Ford Freestyle Engine and Performance

Ford offers the Freestyle with the choice of a petrol and diesel engine in India. The diesel is the tried and tested 1.5 litre engine that makes 100 horsepower and 215 Nm of max torque. Our test car features the new 1.2 litre three cylinder petrol motor from Ford’s Dragon series of engines. This engine is essentially a downsized version of the 1.5 litre Dragon unit seen on the Ecosport facelift. The 1,194 cc three pot makes 96 horsepower and 120 nm of torque making it the most powerful petrol engine in its class. The engine has fantastic refinement for a three cylinder unit and its difficult to tell what’s under the hood. Acceleration is very linear with a strong mid range as well. The engine comes mated to a new five speed manual gearbox. This gearbox is 15 percent lighter than the older unit. The gear ratios are well calibrated and shifts are responsive. There is also a gearshift indicator on the MID. You will love working this gearbox as you drive along. What’s also impressive is the way the Freestyle can pull at lower rpms in a higher gear. The motor easily pulled from third and fourth gear from as less as 1020 rpm without knocking. The clutch is pretty light too and that makes it comfortable in both, the city and on the highway. Push the motor all the way to the redline and the it does get vocal but in a good way. The engine does have a nice sporty note to it. At times, however, there is a slight judder from the engine, reminding you of the three cylinder layout. Another thing that is missed is a dead pedal, that adds convenience when you are on long highway drives.

Ford Freestyle Ride, Handling and Safety

The Freestyle comes with 190 mm of ground clearance and due to this, Ford has reworked the suspension on the car. Ride quality is impressive and the Freestyle simply flies over bad roads. Only the large potholes will be felt in the cabin. Also the ride feels a bit firm at low speeds but gets better as the speedo needle climbs. Thanks to the massive ground clearance, the Freestyle did not scrape any speed breakers that we encountered.

Fords have always known for their handling and the Freestyle is no different. The fun to drive factor remains and the Freestyle enjoys going through corners. The electric power steering works well and feedback is excellent. It is also light at city speeds and weighs up nicely as you go faster. Again as we mentioned earlier, the size of the steering wheel itself should have been a bit smaller. High speed stability is impressive and grip from the standard 185 profile rubber is adequate. An upsize will only make things better. Brakes have a good feel and braking power is very good.

Ford offers dual airbags standard across all variants of the Freestyle with the range topping variant getting six airbags. Well done Ford. Other safety features include ABS with EBD, Electronic Stability Control, Hill Launch Assist, Active Rollover Protection, Ford My Key and Emergency Assistance.

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