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Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego

3623 messages,  Last post on Feb 13, 2011 at 9:08 AM

You are in the Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego, Sedan

Messages Page 317 of 363

#3157 of 3623 Re: Noise vs Acceleration [2zmax] by barnstormer64

Mar 07, 2006 (12:14 pm)

Replying to: 2zmax (Mar 07, 2006 9:55 am)
If you don't mind me asking what were the deciding factors for your car purchase?
 
I liked the fact that I was getting to use an engine that I *knew* (from personal experience in two Tauri) was reliable.
 
I also liked the availble AWD and the CVT (standard on the Freestyle, optional with the Five Hundred though standard with the AWD).
 
I liked the ride height (higher than a sedan, lower than a truck, and similar (but a bit lower) than a minivan). I literally don't feel like I'm stepping down or up into the vehicle, but just sliding in.
 
I thought the roominess was as good (or better) than other competing vehicles in the price range.
 
I also liked the fact that the two vehicles behave almost identically. Like a good sedan and its wagon counterpart should. (I came from a Taurus and a Taurus wagon).
 
The 300C / Magnum had too restricted a view for my tastes.
 
Given a choice of a 3.5L or the 3.0L, I probably would've opted for a more powerful engine . . depending on how much extra the price was. Then again, I remembered that the 3.8L V6 in the pre-'96 Taurus (the more powerful engine compared to the Vulcan 3.0L V-6) was being blamed for a higher problem rate in those vehicles (more engine heat affecting other components, as I recall). So, a more powerful engine isn't always without possible unknown issues.
 
Basically, I just wanted a decent wagon (I initially got the Freestyle) to replace my aging '96 Taurus wagon. I looked at other similar vehicles (Acura MDX, Lexus RX330, Toyota Highlander, etc) and they didn't seem to have anything that made them worth the higher price to me.
 
After getting the Freestyle, my Taurus sedan became harder and harder for me to drive (since I really preferred the higher seat height of the Freestyle). So, when Ford did their employee pricing later in 2005, I decided to go ahead and get a matching Five Hundred (other than color).
 
Before that time, I'd never owned two new vehicles at once, nor had I ever sold a car that was less than 4 years old (and not already paid off). That's how good the Freestyle was . . . . it made me willing to sell a car (the '02 Taurus sedan) before its time was up in order to get the Five Hundred.

#3158 of 3623 Re: STEEP GRADE AHEAD [2zmax] by barnstormer64

Mar 07, 2006 (12:18 pm)

Replying to: 2zmax (Mar 07, 2006 11:22 am)
When I need to make emergency lane change, that involves rapid acceleration, (downshift+gas in manual terms) I had to floor the damn thing to get it to respond. If you drive like a retired Florida resident then the 500 should suit you just fine I guess
 
That's the reason the pedal goes all the way to the metal.
 
I drive nothing like a retired Florida resident. I'd guess that there's substantially less than 5% of drivers who would be considered more aggressive than I am . . and I'm more than willing to let them pass me and be on my way. Trying to "compete" with people like that is suicide anyway, regardless of how powerful your vehicle is.

#3159 of 3623 Re: STEEP GRADE AHEAD [bruneau1] by barnstormer64

Mar 07, 2006 (12:21 pm)

Replying to: bruneau1 (Mar 07, 2006 11:43 am)
Watch out for the nasty torque steer in the funny looking Maxima, its stiff and jiggly ride.
 
That's one thing I like about the 500/Freestyle and the CVT option (I don't know if the 6-speed is the same way or not).
 
It does *not* seem to have much torque steer at all. I've been attributing that to the CVT, though perhaps the 6-speed also prevents it.
 
With the Taurus, the downshifts could literally rip the steering wheel out of your hands if you weren't careful.

#3160 of 3623 Re: Noise vs Acceleration [barnstormer64] by 2zmax

Mar 07, 2006 (12:28 pm)

Replying to: barnstormer64 (Mar 07, 2006 12:14 pm)
The reason why I would choose a 500 would be for its' size, available AWD and price (though it gets pretty pricey with the options).
However the new Azera just won my heart.
I love the way it looks.
And from what everyone is saying it seems to be an awesome car.

#3161 of 3623 Re: Noise vs Acceleration [2zmax] by bruneau1

Mar 07, 2006 (12:36 pm)

Replying to: 2zmax (Mar 07, 2006 12:28 pm)
The Azera is a very nice car with lots of stuff and a warranty that you can't argue with. But when I sat in the driver's seat and then the passenger's, the spell was broken. Not comfortable, and that gets on one's nerves every time you drive

#3162 of 3623 Re: Noise vs Acceleration [2zmax] by barnstormer64

Mar 07, 2006 (12:38 pm)

Replying to: 2zmax (Mar 07, 2006 12:28 pm)
I didn't mention the size . . but obviously that was a consideration. It cerainly had the largest trunk of any vehicle in its class.
 
As far as price with the options . . the other vehicles got more pricey with them, too.
 
I think I was looking at an out-the-door price of the Freestyle (fully loaded) of 32k . . vs more like 37k for the Magnum. But then it had the Hemi, and also the Navigation system, as I recall.
 
With the hemi, the 300C/Magnum actually can become TOO sensitive in the throttle, IMO. My brother commented on this with regards to one of his new vehicles (Accord, I think). While he likes the pep, he says it's too hard to precisely control the throttle response.

#3163 of 3623 Throttle Response by ANT14

Mar 07, 2006 (2:01 pm)

"My brother commented on this with regards to one of his new vehicles (Accord, I think). While he likes the pep, he says it's too hard to precisely control the throttle response."
 
Thats a manufacturer's trick for people to perceive the vehicle is quick/fast, is by programming the accelerator to be sensitive at it's initial touch. From my experience, the Nissan Altima 2.5S ia the worst offended. Everytime I touched it, I kept spinning the front wheels. Took me a few days to teach myself to let it roll at first, then touch it to avoid the wheelspin.

#3164 of 3623 Re: Throttle Response [ANT14] by barnstormer64

Mar 07, 2006 (2:08 pm)

Replying to: ANT14 (Mar 07, 2006 2:01 pm)
Thats a manufacturer's trick for people to perceive the vehicle is quick/fast
 
Quite the opposite of how my Five Hundred / Freestyle (both with CVT) are programmed.
 
I think this is a large part of the reason people perceive the vehicles to be "underpowered".
 
I have to keep pushing more and more on the accelerator to keep the rpm's at say 3,000 rpm . . which will result in a very nice acceleration.
 
If one starts with 3,000 rpm, though, and simply maintains the amount of "initial push" on the accelerator, the car will continue to accelerate (at a decelerating rate) while the rpm's start dropping back to 2,000 (or even below), until eventually levelling off at a constant speed.
 
I've found that "chasing the rpm meter" is the way to get really good acceleration (and not so good gas mileage). Try to keep it at 3,000 (or even up to 4,000) until you reach cruising speed, and you won't feel underpowered at all.

#3165 of 3623 Re: Noise vs Acceleration [bruneau1] by gene_v

Mar 07, 2006 (2:30 pm)

Replying to: bruneau1 (Mar 07, 2006 12:36 pm)
Oh contraire! I found the Azera to be much more comfortable than the Five Hundred. About an inch more leg room and definitely more foot space. The console of the Five Hundred is much too wide. The Five Hundred is big everwhere except for the driver.

#3166 of 3623 Re: Throttle Response [ANT14] by nvbanker

Mar 07, 2006 (3:50 pm)

Replying to: ANT14 (Mar 07, 2006 2:01 pm)
Yes, my 88 Olds 88 was that way. It felt really peppy, due to a tremendous tip-in, but got tired at nearly any speed once rolling. But it felt powerful because of that tip-in effect.

Messages Page 317 of 363

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