Vehicle: 2005 Ford FiveHundred Limited AWD with safety pkg
Price as tested: CDN$41025

Performance: The FiveHundred is powered by only 1 engine. A 3.0L DOHC V6 24-valver Duratec that bumps out 203 ponies and 207 lb/ft of torque. While 200+ horses looked like much “on paper”, it doesn’t deliver in “real life”. No matter how sensitive Ford tuned its throttle, the whole car feels like there is a something pulling back when accelerating. Maximum torque arrives at 4500 rpm doesn’t help neither. The overall refinement of the engine is above average. The saving grace of this sluggish powerplant is the CVT. Since CVT doesn’t have torque converter to push back the actual power, it actually helps this engine a bit especially with the extra weight of AWD.

Handling: Just like its Freestyle silibing, FiveHundred shares the same Volvo large car platform. Its stiff, solid and free of squeakes and rattles. The use of Haldex AWD also shares with its Volvo cousin. Dynamically speaking, FiveHundred is underwhelming. There are tons of body rolls and understeer through corners. Steering feels lifeless and numb with acceptable response. Pushed into a corner, tires kept protesting despite of its low limitations. Despite Haldex is a front-bias system, it works exceptionally well in FiveHundred. This is the best dynamic feature of this Ford because its an active safety feature than could save the driver from going into the ditch due to its low limit and completely lack of feedback. In terms of ride comfort, its more than acceptable even though there is not enough damping when riding through expansion joints.

Brakes: The 4-wheel discs with standard ABS have to be considered as one of the better system from Ford in recent years. The pedal feel and modulation are better than average.

Interior: In our top-of-the-line Limited, FiveHundred’s interiors have plenty of features. Everything from an effective dual-zone auto climate control, 8-way power driver seat and 6-way power passenger seat that have decent support. The white-faced instrumentation gauges are clear and analog, also make the uninspiring interior looks little flashier. On the other hand, there are plenty of cheap plastic with faux wood trim that looks better with matte black plastic than painted it with brown color. Just like the Freestyle, Ford touted its SUV-like high seating position. While its good for those who get used to driving an SUV or minivan, I found it feels like driving on top instead of in a car. The back seat has plenty of head and legrooms. The best feature of rear seat is all passengers got adjustable headrests.

In terms of cargo space, there is 60/40 split fold-down rear seats with uninstrusive trunk hinges. Sadly, the liftover is too high for loading.

Conclusion: The Ford FiveHundred is indeed an invisible sedan it every conceptable areas, just like its anomyous styling. It doesn’t have a styling breakthrough as Chrysler 300 nor the refinement of Toyota Avalon. While Chrysler can sold tons of 300 thanks to its Mercedes chassis, Hemi V8 and bold styling; Toyota has no problem selling each Avalon thanks to excellent refinement, top-notch materials and bulletproof reliability. There is nothing else Ford is able to beat its rivals in FiveHundred. Factory rebate might be the only merit that is able to help this uninspiring sells in the marketplace.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 FORD FIVEHUNDRED LIMITED AWD
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Performance: 1/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 2.25/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 1/5

Overall rating: 2/5