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Ford Windstar minivan applies fourth door and back-up signal
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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JACKSON, Tenn. -- Cruising along I-40 in western Tennessee with all in the family aboard, one motorist senses he's steering a luxury sedan -- one of those sleek movers equipped with agile suspension system, lively power quotient and cushioned comfort from a contoured bucket that contorts under power control to umpteen positions.
This is an entirely pleasant experience in a deluxe machine, please understand, with symphonic sounds filtering through a CD deck and filling the expansive cabin.
Forward and side visibility, projected outward through massive tinted windows, encompasses the road scene in a superior design. Steering wheel, tilted precisely to a preferred angle, feels of soft leather, as do the seats. A convenient cupholder, with ratchet-like gripper, cradles a coffee mug within easy reach.
With little effort, hands can cut the steering wheel and quickly change lanes. With only slight pressure exerted, right foot can summon serious horsepower to scoot ahead of lesser traffic.
What a fine 4-door luxury car this tester proves to be: Refined with fancy passenger comforts, liberated with exacting handling mechanisms, enthusiastic in action.
Yet the image that disagrees with this impression of driving a luxury sedan appears in the rearview mirror: The reflection is not the limited quarters of a car but the boxed cavern of a van, with second and third row seating and enough space left in the back bay for a load of luggage.
Driver must remind self that the vehicle for this family outing is not a fancy sedan but actually a minivan.
It's the latest product from Ford Motor Company, a revamped design for the Windstar minivan bearing a 1999 model-year label and equipped with big V6 engine connected to a front-wheel-drive system with an enormous cabin rigged for seven riders and two doors on each side plus a rear lift-up hatch that accesses the cargo bay.
New generational designs for 1999 show fresh styling points on the outside, new seats inside with second and third row benches mounted on rollers for easy removal, and a rear sliding door added on the left side for SE trim, along with power operation of both rear sliders on top-of-the-line SEL model.
Side-impact airbags concealed in outer edges of front seatbacks become optional safety equipment with Windstar's new design, marking the first application on a minivan.
The rigid steel structure of Windstar already serves as primary line of defense for riders, with standard frontal airbags and anti-lock brakes. For the past four years, Ford has built the only minivan to earn the highest federal rating from frontal crash tests.
A reverse sensing system scores another first for Windstar as an optional new safety tool.
Sensors in the rear bumper can detect solid objects in the reverse path of Windstar up to six feet behind the vehicle. When approaching such an impediment -- another vehicle, perhaps, or a tricycle in the driveway -- a cabin audio speaker transmits a series of high decibel beeps to alert driver. As Windstar approaches the object, these beeps increase in frequency until the back bumper closes to within ten inches, when the signal becomes a constant tone.
Most notable aspect of Ford's minivan concept concerns the size of Windstar: It's big, comparing to stretched versions from competition but with the longest wheelbase in class. This means there's plenty of room for seven bruisers and all of their cargo, but it also allows Windstar to deliver a superior -- call it car-like -- smooth ride.
Yet Windstar, despite the long wheelbase and a wide body, seems as small as any mini on the market.
It's like a magic trick, squeezing a big hunk of a minivan into a smooth and contoured package.
Aerodynamic sculpting of all exterior lines -- including the new nose treatment with abbreviated front overhang and dramatic slope to the hood -- plus a teardrop shape to many elements such as windows or headlamps contribute to this diminishing effect, as does the fact that Windstar rides low to the ground.
Step-up height -- the vertical distance required to raise foot from ground to floorboard -- amounts to only 16 inches, which compares closely to large sedans.
This makes access easy, which is one of the advantages of the minivan over a full-size van: You don't have to work to climb aboard.
Once inside, you too may quickly discover that Windstar contains the caliber of appointments and comforts of an elegant sedan, and the feel from all controls and mechanisms is not that loosy-goosy action and sloppy sound once associated with American-built cars, but the exacting tightness of precision-engineered European touring sedans.
New designs of seats provide flexibility for quick changing for adding people or cargo.
In the middle row, seats can move laterally. Normally, the middle section skews to the left side with an aisle on the right that provides access to the rear tier. Yet you can unlatch the left portion and remount it on the right, thus fashioning a new aisle where seat had been.
Thanks to new seat casters, the rear bench can roll forward in place of the second tier, or can come out entirely with both sections deleted for strictly cargo.
For power, Windstar brings two V6 choices, both reworked this year to boost torque for more lively throttle action at in-town speeds.
The entry edition, Windstar 3.0L, installs Ford's Vulcan 3.0-liter V6 with output of 150 horsepower and torque rising to 186 lbs/ft due to a new intake manifold.
Other Windstars carry a transverse-mounted 3.8-liter V6 with overhead valving and split-port fuel induction. It produces 200 hp and torque hiked to 240 lbs/ft.
Mated to either plant is a 4-speed electronic automatic transmission with column-mounted shifter. A thumb button on the end of the shift lever allows driver to switch into overdrive fourth gear to enhance fuel economy when cruising on the highway.
Entry Windstar 3.0-L with the smaller engine has only the right-side sliding side door, along with anti-lock brakes and power steering, multiple 12-volt power points and a nice AM/FM stereo sound system. The more popular LX adds the larger engine, power windows and door locks, cruise control and tilting steering column, and upgraded seats. The SE gets that new left-side sliding door, but SEL applies power controls for both side sliders plus leather seating.
1999 FORD WINDSTAR MINIVAN
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1999 FORD WINDSTAR Specs |
| Description: |
7-person minivan |
| Model Options: |
7-person minivan |
| Wheelbase: |
120.7 inches |
| Overall Length: |
200.9 inches
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| Engine Size: |
OHV 3.0-L V6
OHV 3.8-L V6
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 (std.) + 2 (opt.) |
| Gas Mileage: |
3.0: 18/25 mpg
3.8: 17/24 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 20,800 to $ 31,000 |
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