Pilot v Ford Freestyle

[rocky]

These two I think are going to be the most competitive of the carlike/crossover awd SUVs. Safety comes to the forefront of marketing and hopefully engineering in both vehicles. MPG, Freestyle may have it.
What do you think?

[iivtecracerii]

i think the freestyle looks very boring. exactly like all the other ford SUV's. it also looks very....uhh....wimpy? the Pilot looks much more rugged.

its also way under powered. a little bit over 200 hp and tq, with the Pilot having 255 / 250 and VTEC. Pilot also has 8 passenger seating standard, freestyle has 6.

theres many other crossover's that are way more competitive than the freestyle

ford made a good try, but IMO they dont have a winner on their hands.

[humanoid]

One word: FORD (found on road dead). C'mon it's a damn Ford. They haven't made decent cars since the '60s. Now, the only thing that seems decent is the redesigned Mustang and the GT.

[waynerd]

I was REAL interested in the Freestyle back last fall.....'till they put production back to this fall. It's supposedly about the same interior size as the Explorer. I personally like the looks of it, but it's more station wagon than sport utility.... that new automotive catagory with the Pacifica (which I also like the looks of). I think it competes with the Pilot like the Pacifica does...those looking for mild hauling capabilities and poor weather traction.

I prefer my Pilot. It's a Honda, not a Fix Or Repair Daily.

[rocky]

I've a prospective buyer of either a Pilot or Freestyle. Each has its pluses and minues.
Freestyle is a 6 or 7 seater depending on how you option it.
Pilot has only two row side airbags standard, Freestyle three row side airbags (option-safety isn't an option IMHO but three is better than two).
Pilot Transmissions bad record unproven if the fix works long term. Freestyle transmission new (used in Europe Ford/VW Audi) made by a good manufacturer (ZF) and is amazingly smooth.
Pilot's safety ratings known and good, Freestyles promises Volvo like but unproven by Govt or Insurance institute.
Reliability, I feel uncomfortable about the Pilots transmission, but everything else is good. Ford new model negative, always ignored domestics until now due to reliability image so need to check Consumer Reports to see how they are doing generally.
Pilot to my eyes looks like a minivan, Freestyle like er a squashed Expedition/sequoia. Taste really is a personal thing....
Good thing I've got two to three months to figure this out.

[Art]

Freestyle looks too much like the Excursion...errr....Explorer...errr....Expedition. ..errrr....Escape, yeah that's it.....what's with Ford and their naming anyhow??? Freestyle, Freestar...

[GreenMachine]

Did you happen to notice in the Freestyle commercials that the only people driving the vehicle were women?

It's not a bad looking vehicle, but IMO it's looks more station wagon than SUV. Power is seriously lacking it today's market. Ford screwed that part up, same with the new Five Hundred.

[waynerd]

what's with Ford and their naming anyhow

I asked a salesdude about that last year (while waiting to have my Exploder worked on, of course) and they have all the cars (except the Mustang and T-bird) start with F and all the sport utes start with E. It's a concept I suppose.

The Five Hundred and FreeStyle share the same Volvo platform....not exactly the name that comes to mind when you think of reliability.

[Placid]

We are close to making our decision between the two. Leaning toward the Pilot mainly because of price. Our Ford dealer is acting like the Freestyle is a hot item. But there are already some rebates. The best thing going for the Freestyle is the additional airbag safety system. Main drawback is power. Question is my wife and 16 year old really going to need the power? Pilot has its safety record, resale value, and price going for it. Would like to here other comments. We plan to make the decision before the year ends.

[74PILOTMOM]

I think the biggest thing should be Ford's reliability records. Although the F150 and Focus have come way up in reliability, they're still only sitting on "average". Where across the fleet, Honda's are consistently Above average and or Excellent. On top of that, the resale for a Honda is untouchable by Ford. While a car should never be looked at as an investment, at least cut your losses by buying a slower loser The Pilot just happens to be a much quicker winner

Do you own a Honda now? What were your impressions of the Pilot if you've driven it, may I ask? I remember my first test drive, I just knew. This was going to be my car. I am still happy with my Pilot purchase, and it's going on 2 years here.

[a2Pilot]

The Freestyle is a nice looking vehicle, but I think it's in a different class than the Pilot. It's more of an all-wheel-drive wagon than an SUV. I've seen several driving around, and the first thing I think is "station wagon".

It doesn't appear to have much ground clearance, but Ford claims 8" "at the rear axle", whatever that means. Definitely not a good vehicle for off-roading of ANY kind. I'm not sure I'm ready for a CVT either. The 3.0 V6 that Ford uses for just about everything is a nice engine, but under-powered compared to the Pilot.

And then there's the quality thing.................

[a2Pilot]

A pic for reference.....

[Placid]

We have had quite a different selection of cars. Toyota, Nissan, BMW, and one honda. Wife is driving a Windstar her second. Ready for a change. We have driven the Pilot and like it. The cheep Honda interior never changes - - - wounder why they do not spruce it up a bit? The freestyle does have some interior improvements but still does not have the reliability record of the Honda. That is why we are leaning to the honda. We were on the waiting list for the RX400h and the Highlander hybrid but they both keep getting put off and Toyota is planning to max out both cars with extras. We have the Prius and like it. The Pilot seems the best option.

[cactus_reese]

We are also looking to buy within 2 months and are comparing Pilot and Freestyle. I want to test drive the Freestyle to see how the CVT performs in a car. The CVT on our scooter does well but the amount of throttle you must apply between idle and first motion takes some getting used to. The CVT is said to keep the 200 HP engine operating in its optimum range so acceleration is surprisingly good and fuel efficiency is excellent for a car of that size.

We currently have a 96 Ford Taurus with 127,000 miles, an intermittent blower fan problem, and a slow oil leak. We also have a 2000 F150 with 90,000 miles and no problems I can think of. The only repair it has needed was replacment of an automatic door lock mechanism. Ford is capable of building a quality product.

Freestyle is reported to be built in an all new state-of-the-art automated factory to deliver consistent precision manufacturing. The 3rd row seat beats the Pilot's hands down. The killer may be its length. At 200", I would need to mobe my work bench to fit it in my garage. It is a full 12 inches longer than the Taurus and 23 inches longer than the Pilot.

[rocky]

Cactus: Pilot is 188 inches - 12 inches shorter than the Freestyle.
I was surprised by the amount of third row room in the Frestyle to. It drives just like a Volvo XC. The CVT is not something most people will understand. It smoothness makes it invisible to the driver and passenger. Its plenty quick. Pilot with 20% more HP and Torque to pull 10% more weight should be slightly quicker on the stopwatch but I can't believe many people will notice that its 1.1 seconds slower to 60mph