2006 Ford Five Hundred Limited review from North America

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

This car is comfortable and a pleasure to drive. The seats are wide and high, almost like a recliner in your living room, but not quite as cushy. You sit up really high in this car, similar to a small SUV or truck. On the Limited, both the driver's and passenger's seats are power-operated (8-way on the driver's side, 4-way on the passenger's) and heated. The rear seat is actually a touch higher than the front, but I can't say how comfortable it is as I've never rode in the back.

Performance is adequate for a car this size. It could use more oomph, and it'll never "go" like a Chrysler 300. Naturally, if you want a sports car, look elsewhere. If you want a comfortable, easy-to-drive BIG car, look at the Five Hundred.

The exterior design is very nice, in a traditional, big, American car kind of way. Like the exterior of the Chrysler 300, it's almost love-it or hate-it. The Five Hundred has a very large greenhouse, making visibility wonderful. If you live anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, you'll probably want to get the windows tinted to cut down on heat in the summer. The trunk is supposed to be the largest in the world, and it looks like it. Plus the back seat folds down as well as the front passenger seat.

The interior is well laid out and the center stack is logical and not cluttered by too many extraneous buttons. The Limited has a 6 disc changer in the dash and programmable climate control. There are redundant radio control buttons on the steering wheel along with the cruise control. A wide and deep center storage compartment hides under the armrest. The rear seat has a fold down armrest as well, and it includes cup holders and a sizable storage compartment. Every door has a map pocket and bottle holder, and there is even a handy little compartment on top of the dash to throw stuff in. I've seen better quality leather, and it's not the squishy stuff they toss in a Lincoln Town Car, but it's comfortable and way better than cloth. I have the pebble colored interior, and the seats are never so hot it hurts to sit on them. The fact that they are heated makes them nice and toasty in the winter.