Judging by the sheer number of facelifted test mules running around Dearborn, it looks as though Ford is working overtime to overhaul its entire lineup. In just the last month or so we've shown you refreshed versions of the Ford Escape , Mercury Montego and the Super Duty trucks . This time our overworked spy photographers caught what looks to be a 2008 Ford Five Hundred. Although most of its sheetmetal is unchanged, the grille looks to have been updated with Ford's three bar design...
Expect to see more power under the hood as well when this sedan appears next spring.
ateixeira says:
01:28 PM, 04/ 5/06
This will be interesting - I don't think the Fusion's blocky styling will work on the semi-circle shaped Five Hundred profile. Maybe they'll just use the grille and keep the shape rounded off?
andy1102 says:
03:31 PM, 04/ 5/06
It's good to see they are adding some character to the design...from what I can tell through the camo, it looks better.
The current car's biggest problem is the benign driving experience - it's underpowered, unrefined, and lacks feeling. A version of the new 3.5 V6 should at least make it competitive as far as performance with the other cars in the segment.
fsmmcsi says:
08:54 PM, 04/ 5/06
Better late than never. Wny can't they get it in production before one year from now?
jerrywimer says:
04:52 AM, 04/ 6/06
I hope they don't just use the grille and keep the shape rounded off. That smacks of what happened to the Chevy Silverado for the 2003 refresh, and was one reason I didn't like the new look as well as the 99-02 designs. If the whole truck had received the edgy styling the front wouldn't have looked so out of place. I've adjusted to it so it seems okay to me now but I still think it would look a lot more attractive if the whole truck carried the same theme.
I really hope Ford understands this with the Five Hundred refresh and makes sure that the rest of the car goes with the new front end.
carspy007 says:
08:41 AM, 04/ 7/06
This prototype had a revised rear-end as well, probably just limited to a new tail-light treatment. Expect the overall body shape to remain as-is.
alman08 says:
04:12 PM, 04/13/06
I wonder if the existing headlights will be kept. I sure hope not... the car might look funny. Also, I'm hoping the new model will use similar interior materials with the Fusion. I really like that piano-black panels.