Ford's new, Chicago-built Five Hundred is designed to attract mainly buyers in the huge family sedan market dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Popular American entries such as the Chevrolet Impala and new Chrysler 300 also are Five Hundred competitors.
The smooth styling of the Five Hundred is too conservative to turn heads, and the interior is conventional -- with a no-nonsense European design. But this new Ford offers what most families want, including a spacious interior for occupants and cargo, decent performance, pretty good fuel economy and solid construction. Razzle-dazzle doesn't play well in the family sedan market.
The Five Hundred is built in Ford's revamped Chicago Assembly Plant on the Far South Side, which has a flexible body shop and final assembly area that lets it build a variety of different models. The 2005 Mercury Montego sedan and Ford Freestyle crossover sedan/station wagon are similar to the Five Hundred and also are being built at the Chicago plant.
Ford and its suppliers invested approximately $800 million in the plant -- and in its nearby supplier campus and Ford's existing Chicago Stamping Plant, which provides stampings for the assembly plant. The precise fit and finish and smooth paint of the Five Hundred reflect the use of modern equipment and attention to quality at those facilities.
The Five Hundred, Montego and Freestyle go on sale this month. Ford initially plans to annually make 280,000 units of those vehicles, with most carrying Ford Motor's Ford division brand.
The Five Hundred comes in entry SE, mid-range SEL and top-line Limited trim levels. It's officially a mid-size car, but challenges large sedans because of its generous interior space. Four tall adults fit, with plenty of head room. Rear seat space is especially impressive, even with the front seats shoved back a lot, although the center of the back seat is too hard for comfort on anything but short trips.
Large outside door handles and wide doors make it easy to slide in and out, although rear doors should open a bit wider and inside door handles are on the small side. Occupants sit several inches higher than in a conventional sedan, and the interior has an airy feel, with lots of glass area. The windshield is especially large and covered by long wipers. Big outside mirrors also help driver visibility.
The Five Hundred has a 112.9-inch wheelbase and is 200.7 inches long, making it considerably larger than the Ford Taurus formerly built at the Chicago plant. The new car is based on Ford-owned Volvo's P2 platform -- used for Volvo's S80, S60, V70 and XC90 vehicles.
The Five Hundred thus has a bit of a European sedan feel. However, it is longer and wider than Volvo sedans. And it would have cost Ford too much to use some Volvo components. For example, the rear suspension cradle is similar to Volvo's, but Ford uses steel while Volvo uses pricier cast aluminum.
The Five Hundred has light-but-quick steering with decent road feel. The somewhat firm but supple all-independent suspension shrugs off road imperfections and helps allow good handling, although the large front seats should provide more side support. Stopping distances are acceptably short; the brake pedal has a rather soft feel, but has a nice linear action.
Front-drive versions of the Five Hundred list from $22,145 to $26,145, and models with an all-wheel-drive system cost $23,845 to $27,845. The Volvo-derived all-wheel-drive system works in front-drive until the system senses traction loss, which causes full torque to seamlessly go to the rear wheels in 50 milliseconds.
Even the entry SE version has a standard automatic transmission, air conditioning, power driver's seat, AM/FM/CD sound system, anti-lock brakes, traction control, speed control, tilt steering column, remote keyless entry, folding power side mirrors, split-folding rear seatbacks, one-touch automatic driver's window, fairly large 17-inch wheels and power windows, mirrors and locks.
The SEL adds a power passenger seat with a fold-flat seatback, steering wheel audio controls, MP3 capability, woodgrain interior appliques and automatic temperature control. The Limited adds 18-inch wheels, leather seats, bright grille texture, memory function for mirrors and driver's seat and a storage compartment in the second-row armrest.
Options include an $895 sunroof and $250 reverse sensing system for the SEL and Limited -- and $175 adjustable pedals for the Limited. Also optional are front side air bags and side curtain rollover air bags, which cost $795 for the SE and $595 for the SEL and Limited.
The SE front-drive model and all all-wheel-drive versions have Ford's first continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) for North America. It has an infinite number of gears and thus is inherently more efficient than a conventional automatic.
The front-drive SEL and Limited have a six-speed automatic transmission, instead of a more conventional four- or five-speed automatic.
My test car was an SEL all-wheel-drive model with the CVT. That transmission shifted smoothly but emitted a slight whine during acceleration, which wasn't noticed with the audio system on. Otherwise, the interior is very quiet.
The Five Hundred is powered by a 3-liter V-6 with 203 horsepower, while competitors offer a more powerful V-6. However, the Five Hundred provides lively in-town performance and a good 65-75 mph passing time; even the 70-80 mph passing time was fairly quick.
The engine is rather small for a fairly large sedan that weighs 3,643-3,815 pounds, with all-wheel-drive versions the heaviest. Ford thus is using modern technology -- not a larger, more powerful engine -- to deliver good performance.
A smaller engine generally delivers higher fuel economy. The Five Hundred with front-drive and the six-speed automatic provides an EPA-estimated 21 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway. The figures are 20 and 27 with front-drive and the CVT and 19 and 26 with all-wheel drive and the CVT. Only 87-octane gasoline is called for to fill the car's 19-gallon tank.
Gauges can be quickly read under different lighting conditions, and controls are easily reached. The ignition switch can be hard to find quickly on the steering column; too bad it's not on the dashboard. Sound system controls are large. Some climate system controls are fairly large, while others are small.
My test car's rather small steering wheel was crowded with auxiliary controls for the sound and cruise control systems. Also, the shift lever partly blocks the front console cupholders when it's in the "drive'' position, and rear windows don't lower all the way.
There's a large floor area on which to rest a driver's left foot. The front armrest is large, as is the rear one, which contains deep cupholders. All doors have pockets for such items as maps and beverage holders, and the covered front console bin is large.
The enormous trunk has a low, wide opening, and cargo space can be increased by flipping the rear seatbacks (and front passenger seatback) forward. The lid is on struts and moves up well out of the way.
The Taurus once was the No. 1 car in the mid-size sedan market. Will the Five Hundred put Ford solidly back in that game? It has all the right credentials to be a major success there.
Ford Five Hundred is a no-nonsense replacement for Taurus. |
