Ford Five Hundred experience

i wouldnt get the awd unless you need it . problems there.

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My Mother has owned one since new. Never any significant problems. Only back in the shop to fix the third seat cover.

Ed

I bought an '06 Five-Hundred Limited AWD in August '07 (from the Ford dealer I have bought several new cars from, including my '06 Mustang GT). The dealer had leased it new to a customer who takes a 1 year lease every year......the dealer provided full Carfax report and history. Had 16,000 miles on it.....paid $18,400 before trade-in.

I was looking for a Five Hundred for the room......I wanted the AWD despite rumors about the transmission.

It has exceeded all expectations: a really great, comfortable, roomy car.......doesn't handle like a sports car around town (the wheelbase is long for the size of the car) but is a real pleasure on the highway: very stable and not affected by blast from passing trucks, etc. Just great for vacations with that huge trunk and fold-down rear seat.

both the AWD and the CVT are supposed to reduce gas mileage........I get 18-22 around town. Took a 3200 mile vacation and AVERAGED 25 mpg gallon with up to 28 mpg on the highway (this on regular gas as recommended......I tried mid-range and premium and it made no difference in performance or mileage).

The AWD is amazing: completely "seamless": you never know it's working, but in ice and snow this winter, it acted like the pavement was dry, while other people were sliding all over.

The new Taurus still offers the AWD but I understand they have replaced the CVT with a conventional automatic. The CVT was supposed to be troublesome and "lethargic". I think that's mostly perception because it is so smooth......if you want to go fast and put your foot down it will fly. I believe the AWD and CVT are straight from Volvo: hard to believe that Volvo would make anything fragile (they've owned the CVT patents since they bought-out DAF many years ago). The Owners Manual says the transmission/drive unit should be flushed and refilled with the unique fluid every 30,000 miles. That will be a dealer-only proposition and will be suitably overpriced, I'm sure, but I will have it done on schedule to keep the warranty (36,000 miles) in effect and to hopefully prolong the life of the unit if it is a weak link.

Great car - I have 3 friends with them (although not AWD) and they are similarly pleased.

The CVT increases gas milage. With the CVT, you can have any gear ratio between the highest and lowest ratio. So the engine can be running as efficiently as possible.

However, don't drive that way. While it goes like it is on drive pavement, it stops like it so snow or ice.

I know others who love their 500, too.

Jeff

Jeff (and others)

yes, I've always been intrigued with the theory of CVT: that it always gives you the best possible gearing ratio.

But.....the EPA rating for the CVT was 1 mpg lower than the regular automatic (because there's no lock-up???.)

However, in real driving, it's amazing. I live atop a steep hill.........with every other automatic car I've ever had, I've always needed to manually downshift when turning up my drive, because the car would lug before the tranny would downshift by itself. No need with the CVT: no lag, no lugging....it just silently proceeds up the hill, as slow or as fast as I care to drive. However, in other cars I always went down the hill in Low......but I use the brakes with the CVT because Low seems to over-rev it. Sorry that Ford no longer offers it - I'd buy another.

Jim