Ford 500 Story

When Ford introduced the all-new Five Hundred sedan for 2005, they rewrote the rules of packaging and powertrain. The 2007 Five Hundred delivers in all elements—performance, spaciousness, and safety.

Freestyle, Ford's excellent crossover offers three rows of seats in an SUV-like body on a new “Volvo-inspired" platform (because Swedish automaker Volvo is owned by Ford and is part of the corporation's European-based Premium Automotive Group). Five Hundred is the 5•passenger sedan version of essentially the same vehicle with conservatively handsome styling. Three inches longer than Taurus but a foot shorter than Ford's Crown Victoria, it cleverly crams a big-car interior into a midsize body and adds a 21.2 cu.-ft. trunk, one of the largest anywhere and, actually, the largest trunk of any sedan in North America.

Four Flavors

Four Five Hundred flavors are offered: SEL, Limited, SEL AWD, and Limited AWD. The well-equipped base SEL comes with air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, 17-inch aluminum wheels, steering wheel speed and audio controls, power windows, mirrors and locks, 6-way power driver's seat, AM/FM/CD audio, and a plethora of safety and security systems.

The top-of-the-line Limited AWD loads on 18-inch bright aluminum wheels, a premium Audiophile sound system, leather-trimmed seating and heated driver and front passenger seats and all-wheel drive. Newly available for 2007 is the Chrome Package (includes 18-inch chrome-clad wheels and chrome mesh grille) on SEL and Limited models and available satellite navigation in the SEL with the Interior Convenience Package. Other options include reverse parking assist, traction control, power adjustable pedals, DVD Family Entertainment System and moon roof.

In addition to copious room and 60/40 fold-down rear seats, the interior features mostly upscale materials, colors, textures and graphics with surfaces varying from smooth metal to soft-touch paint and high-quality fabric or "Shirred" leather.

One SUV-like attribute is the high “command” seating, which helps drivers see over other vehicles for a feeling of security. The front seat is four inches higher than that in a typical midsize sedan, and the rear seats are higher still. Legroom is best-in-class front and rear, while the trunk is biggest in class and larger than the full-size Crown Victoria's.

Power and Drivetrains

While the 203-hp 24-valve DOHC Duratec 30 3.0-liter V-6 does not develop class-leading power or torque, the transmissions (CVT or 6-speed automatic) help deliver high efficiency with more than adequate performance. The CVT (constantly variable transmission)—an industry first on a high-volume car that comes standard with AWD, uses a pair of variable-size pulleys-one for input from the engine, the other for output to the drive wheels-connected by a metal chain to constantly vary the effective drive ratio to meet changing driving demands.

The Five Hundred is a front-drive car with available all-wheel drive based on a proven system used by both Volvo and Ford. It uses an electronically controlled, electro-hydraulic limited-slip viscous coupling just ahead of the rear differential to transfer torque to the rear wheels whenever the fronts begin to slip. Electronic controls gather information from the anti-lock brakes and other sensors to enable it to react within 50 milliseconds, much faster than competitive viscous devices.

Available traction control (standard with AWD) uses selective braking to provide similar torque transfer side-to-side. Dual-piston aluminum front calipers and large rotors front and rear provide strong, fade-free braking, while the fully independent suspension, stiff body structure and precise rack-and-pinion steering give supple ride with surprisingly agile handling.

Safety

Five Hundred is the only sedan to earn NHTSA's (National Highway Traffic Administration) five star ratings in all four crash categories. It also received the IIHS' (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) highest possible "Good" ratings in front, side and rear crash tests. Frontal impact energy is absorbed by the frame rails, which employ an innovative bumper plate design, while excess energy is transferred around the passenger compartment into a high-strength safety cage.

The front airbag controller uses right front passenger sensing to determine whether the seat is occupied and whether a passenger is an adult, a child or a child in a safety seat and adjusts air bag deployment accordingly. The steering column's collapse is even tailored to the driver's size and safety belt use. Rear-impact performance is designed to meet proposed future crash standards, while structural features help safeguard occupants by channeling crash energy away from the passenger compartment.

An innovative cross-car beam reinforces the structure between the B-pillars and helps direct energy away from passengers to an engineered failure point under the console. Because the front seats are mounted atop this beam, second-row passengers get the bonus of airliner-style foot room.