2004 Ford Freestar: The Oppositelock Review

"Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire" (arch-duke-maxyenko)
11/22/2013 at 10:58 • Filed to: oppo reviews

The Ford Freestar, Ford’s final attempt at the minivan game. It was an updated Windstar that had its name changed because F= Ford. It was a minivan, plain and simple; however, the CUV market was emerging and people disliked the name. New features included a rear seat that could fold flat into the floor or flip-over for tailgating. I am now going to attempt a review of it.

Exterior 5/10

Look, it’s not ugly nor pretty, it is just inoffensive and plain.

The Freestar has a more upright front end than the Windstar.

Interior 5/10

It’s a minivan made by Ford in the early 2000’s. The front seats are suitable for adults, but the arm rests are lousy and will cause arms to fall asleep. The middle seats are smaller buckets made for smaller people. The rear bench is literally a bench that might be able to seat three unlucky children. The plastics are hard for the same reason Little Tikes uses hard plastic, it needs to survive ornery little kids. There are (about) 11 cup holders, most minivans only have 10. Also fake wood is fake.

What it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in space. With the seats all removed (minus the fronts), there is 134.3 time cubes of feet, that’s 89,533.33 packs of gum. Suck it Dodge Durango glove box! With the seats up, there is a well in the back that is useful for hauling things that you don’t want spilling onto the rest of the van.

Acceleration 7/10

This one has the 4.2L Essex V6 making, 201 HP @ 4,250 rpm and 263 ft-lb of torque @ 3,650 rpm. This makes the 4,275 lb Freestar actually surprisingly quick. Just ask the guy in the riced out Mazda who my dad shamed at a traffic light. It needs a proper LSD, as the motor has a shocking ability to motivate axel hop and spin from the one front wheel.

Braking 5/10

It stops, the peddle could have more feel though. It does have a proper hand brake though…

Ride 4/10

Not especially pleasant, even worse when loaded. We added the Monroe Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting Twin-Tube Shocks, they're like coil overs to better carry loads, and this fixed most of the loaded down issues.

Handling 4/10

It’s a minivan with a beam-axle in the back; handling is not its forte. Steering feel is vague, but once again, it’s a damn minivan.

Gearbox 4/10

It gets one point for every speed of the automatic.

Audio 8/10

Yes, it has an AM/FM stereo, with a CD player, cassette deck (cassette player is no longer functioning. Thanks Obama), and 4 speakers.

But, the real fun comes from the cold-air intake and exhaust that we made for it. The pushrod V6 has sounds that make people fiendishly giggle when in it. Ford should have done this from the factory.

Toys 3/10

There is the multi-way folding rear seat, automatic lights and mirror, and spotting lights (where the fog lights could have gone) that illuminate when the turn signals are on.

Value 5/10

Average resale value is $6,432, but there have been a few recalls on the 2004 model, and the government rates the side impact as poor without side airbags, (we don’t have those because we like to live dangerously).

Total- 50/100

Engine: 4,195 cc 4.2 liters V 6 front engine with 96.8 mm bore, 95 mm stroke, 9.3 compression ratio, overhead valve and two valves per cylinder

Power: 201 HP @ 4,250 rpm and 263 ft-lb of torque @ 3,650 rpm

Transmission: 4 speed column shifted automatic

0-60 Time: 9.1 seconds seems faster though…

Top Speed: 112? MPH (limited)

Drivetrain: Front-Wheel Drive

Curb Weight: 4,275 lbs

Seating: 7

MPG: 17 city/23 highway/19 combined cycle

Blue Book Average: Around $6,432

some pictures mine others aren't