CactusPair Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 If you drive this vehicle what do you think of it? The good, the bad, the ugly? How is the seating arrangement working for you? What year do you have? Did you have problems with the transmission and/or rear brakes? How's the wear & tear going? Have you had a lot of repairs? We may be in the market for a new, used car and have been considering the Freestyle, but it is very different for us. I'm not sure what I think about it yet and would love to hear your experiences. thanks for any info!:001_smile::auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I have one, and I really like it a lot. Ours is a 2007 - bought used (it was the year with the great Consumer Reports reviews and the year before the Taurus X). We've put on over 35,000 miles with almost no issues. The back seat by the drivers side doesn't flip smoothly - and we've had it repaired once with not much change and a hassle with our local dealer - but other than that it's been fine. I honestly think that's a local dealer issuer - not the car. We've also had brake work and new tires - but they were around 40,000 miles and didn't seem out of the ordinary for routine repairs. We drive our cars forever - so I am big on routine and preventative maintenance. I have 2 kids so I don't use the far back seats as often, but when we do it's easy for the kids to flip the seats and climb in. If you have to use the rear row a lot - it would be a hassle only if you have 2 or more car or booster seats in 2nd row. I think they designed the split wrong in the 2nd row with the 2 seats behind the driver - so when the kids are following you and you load them into the way back - if the driver flips the 2nd seat back you flip 2 seats down vice one - so that's annoying if you have to move a car seat out of the way. I'm not sure that makes sense in writing - but move all your seats into the car for a test drive and you'll see what I mean. I am glad we got the 7 seater instead of the 6. The 6 would be nicer for my 2 kids, but when we road trip with other families, I always fill the 7 and wish for more. Gas mileage is good - 19 in town and 25ish on the highway. Rides smooth, seat heaters rock, easy to flip the seats around the back for storing stuff. Overall I like it. There are about a million on the road now, so I think it will be easy to replace stuff later. We had a Honda Element, which we all mourn the selling of, but this is a great mom wagon for trips and moving lots of kids around. I'd recommend it. Feel free to PM any specific questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 We like it pretty well. We bought it used and it now has about 70,000 miles on it. We have not had any repairs on it yet. It's not really the right car for us right now. We have 4 dc (we weren't plannin on the 4th when we purchased the car). I liked using it as a wagon with the 3 dc in the second row and the back flipped down for cargo room. It was great for hauling sports equipment, coolers, groceries,, etc. Now with a 4th dc it is too small. With the back seats in use there isn't much cargo space with a stroller back there. I have started letting my oldest ride up front with me so I can use it like a wagon again. When dh is with us we have to flip up a back seat. So we can haul people or cargo- not both. That said, the seats do reconfigure easily. When we replace dh's car we'll get something bigger for the family car but I think the Freestyle will still be good for the daily running. I like the gas mileage and it is a nice car overall. Just not quite right for us as a main family car. We have had some problems with non-engine repairs. One of the seats has never flipped down properly. We have a car seat there so we're not flipping it anyways but when we wanted to haul something large we weren't able to flip it down to maximize the space. When we called the dealer about getting it fixed they didn't know how (????). We didn't pursue it. The other thing we have just gotten used to is that the rear sensor device ( I don't know what it is really called- lets you know if there is something behind you when you are backing up) drives me crazy. It is fairly loud and beeps whenever I back up because it detects things so far away (like the mailbox at the end of the drive when I am way up at the top). Dealer claims there is no way to alter it or turn it off! Again we've not pursued it and just gotten used to it but everytime someone is riding with me they comment on how loud it is. I have had a bias against Fords after growing up with my parents and their Ford Aerostar van (windows didn't roll down, gas gauge didn't work, car left us stranded all the time). I would say that I am happy with the engine performance and quality of the car but I do feel like some of the other stuff is Ford glitchy or kinda cheap. (There are places in the car where plastic has come off, the seal on one of the passenger windows has come off etc). We are hard on cars, though. We aren't really in the financial position to worry about all the luxury or convenience issues. If the cars runs reliably and fits everyone then we are happy. I guess we like it, we don't love it. I think we'll be much happier when it is our second car and we have something bigger for the family outings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 We had one for a little over a year. I think it was a 2005 or 2006. It worked well for us. I was never "in love" with it.....but I think that was because we had to get the Freestyle because our Pontiac Aztek had gotten totaled in a wreck. And I had really loved my Aztek. So I wasnt as accepting of the Freestyle LOL. We had the Freestyle with the two bucket seats in the second row and the bench seat in the last row. We kept the last row folded down most of the time for cargo room. When I got pregnant with our second child, we ended up trading it in and got a new Nissan Quest mini van. We just wanted the roominess of the van, the ease of moving through the two bucket seats, etc. We never had any troubles with the Freestyle. We didnt have it for too long though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPair Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thank you to all you replied! Your comments have been super helpful and have hit on some of my concerns about seating, cargo, etc. It is very good to know that you haven't had major mechanical repairs. Too,too funny about the rear sensor and the mailbox! That cracked me up!:D I, too, like it, but I don't love it after our Sat. test drive. I have to think about it and see what our options are. Your feedback is much appreciated!:001_smile: If anyone else has or had a Freestyle feel free to comment!:auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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