Anyone own a '05 Ford 500? What has been your experience so far with the car? My Aunt needs a new car and she has been told that one sits much higher in a 500 than most other cars. Probably a good idea for those who may be vertically challenged.


Thanks in advance for any and all information.

Russ

 

I don't know about the 500, but my wife is vertically challenged and the seat in our 2005 Focus cranks up for her and I can even drive it when adjusted to the bottom. (I have problems with hitting my head in most cars/trucks/vans

 

I'll let you know next month; I get mine on the 28th.

Seriously, the room in the darn thing is nothing short of amazing. Bigger back seat/ bigger trunk than a Town Car. The only problem is that the adjustable pedals (which the short drivers really need) are only available on the Limited model.

 

Haven't seen one in person yet, but, Car & Driver (TV) tore it a new one.

They said that it had a small V6 in it and that the styling was 'so-so' and 'ho-hum.'
Did anyone else see that episode? From the Ford TV advertisements, it looks pretty darn good.

Is it supposed to replace the Crown Vic, eventually???

 

the 500 is suppose to replace theTaurus. I got to ride in one while my car was at ford getting work done and they are very nice.

 

I PDI'd one a couple weeks ago. I was pretty impressed. The magazines say the styling is too bland but I think they look good. They also say they are underpowered and I was prepared to be way less than impressed but I really didn't think it was that bad. The CVT transmission maybe makes it feel a bit underpowered because you keep waiting for it to shift and it doesn't but I'm sure you'd get used to that.
It's still too early to comment on the reliability of it but I'm hopefull that it will be ok.

 

I haven't gotten fully checked out on the 500 yet, but the added height is a serious plus. I've long suspected that an under-reported reason that people buy SUVs and trucks is that, put simply, it's *fun* to ride a little higher. Ford seems to have become aware of that, and is giving it to people in the 500 (at least according to their ads). Might just put the 500 at a competitive advantage, until everyone starts copying it.

 

Small V6? Maybe. It's no hot rod, but it's good enough for me. I mean, does EVERY car have to perform like a Lightning? The magazines knock anything that doesn't equal a Porsche. I think the most important thing any car maker can do today is to produce a car that fills its intended place or need in the marketplace. They love to put down the Grand Marquis, but Lincoln-Mercury dealers would be out of business without it.

"Ho-hum, so-so styling?" Okay, J Mays designed it, he came to Ford from Audi, so it does resemble an A6. Is that bad? I think the car is clean and elegant, an all-American version of the European luxury sedan. Ford could have tried something really different, and wound up with a sedan version of the Aztek, the Element, the Aveo.......no thanks. My vote goes for "understated" any day of the week.

Replace the Crown Vic? The Five Hundred comes in FWD or AWD. Shouldn't be too hard to create a RWD, right? Besides, if the lawyers keep lining up to sue Ford because it won't build a police car that can take a 100-mph hit from a Hummer and not spill a drop of gas- well, then the Crown Vic's demise is just a matter of time.

 

Any statements to the effect that a V6 with 200+ hp and 200+ lb/ft torque constitutes an "underpowered" base engine for a mid-size sedan are IMO just not credible. I agree with Jeff, what exactly are these people looking for, a gas-guzzling V8 Hemi in every vehicle?

Also, let's not forget Ford's 3.5L Duratec engine that is still in the works. As I understand things, this new engine is earmarked for the Five Hundred and its Mercury counterpart....

 

Good Article at Blue Oval News
http://www.carbuyersnotebook.com/arc..._500_takes.htm
not secifically about the 500, but more about the trends in automotive journalism.
I really like the 500. I'm hoping to get a test drive of one Friday. I've sat in them and they are very comfortable. So much room, and the trunk is friggen huge. I don't see why all the writers say it's so underpowered, when in their own tests it'll do 60 in around 8 seconds. We're not talking about a mustang or a BMW. We're talking a car built to haul around an average family, comfortably and safely, and it does that very well.
"The new Ford Five Hundred is not only elevating the sedan, but your sense of safety as well. It’s the only sedan to receive NHTSA’s top Five Star Crash Test Rating for both front and side impact without side airbags."-Fords Website
The problem is, safety and comfort makes it seem unexciting, but how many people buy a family sedan because they want an exciting car. Not me.

 

Car & Driver has always been a biased wrag. Anybody remember back in the 80's when they got caught fixing the Car of the Year award? Seems Mazda had given the magazine several cars to use, and had placed a large amount of advertising in their magazine. Voila! Car of the Year.

 

I saw that episode of Car and Driver and just laughed since my parents already own one. They criticized the CVT transmission and mocked its power while my wife watched in the other room. She asked me if I had seen that and I told her yes. She said that they were just ripping on the car. My answer to her was, "Yes, but if it was a Mercedes or BMW came up with some of those innovations the out come of their tests would have been much different." Thats actually cleaned up from what I actually said. But my folks love the car. Its actually the first car my mom would ride in since a lower speed (about 30 MPH) head on collision in her Neon which destroyed the car a few years back. Since then all she would get into were trucks. I think its a nice looking car and is a good replacement for the taurus, but not the Crown Vic. I get my first ride in the 500 this weekend.

 

no, but the altima has 250hp, the toyota and honda are around 240hp and the comparable ford is at 200hp. I am looking for new cars and have narrowed it down to the 500 and the new altima. The interior is close, space and comfort go to the 500 by a good margin, and performance goes to the altima by a huge margin. I'm not looking for a sports car but a little passing power and the ability to merge are 2 things I want, and the ford is just too slow. Get the 0-60 down around 6.5-7.0 seconds and it would be a perfect car for a family. I may still get the 500 if the price is right.

 

i work at a ford dealer. about half of us here feel the 500 looks OLD. good to drive though. underpowered for what it competes with.

 

Seriously, who needs to go 0-60 in less than 7 seconds in a car made to haul around your wife and kids. Sure it's fun, for the driver, but not for the rest of the family in the car hanging on for dear life. I know that good passing power is desireable, but even the slowest of cars today are much better than the average of 10 years ago.
I agree that the 500 could use a bit more engine as an option, and the Duratec 35, if it ever comes out would be a perfect fit. But the Duratec 3.0 is more than adequate. When it first came out in the Taurus, it was a great motor, and the performance with the 3.0 in the 500 with the new tranny options is similar to how it performed in the Taurus. It may not win any races, but who's going to be racing with their family riding along. The car we have right now is an Olds Aurora, V-8. Decent car, great power, but my wife and I both agree that our next car doesn't need to have a V-8. In the 3+ years we've had this car, I've never "needed" to put my foot to the floor. It is fun to punch it every now and then but the gas gauge goes down about as fast as the speedometer goes up. We've had our fun with the Aurora and are ready to move on to something more practical, and the 500 just might be it.