Ford Freestyle on display - short time only!!

[Iphido]

Its a whole lotta ugly.

While its out here they should get wheels to do a comparison between one and a territory. Any bets which one would win..

[Lukeyson]

It would be a whole lotta gutless too with only a 3.0 litre in it

Bet there tv ad will have Alex Lloyd too. :

[Discovery]

It's amazing just how different the Freestyle looks to the photos I posted. It's difficult to get the perspective from these, it is much lower than it looks here. Definately worth dropping in to have a look in person if you get the chance.

From all reports this Freestyle is quite a nice car and is loaded with extras. Sadly they didn't take up my offer to 'evaluate' it for a few months.. free of charge of course ;)

[Teki04]

I agree with Geoffa1... i think the cladding on the side would be a nice addition to the Territory. I also like the rear lights of the Freestyle... I love the lines in it! But my love ends there.

Um, does anyone think it could be here EVALUATING the Territory? Maybe they are comparing the two Vehicles.... and possibly thinking of canning the Freestyle and exporting the Terri to the states? Makes ALOT of sense to me! I mean, if you saw a Terri in USA, you would instantly know their intentions. But, as you can tell, no one has really thought of my idea yet. But maybe, just maybe... the Freestyle is being evaluated beside the Territory here...

As for that RTV... does that have LTD headlights? Ewwwwwww.... i reckon Ford should make a XR8ish version! Would be hot!

[LUXO_8]

fairmonts have those chrome headlights too

[Sloth]

Originally Posted by Teki04

Um, does anyone think it could be here EVALUATING the Territory? Maybe they are comparing the two Vehicles.... and possibly thinking of canning the Freestyle and exporting the Terri to the states? Makes ALOT of sense to me! I mean, if you saw a Terri in USA, you would instantly know their intentions. But, as you can tell, no one has really thought of my idea yet. But maybe, just maybe... the Freestyle is being evaluated beside the Territory here...

I remember a press release a while ago that said that Ford US are axing the Freestyle in 2007.

Originally Posted by Teki04

As for that RTV... does that have LTD headlights? Ewwwwwww.... i reckon Ford should make a XR8ish version! Would be hot!

Yeah its got chrome headlights, chromed the grill etc, and its got a XR luxury interior with yellow bits of leather everywhere. It was featured in the Aussie Ute Magazine a year ago.

[Teki04]

So..... maybe the Territory is looking at exports late next year? Possibly with a Turbo engine and V8 to compete with other American 4WDs... I can already see the Territories in black with chromes... parked in the driveways of houses in Beverly Hills....

[MeestaNob!]

Evaluated? For what, target practice at Puckapunyal?

No Aussie will ever choose the StyleFree when the classier Territory is available. Ever. The local Aussie is better in everyway.

Besides, that thing looks like a truck merged awkwardly with a Volvo AWD estate. Ugly.

[LUXO_8]

Originally Posted by MeestaNob!

Evaluated? For what, target practice at Puckapunyal?

No Aussie will ever choose the StyleFree when the classier Territory is available. Ever. The local Aussie is better in everyway.

Besides, that thing looks like a truck merged awkwardly with a Volvo AWD estate. Ugly.

sadly i reckon if its 10grand cheaper the average aussie would i bet........:(

[Teki04]

MeestaNob... Evaluated against the Territory for USA.... re:above

[MeestaNob!]

Originally Posted by Teki04

MeestaNob... Evaluated against the Territory for USA.... re:above

Cool. Exports are good for the country and the local Blue team, but I hope there's no outside Monaro-esc interference.

OK, here's the deal: They can have our Terris if we can get a decent allocation of GT40s.

Fair? FAIR! :

[GRNKPR]

No wonder the ute mans ute is down there as i went past Alans house the other day and his new set up is awsome .He now has a new F truck

[JC]

Originally Posted by Discovery

The styling cues are definately there though.

Seeing that the territory looks like just about any other 4WD/SUV out there, that wouldn't be too hard would it. Most $wds look like a jacked up station wagon, the only difference being size/scale. I keep getting mixed up between the territory and the Kluger (from a distance).

The RTV looks interesting!

[Ouzo]

I was working with some colleagues from the states for a couple of weeks before Christmas. We spent a fair amount of time in my T and they loved it. One was going to buy one when he got home and no matter how hard I tried I could not convince him that the T was a totally different vehicle to the Freestyle. I think he will be disappointed when he goes to his local dealer and gets in a Freestyle.

[outback_ute]

Seeing it in the flesh they are noticeably different to the Territory (der). Overall it is a lot lower, the raised section of roof at the rear would be close. Also the windscreen appeared to be a bit more raked and the bonnet is longer and slopes more steeply. Quite a lot less ground clearance too.

[aquahead2001]

Originally Posted by tbearz

The guy who was the main designer of the territory in the 'early' years of its well design was poached by Ford USA and took a big part of designing the Freestyle so thats why they share some design cues and under the body our Terri is RWD while 'their' Styler is FWD and it has cvt as well from memory so yeah completely different. Once again Ford wasting money...suprise....suprise

If I remember correctly the "designer" was Scott Strong who was over here on assignment from the USA. Apparently the similarities do not extend further than appearance, Tezza is based on the Falcon Platform and the Freestyle is based on a Volvo Platform (XC90???).

I don't think in this circumstance it has been a waste of money, Ford Australia had very unique requirements (like comonality of components with the Falcon Platform and a general preference for RWD) as did the USA where they wanted something fast and cheap. The Volvo Platform suits the USA better than the Falcon Platform I'd be guessing.

Just my thoughts...

[Raptor]

Yes, Scott Strong was the designer. He was also responsible for our concept R5 dualcab ute based on the AU.

The Freestyle platform is shared with Ford US new sedan the Ford Five Hundred. So the Freestyle is to the Five Hundred what the Territory is to the Falcon, a way to gain extra buyers and spread development costs on a common platform. This platform is a derivative of the Volvo S80 platform. Volvo went on to use the basic platform for the S80 in the smaller S60 sedan and V70 wagon, and the larger XC90 SUV.

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Yes, Scott Strong was the designer. He was also responsible for our concept R5 dualcab ute based on the AU.

The Freestyle platform is shared with Ford US new sedan the Ford Five Hundred. So the Freestyle is to the Five Hundred what the Territory is to the Falcon, a way to gain extra buyers and spread development costs on a common platform. This platform is a derivative of the Volvo S80 platform. Volvo went on to use the basic platform for the S80 in the smaller S60 sedan and V70 wagon, and the larger XC90 SUV.

There are some differences in the platform - Ford uses some cheaper components in its P2 platform derivatives, eg. steel suspension components, versus the aluminium used by Volvo.

New S80 is to be launched this year with a new large platform - thanks to Ford's input, it should have good steering, ride & handling. Volvo's one of the few success stories when it comes to being gobbled up by a big American in the car industry.

[chief]

A friend of mine has a S70, gave it to her younger brother and he drove it off the road at Galston Gorge (a really really steep gorge). Now she is after the new S80 or the 850R. Either would be a great car.

The freestyle looks a bit like a Suburu on first glance at the front. I still prefer the looks of the T over this car. Ute looks real good.

[GJW]

As far as appearance goes in my humble opinion the territory is way out in front. It reminds me from a styling perspective of some Korean copy cars. You know the ones, they try and take a lot of the good design from a succesful prior release and somehow lose it badly in translation.

Totally agree but it does seem to have split third row seats and specifications dont seem too bad (driving is probably a disapointment though being designed by and for yanks!)
As for exporting the Terry to the USA dont hold your breath. With both Ford and GM in the USA closing plants and retrenching thousands of union workers I can't imagine either company risking upsetting the average American even more by importing a car made in Austria (OHHH you mean that country with the Kangaroos?)
I cant imagine Ford Aus bringing this vehicle out over here either as it would compete to closely with the Terry. Most likely they are simply looking at possible improvements to future Terris by comparing the Terry with similar vehicles from around the world to see what features or design tweaks might be popular.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Iphido

While its out here they should get wheels to do a comparison between one and a territory. Any bets which one would win..

I think Wheels already did that the first time they reviewed the Territory. I remember a comment that when Ford's American chassis engineers saw the Territory they would take a shotgun out into the woods and quietly end it all. But I think everyone's right - the Territory won't go over there but it could go to other parts of the world like Europe and the middle east with some changes to the power unit. By the time we get to that point anyway Ford will be manufacturing from China I suspect.