistance.

Interior Features

Freestar's interior looks elegant, with a delicate watch-like clock in the center dashboard as its focal point. Ford spent more money on the Freestar's interior, which represents a dramatic upgrade over the Windstar's.

Storage space is abundant throughout. It includes bins in the sliding doors for books and toys. Front doors have double map pockets, one above the other. On the dash is a covered storage compartment for small items like cell phones. The driver's seat on the Limited model has a kangaroo pouch at the front of the cushion.

The Freestar seats seven passengers: two in front, two in the second row and three in the third row. Standard seating in the second row is a bench. Captain's chairs are also available, and they slide horizontally on rails. They also fold and tumble forward, like those on the Ford Explorer and Expedition, for easy access to the third row, or for extra cargo space.

The third-row seat folds into a well in the floor behind it, creating a flat load platform. Ford's fold-flat seat may well be best-in-class in terms of ease of operation. Pull the clearly numbered straps in sequence, and the seat drops easily into the well. Ford also designed the third-row head restraints to retract into the seat, so you don't have to pull them out before you fold the seat, as you do on other minivans. The third-row bench seat can also be dropped backward to create seating for tailgate parties.

With the third-row seat in place for passengers, there's more than 25 cubic feet of storage space; the well behind the seat provides a good spot to restrain your groceries. (No more melons rolling about the cabin!) Freestar's cargo volume expands to 130 cubic feet when the third-row seat is folded and the second-row seats are removed (possible, but clumsy, for one person).

The downside of Ford's third row, however, is its short seat height compared with its counterparts in the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. As a result, even people with relatively normal-length legs will feel like their knees are too high. The Ford seat works best for small children.

In fact, seat comfort throughout the Freestar is not exceptional. The driver's seat seems to have been designed exclusively for the fashionably slim. And the rake adjustment on the six-way power driver's seat is manual, less convenient than power. The second-row captain's chairs feel narrow.

Audio and climate controls are easy to reach. It seems like the black plastic controls could be prettier, but they work well enough. The manual heating and air conditioning controls are rudimentary, but easy to operate. The available electronic climate control isn't aesthetically pleasing, but works well. The system controls three zones, driver, passenger, and rear. Rear air conditioning is useful for cooling kids and pets on hot days. Window switches

The Freestar has numerous cupholders, including front door holders for 20-ounce bottles. Some of the beverage holders in the far-back are awkwardly positioned, but . Well positioned and well built are sturdy cupholders that fold down from the sides of the second-row captain's chairs. If kicked, as they likely will be, they snap back into their storage position against the seats.