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From YourSITE.com Auto Test Drives
Ford 500.........America's most underated & excellent family sedan In the American market, family sedans have been a often neglected by American automotive companies. Even if it is the real bread and butter of how the major american automotive companies like Ford, GM ,and Chrysler built the foundations of industrial empires. The Europeans however, have been for many years stealing the hearts and wallets of american families, with the style, perfromance, and "halo" effect of european brands. That may be begining to change for Ford with the introduction of the all new Ford 500 sedan. Under the inspritation of the former styling head J Mays, the 2005 line of Ford products have a whole new excitement that has not been designed into both the styling and performance platforms. Everything from new engines, and suspensions to a real elevation of ergonomic aspects common sense, and luxury that delivers a driver experience that put the Ford 500 on a level playing field with several major Euorpean brands like VW and Audi for sure. When we take a look at the standard features of the Ford 500, it is clear the higher level of concept behind this excellent offering to American consumers. Ford’s flagship-sedan delivers Commmand Seating , cargo capability, versatility and all-weather confidence Fold-flat rear and front passenger seats (on SEL and Limited models) provide ample interior space from bumper to dashboard, allowing room to fit an 8-foot ladder At 21 cubic feet, it has one of the largest sedan trunks Available all-wheel drive for all-weather traction Duratec 30 3.0-liter V-6 engine and a continuously variable transmission, a pairing that optimizes performance while promoting fuel efficiency and low emissions Available six-speed automatic for front-wheel-drive applications offers improved fuel economy in a conventional step-gear transmission Energy-channeling frame and body structures protect occupants Optional safety package includes side air bags and industry-leading Safety Canopy™ system for protection in side impacts and rollovers
For many American consumers the Ford sedan products have been boring for many years. The Crown Victoria is a classic example of a Ford's historical lack of disconnect with the modern automotive consumers. This new Ford 500 is not your "Dad's Old Ford" , by any standard. So I spent a week driving the wheels off the 500 in both 2w & 4w versions, and came away very impressed. Both the improved level of finish, and overall high driving experience. I can see that this car will just on it's looks alone appeal to many buyers who are looking for the sleak European profile. Yet do not want the high cost of purchase or high replacement cost for parts in the future.
So let's deal with the value added equation that is built into the Ford 500. I drove, or let say punished a fully loaded luxury model. Full leather interior , 6 CD, and everyother luxury option possible. Also a six speed transmission , we also drove a 4 Wh version in our driving impression test. In both cases you looking at a suggested sitcker that is well under 30,000 US Dollars! Compare that to almost any major Foriegn luxury performance brand and were talking about a difference of 10 to 25,000 dollars higher purchase costs!!
Powertrains Five Hundred combines technology under the hood to create a dynamic driving experience. An improved 3.0-liter Duratec 30 V-6 engine works in concert with its continuously variable transmission (CVT) or six-speed automatic transmission to optimize both performance and fuel economy. When you start to get behind the wheel you find out that V-6 makes excellent pulling power up any hill. The car is very quite and can barely hear the engine at the highest freeway speeds. The CVT is standard on all-wheel-drive and some front-drive versions of the Five Hundred. It uses two variable-size pulleys – one for input from the engine, the other for output to the drive wheels – connected by a steel link belt. It varies the effective sizes of the two pulleys to meet the driving demands of the moment. Electronic powertrain controls, including a sensor on the electronic throttle, constantly monitor the demand for power. When more torque is needed for acceleration or maintaining speed up a steep hill, the transmission seamlessly responds by creating the right drive ratio from an infinite number of possibilities, allowing the Duratec 30 engine to operate at optimum performance.
Both transmissions offer wide spans from the lowest to the highest drive ratios. That translates into strong off-the-line acceleration, as well as high fuel efficiency on the highway. In our standard 350 mile long distance test we were able to get well above the quoted 29 mph per gallon on the highway sections. Around town we saw again that our milage was an average of about 26.5mph. So in a day where a tank of gas costs 3 times what it did just 5 years ago, this is a welcome surprise.
Ford 500's stealthy driving experience. As Ford tells us several big reasons for the 500's new sprit is due to several new technologies. The available all-wheel drive system, currently used by Volvo, delivers power to the wheels, creating a capable, smooth ride in a variety of conditions, such as uneven pavement, potholes, slippery surfaces and anything that compromises traction. On all-wheel-drive models, innovative, self-leveling shocks sense ride height and use energy from the vehicle’s motion to raise the shock to the desired ride level. The system ensures that if the sedan is ever taken off pavement with a loaded trunk, it will maintain optimal ride height. Dual-piston aluminum front brake calipers and large front and rear brake rotors provide strong stopping power and fade-free performance. Five Hundred’s fully independent suspension, stiff body structure and precise rack-and-pinion steering further contribute to agressive and handling. That is again in line with modern European sports perfromance sedans. The imporvement is so dramatic that we took the Ford 500 out to our favorite mountain road to see what flaws we could find in the handling and suspension. The only minor fault was desire for the addition of a optional full sports suspension package as under very hard cornering. But when you look at this cars as it comes off the truck it does very well for it's self. Will you push a car as hard as we do? No! I would love to see the Ford marketing group offer a pure SVT style package with a five speed stick and sports suspension and maybe the 6cylinder now offered in the new Mustang 6cy, or may be even same V8 to reach out to the even younger, hardcore buyers. But that type of performance may be coming from the new "Fusion" model. The 4wh drive system is really excellent and gave amazing confidence in heavy rains that Califorinia has endured. The mountain roads around Temecula all have several types of road hazards. Rivers of mud are common. not to mention clay. In short the 4wh system performed like a dream. Safety and Security Ford's efforts in the direction of safety have never been more clearly defined than what we found in the Ford 500. The proof that starting from a clean sheet of paper has again paid off for American safety focused consumers. This platform is engineered to offer stiffness with crush zones designed into impact areas. In frontal impacts, energy is absorbed by the frame rails. Excess energy is transferred around the passenger compartment into a high-strength safety cage. A patent-pending new design tailors the steering column’s collapse to the driver’s size and safety-belt use for optimum protection. Rear-impact performance is so advanced that it is designed to meet proposed future federal crash standards. Side-impact protection comes from a combination of available air-bag technology and structural features that safeguard occupants from intrusion by channeling crash energy away from the passenger compartment. We really like the ideas of engineering and design shown in the passenger compartments. An innovative cross-car beam "Space Architecture" under the front seats reinforces the structure between the B-pillars, while directing energy away from passengers to an engineered failure point under the center console. The two-row Safety Canopy™ system with rollover sensor and air curtain bags provides peace of mind. It provides protection not only in certain side collisions, but in rollover events as well. Frontal impact performance will meet the revised Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. This internal effort to design beyond the federally mandated standards shows that Ford is stepping up to build in another level of value for it's customers. The new standard requires a restraint system to automatically adjust to the front-seat passenger. The air-bag controller uses occupant classification sensing to determine if the seat is occupied, and if so, whether the passenger is an adult, a child or a child in a child safety seat. Air-bag deployment is tailored – or altogether suppressed – to provide the proper protection.
Major Equipment and Options SE includes: Continuously variable transmission, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and traction control, 17-inch painted aluminum wheels, chrome trim on fascia and grille surround, power folding exterior mirrors, interval wipers, keyless entry keypad, painted body-side moldings, power windows and locks, six-way power driver’s seat, split fold-flat rear bench seat, rear-seat arm rest with cup holders, two 12-volt power points, AM/FM stereo with single CD player, air conditioning, carpeted front and rear floor mats, seatback map pockets, tilt steering wheel with speed control, driver and passenger front air bags, occupant classification system and passive anti-theft system. SEL adds: Six-speed automatic transmission (FWD only), 17-inch aluminum wheels, automatic headlamps, fog lamps, chrome body-side moldings, heated exterior mirrors, air-conditioning ducts in rear of front console, AM/FM stereo with six-disc in-dash CD changer, eight-way power driver’s seat, two-way power front passenger seat, automatic dimming rearview mirror, fold-flat front passenger seat, leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel with audio controls, message center with electronic compass, wood-grain appliqué on center stack and console, anti-theft perimeter alarm and remote perimeter lighting. Limited adds: 18-inch bright aluminum wheels, chrome exterior mirrors, bright grille, Audiophile audio system with six-CD changer and subwoofer, analog clock, heated driver and passenger seats with leather seating surfaces, cargo net, Homelink®, memory function for driver’s seat and exterior mirrors and four-way power passenger seat. Summary : In the end the only thing that the Ford 500 is really lacking is.....good marketing! We put together 3 focus groups of local consumers all between the ages of 25 and 40, and took them for a ride in the 500. The we asked each of them how they would rate the experience over 80% stated that the ride was at least as good at the European car they currently own! Every single one stated that if they had been put into the car blindfolded they would have never know it was a Ford! We asked the "moms" if they had any special likes or dislikes. The only complaint was that the car did not have a onboard navigation system. Several of the women stated they had never seen a single TV commerical for this car! Anyone who responded to seeing a Ford 500 commerical stated that they were not motivated to even go to a dealer so see the car!! The Ford 500 is the most underrated American sedan and also the most under marketed car in the Ford product line. WE give this car a big thumbs up for design, performance, safety and value. Go Check it out. © Copyright 2001 by YourSITE.com |
