Buying a new car is a very emotional affair and a car that sparks little or no interest could be bound for failure. It is certainly not without its qualities. It will do a fine job of dropping the kids off at school and then to work. Make sure you do not expect to have fun getting there though. And at nearly $36,000, it is not such a great deal. For the same price, you could drive away from a Chrysler dealer with an AWD 300 Touring that has electronic stability control, a 250 hp engine and styling that includes 18" wheels. The incentives from both manufacturers should be strong but Ford will have to work a little harder.

Although the 24v 3.0L Duratec V6 is no slouch, Ford is planning on introducing a 3.5L version of the Duratec in the next little while. At this time, there are no horsepower numbers available but hopefully is will be endowed with at least 250 hp to match Chrysler's 3.5L V6.





Good stuff:
Nice ride
Interior space

Not so good stuff:
Lacklustre performance from 3.0L engine
Styling