markfnc Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I am going to be getting a car allowance at my job. I am deciding between a few Fords and as you guys build them, buy them and service them wanted your thoughts. I will be driving about 45,000 - 50000 miles a year for work. I want a comfortable car to drive day to day. Something with room for the family (wife and one 5 year old) for weekend trips and vacations. Decent gas mileage. And the outside chance of pulling a 3000 lb pop up camper now and then, and a small trailer hauling a lawn tractor to and from church to mow the grass. I need to be in the 20-25K range so a 2006 setting on the lot would be real nice, or used 2005-06 with less than 20,000 miles. My choices are 1.) Freestyle ( i like the 3rd seat option if more family is visiting, and the looks) 2.) 500 (nice room, good drive newer technology) 3.) Crown Vic (I think this would be a good ride and better at towing than 500 /freestyle, but dated technology, or is that proven technology?, plus I think it is cool in a retro way) 4.) Taurus (1 year old with a few thousand miles, cant find new ones around here) pulling? 5.) Explorer (wanted to stay away from truck due to ride, but have had an explorer in the past and liked it, gas ???) 6.) F 150 supercrew (see explorere for ride and gas mileage) well, what do you experts think? :shrug: I really like the info on this web site, and hope Ford gets restructured to be competative in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 The Freestyle is rated at only 2000lbs towing, the CV 1500, and the Five Hundred 1000. Explorer Sport Trac maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 It seems that if you needed a truck bed, that you already have access to a trailer. So, that in mind, the Explorer gets you more enclosed room, the same 3v/6-speed, and Ford dealers desperate to sell you one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGallun Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 It seems that if you needed a truck bed, that you already have access to a trailer. So, that in mind, the Explorer gets you more enclosed room, the same 3v/6-speed, and Ford dealers desperate to sell you one. honest plug for new sport trac... damn that thing is pretty in and out.. drove one with the v8 and wow, what a joy to drive for a smaller truck thingy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I am going to be getting a car allowance at my job. I am deciding between a few Fords and as you guys build them, buy them and service them wanted your thoughts. I will be driving about 45,000 - 50000 miles a year for work. Up until recently I was a road warrior myself. I was doing ~35K/year and without a doubt COMFORT is the biggest issue. Fuel is also important, and depending if you'll be hauling samples/products room/space. I had a Mazda6 and it was perfect. Quiet, roomy, comfy and yet sporty enough for weekend driving. You'll have to be sure whatever you buy meets your needs for noise, seat, driving position, and space for phone/trash/drinks/clients/etc. For example, I find leather seats more comfortable for long hauls than cloth generally; the Mazda6 seats are firm but with leather melded just enough to be comfortable without loosing support after several hours. Another issue I never thought about when car shopping was getting around in areas I was unfamiliar with. Good visibility out of the car (sight lines) is very important. Also, a nav system can be a life saver, but you'll save money with an aftermarket system vs. an in-vehicle system. But the in-vehicle systems can be amotorized in the financing and are better integrated, therefore less appealing for a passerby to "smash-n-grab." And related to all of this is manuveurability. A small turning radius and firm suspension will aid quick turnarounds when needed. I want a comfortable car to drive day to day. Something with room for the family (wife and one 5 year old) for weekend trips and vacations. Decent gas mileage. And the outside chance of pulling a 3000 lb pop up camper now and then, and a small trailer hauling a lawn tractor to and from church to mow the grass. That's a tall order. The camper seems heavy...I thought pop-ups were in the 1500-2000lbs range normally. If you need 3000lbs, your car choices are severely limited, most unit-body cars can only tow 1-2000lbs. For your needs I wonder if you could have the comfy road car and maybe your wife's car could be used for the heavy towing and such. You'll have a better ride for your serious driving, save a lot in gasoline (somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000/year in a V6 sedan vs. pickup truck), and yet still have a heavy work vehicle for your weekend pleasures. My choices are 1.) Freestyle ( i like the 3rd seat option if more family is visiting, and the looks) 2.) 500 (nice room, good drive newer technology) 3.) Crown Vic (I think this would be a good ride and better at towing than 500 /freestyle, but dated technology, or is that proven technology?, plus I think it is cool in a retro way) 4.) Taurus (1 year old with a few thousand miles, cant find new ones around here) pulling? 5.) Explorer (wanted to stay away from truck due to ride, but have had an explorer in the past and liked it, gas ???) 6.) F 150 supercrew (see explorere for ride and gas mileage) Freestyle & 500 are great, but low towing ratings. The Fusion would also be a good choice in this case. The Crown Vic is a boat, floating along down the interstate. I would hate to pilot a CV in tight spots that I was unfamiliar with, but that's just me. Taurus is a good, cheap battle axe. But I doubt it will bring you "driving pleasure" for miles and miles, but it should be roomy & comfy. The Explorer & any other BOF truck/SUV wouldn't be my top pick simply because of the fuel, but total size would also be a factor. Trying to squeeze a F-150 through some areas of Miami would be a challenge. If you MUST have 3000lbs towing capacity in this vehicle I'd go with the Escape (3500lbs capacity) or a Volvo S60 or V70 (3300lbs capacity). When I changed vehicles, I looked at the V70 quite hard but determined the cost vs. projected life didn't make much sense. But the V70 is an excellent road vehicle, I put 1300 miles on a rental in Texas full of boxes and it worked quite well. And with your towing needs, it might be the best choice. The Escape is also a nice little SUV with lots of room and snappy performance with the V6. It's rather noisy however and has a choppy ride. Drive the Tribute too, as the suspension is tuned a bit differently and you may like the ride/handling trade-off a bit more. It's a matter of taste between the two. I got a bit long winded, but you've got an important choice to make and I hope this helped. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Long story short, you can't get a new vehicle from Ford that will tow 3000 lbs and have room for the family for 20 to 25 grand. Isn't that sad? You'll have to buy used I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Taurus is a good, cheap battle axe. But I doubt it will bring you "driving pleasure" for miles and miles, but it should be roomy & comfy. If you've got miles and miles of interstate, the Taurus is not a bad bet at all. Decent sound system, and nicely center weighted steering. It is not tough to pilot this vehicle, it's also fairly quiet and is bolted together pretty tightly. Crown Vic will give you a better ride on the interstate, but IMO, the Taurus will be easier to keep in line. Don't know about the Five Hundred. I would imagine it to be the Taurus' better on all counts. 'cept maybe hip room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Long story short, you can't get a new vehicle from Ford that will tow 3000 lbs and have room for the family for 20 to 25 grand. Isn't that sad? You'll have to buy used I guess. DCK Escape does .. and show me competition that does that .... just for kicks .. I am sure there are some .. but I would like to see you do some legwork and prove your argument ... at this point I will claim that you will find VERY, VERY few vehicles that can tow 3000+ lbs, and seat 5 and fit under $25k, and be good on gas. (I will be happy to say I was wrong if I am) markfnc I think the Escape is your best bet, but the comments from waymondospiff do make it sound like a questionable choice. I think the idea of getting a long-distnace driver, and then a used/cheap weekend tower/hauler is the best one - otherwise you will end up with "jack of all trades, and master of none" so to speak. I personally would go with the Mazda6 wagon, Five Hundred, or Freestyle, based on options, price and subjective preference. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 (edited) we're all morons. The Escape or a Mariner. Equipped with a tow-kit and the 3.0L, you can tow 3300lbs. (okay, igor's not a moron--but the rest of us ARE) Also, if you can hold off a few months, you can pick up one of the new '08s, price won't change much. Edited September 19, 2006 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 we're all morons. The Escape or a Mariner. Equipped with a tow-kit and the 3.0L, you can tow 3300lbs. (okay, igor's not a moron--but the rest of us ARE) Also, if you can hold off a few months, you can pick up one of the new '08s, price won't change much. I was not the first to think of Escape in this thread ... Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Long story short, you can't get a new vehicle from Ford that will tow 3000 lbs and have room for the family for 20 to 25 grand. Isn't that sad? You'll have to buy used I guess. Not unless he wants an Escape, Edge, Explorer, Sport Trac, F150, or Freestar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 (edited) Yeah that's true you could do it with the V6 Escape that chimes in at the upper end of your finance scale, around 24 grand on average. Decent room inside, guess you'd have to see for yourself on that if it fits your needs. Not unless he wants an Escape, Edge, Explorer, Sport Trac, F150, or Freestar... All of these with the exception of the Escape will be above 25 grand. Edited September 19, 2006 by Sixcav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I was not the first to think of Escape in this thread ... Igor I see waymondospiff mentioned it. I didn't see it at first because I was all, like, "The Volvo S60 tows 3300lbs? Who knew?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 All of these with the exception of the Escape will be above 25 grand. Even after rebates and an X-Plan pin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Even after rebates and an X-Plan pin? See this is what I mean. If you have to automatically figure in rebates and X-Plans to the cost of your vehicles in order to sell them then obviously they must be overpriced. How about just lower the price and don't mess with rebates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 See this is what I mean. If you have to automatically figure in rebates and X-Plans to the cost of your vehicles in order to sell them then obviously they must be overpriced. How about just lower the price and don't mess with rebates? In this day & time, nobody pays asking price, everybody expects a discount, or at least some kind of deal (like low interest financing). Doesn't matter if it's Fords, Toyotas, Sony TV's from Best Buys, Dell computers, etc. Certain items can command list price (like iPods, Mustang GT500's, Corvette Z06's, etc.) and more, but most things are looked at like their a commodity. In this case, the commodity is a Ford. We all know that the Explorers, Escapes, Freestars, etc. are out there with big incentives (rebates & low/no interest financing) and being a regular on this board, you should know that you can get x-plan pricing pretty easy. With that said, if a guys says that he wants to spend $20K to $25K, then why not recommend vehicles with transaction prices in that range? Ford's changing their ways and relying less on incentives on the newer models (like the 500, Freestyle, Fusion, Mustang, hopefully the Edge, etc.), but until they stop, a person would be a fool to not take advantage of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Yeah I understand what you're saying Racing. Don't forget Saturn though, the no haggle dealer. lol Anyway, back the recent hayday of SUV's when people were buying them like there was no tomorrow I bet you didn't really get all that great a deal on them. Now? Sure, now you can. Now that gas is north of 2 dollars a gallon and likely to stay there for some time to come. To me though it still just emphasises the point, auto makers want too damn much money for what you get in a new car. But PT Barnum was right, there's a sucker born every minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Yeah I understand what you're saying Racing. Don't forget Saturn though, the no haggle dealer. lol Not anymore...Saturn dealers inflate Sky pricing by as much as $8,000 Anyway, back the recent hayday of SUV's when people were buying them like there was no tomorrow I bet you didn't really get all that great a deal on them. Now? Sure, now you can. Now that gas is north of 2 dollars a gallon and likely to stay there for some time to come. To me though it still just emphasises the point, auto makers want too damn much money for what you get in a new car. But PT Barnum was right, there's a sucker born every minute. True, it's all about supply & demand I guess. Although, when I purchased my 98 Expedition & 01 F150, I got both of them for right at invoice and that was when they were both selling great. In fact, I got the first 01 SuperCrew 4x4 Lariat that was red with a gray interior in the DFW area (all the other dealers only had tan interiors) and I still got it at invoice. I literally got it right off the truck (saw them unload it) and test drove it before it went to make ready. And now I have to sell it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 See I knew something was up with that damn Sky. I looked at one the other day that was just the base engine version, not the Red Line and it was still 28K and some change. I said no thank you. PT Barnum wasn't talking about me. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfnc Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 Thanks for all the info. We have a Feestar so that migth be the option of getting the tran cooler and using that as the tow vehicle and I would go ahead and get the hwy crusier. The 3000 lb was a top end to make sure I was covered in hauling. I want reliable, safe, comfortable highway driving. Part of the reason the Crown Vic is not selling new is you can get one a year old with leather etc with 15,000 miles for 18,000 dollars. That is a lot of car for the money. A bette deal than new for 25000 with rebates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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