It's a good thing then that the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle and the Mercury Montego were kept idling on a continuous basis. Stepping in and out of warm vehicles is preferable to having to cold start them each time.

As a Canadian, I am more than comfortable driving in winter weather. The purpose for this trip was to highlight the advantages of Ford's all-wheel drive system and to show its effectiveness in even the most extreme driving conditions.

The dynamic trio of the recently introduced 2005 Ford Five Hundred, Freestyle and Montego, would be our test vehicles for this particular event.

The Five Hundred and Montego go head to head with some of the most respected vehicles in the mid-sized sedan category. While other car companies such as DaimlerChrysler have taken risks by introducing the stylish 300 and 300C sedans, Ford has chosen a less perilous path for the styling of the Five Hundred and Montego, focusing instead on providing the best overall package.

The Ford Freestyle is helping to define a new market for consumers. True, it's not leading edge in outward appearance, but as a proper crossover vehicle, it provides all the roominess and comfort we have come to expect in a van and none of the truck-like qualities inherent with a boxy structure and design.

Having previously experienced both the Five Hundred and Freestyle for a week long test drive, I was well aware of their many good qualities: smooth ride, luxurious appointments, enormous back seat legroom in the Five Hundred and the excellent storage space found in both. What I was not prepared for was how well they would handle in ice and deep snow.

Ford's solution to nasty weather driving is their on-demand Haldex electronic all-wheel-drive system.

In normal driving, it operates as a front-wheel-drive unit. The moment it senses wheel slippage at any of the four corners, it instantly re-directs torque to the wheel with the best grip. The system is seamless and quick, transferring power within 50 milliseconds, the equivalent time it takes for the tires to rotate 1/7th of a wheel.

To prove the worthiness of their all-wheel-drive, Ford had us test all three vehicles on several unique courses over the span of a day. Most were equipped with AWD, but for comparison sake, some vehicles were front-wheel-drive only.

The first series of tests was conducted on a straight-line snow and ice road section at a regularly used test facility in Sault Ste. Marie. On each side of the football field sized road, high snow banks protected two-way traffic from sliding into each other and offered some protection from the winter elements. (CONTINUE...)