Five Hundred offers what most need
In the not-too-distant past, Ford sold cars with the best of them. At one point, its Taurus did annual battle with the Camry and Accord for the crown of best-selling passenger car in the United States.
At the time, Ford’s F-150 pickup was the country’s best-selling vehicle, and the SUV market was just beginning to heat up. Like an investor seeing sunny skies ahead, Ford plowed its resources into the truck/SUV market and subsequently made huge returns.
Left to fend for itself, the Taurus fell off the pace set by Toyota and Honda.
Tides turn, though, and car companies learn they can’t live by trucks alone, especially when all that can be said with certainty about fuel prices is that they will rise.
Therefore, Ford has named this the Year of the Car and kicked it off with the introduction of a pair of innovative new midsize players. The 2005 Five Hundred and its companion, the crossover wagon Freestyle, send a strong signal that the car is not dead at Ford.
We drove the Five Hundred, a midsize sedan whose chief claim to fame is that it’s available in both front- and all-wheel-drive iterations.
It also has a huge interior, the largest trunk of any sedan sold in America and a batch of great European technology. An unusual feature, Command Seating, places the front seats up to 6 inches higher than the competition’s for that throne-like feel so many drivers love in their SUVs.
Like the Freestyle, the Five Hundred is based on a platform developed by Volvo, a Ford subsidiary, for its S80 sedan and XC90 crossover SUV. Both incorporate Volvo’s excellent all-wheel-drive system and its energy-channeling frame, which disburses the energy caused by an accident away from the passenger compartment.
There are other European influences. Designer J Mays drew Volkswagen’s New Beetle and Audi’s Avus concept car so it’s possible to find elements of the VW Passat and Audi A4 in the Five Hundred.
The understated interior similarly benefits from the European influence. A strip of faux wood trim bisects the curved dash; subtle chrome rings trim attractive black-on-cream gauges.
Remarkably (for this is an arena where other domestics have stumbled), Ford’s interior designers got the proportions right. Too often, I’ve felt like a midget in a car designed for a basketball player — nothing fit right, nothing was where I needed it to be.
Big folks need not despair, however, because this isn’t about legroom and headroom, both of which the Five Hundred has in spades; it’s about proportions, subtle distances, comfortable reaches and that sense of control that derives from occupying a cabin that fits properly.
Make no mistake, though; the Five Hundred is an American car, not a domestic posing in an import’s skin. The seats are large and unbolstered, the better to fit our big American bodies; the suspension is tuned for comfort, not sport (although the ride is controlled and steady, even through fast corners); and map pockets, cupholders and generously sized storage cubbies are scattered about the cabin.
That cabin will accommodate your tallest friends, in both front and back. With its limo-like legroom, the back seat alone is worth the price of admission.
The trunk measures 21.5 cubic feet and the rear seats fold down to increase capacity. The front passenger-side seatback folds forward to accept objects up to 9 feet long.
In a decidedly non-American move, Ford offers the Five Hundred with only a single engine. It’s a 3-liter six that makes 203 horsepower and, depending on the drive-train configuration, is mated to either a six-speed automatic or continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Front-drive iterations get the conventional six-speed box, while those equipped with AWD get the CVT, a shift-free technology that employs a system of moving pulleys to create an infinite number of ratios. A kick-down function provides quick acceleration for passing.
The Five Hundred weighs between 3,600 and 3,800 pounds, which is on the high side for the modest six. The sedan is sluggish off the line but makes good time through the heart of the power band and accelerates strongly enough to make easy work of merging with freeway traffic.
On the road, the Five Hundred is a gracious, quiet companion, although the engine sounds off unnecessarily during hard acceleration. The steering is over-boosted and slightly uncertain at center, requiring more of the driver’s attention than it should. Brake feel is soft but linear.
The suspension — it hangs from a steel cradle, rather than the aluminum cradle of the more expensive Volvos — handles rough street surfaces with poise, although it floats over some washboard surfaces rather than soaking them up.
Five Hundred prices start at $22,795, including destination, for a FWD SE sedan and top out at $28,720 for an AWD Limited sans options.
The base SE is well equipped with air conditioning, power driver’s seat, AM/FM/CD, antilock brakes, traction control, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, remote keyless entry, folding power side mirrors, one-touch power windows and 17-inch wheels and tires.
Destined to replace the Taurus (the Freestyle stands in for the wagon), the Five Hundred isn’t expected to repeat that car’s wild sales success. However, if Ford can hit its sales target of 150,000 combined Five Hundred/Freestyle sales, part one of its car comeback strategy will have succeeded.
Its quiet styling and tepid power plant will dissuade those who prefer a more extroverted car, but Ford says its buyers prefer quiet competence, which is not a bad description for its new flagship. It won’t set your soul on fire, but will do all you ask of it.