GOOD FOR THE LONG HAUL; Take a closer look... it really is new.(News)

Byline: WES RAYNAL

Next time you walk by Ford's new minivan, the Freestar, you are liable to, well, walk right on by. But get inside one and have a good look around. Then drive it. Ah ha... it really is new.

Last year 113,465 of you bought, or more likely leased, Ford Windstars, the minivan the Freestar replaces, ranking it fourth in minivan sales behind the Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Town & Country. But that 113-large is down almost 24 percent, 35,410 copies, compared to 2002. So Ford felt a redo was in order.

The 2004 model is more than just a name change, even though the styling is in no way daring. There are only subtle changes to the front end, with a new hood, fenders, grille and bumper. The doors and rear quarter-panels are unchanged.

The major changes are inside and they mark a significant improvement over the Windstar. The dash is new, well laid out, good-looking, and appears high quality, as does the rest of the interior. The new center console looks nice and has easier-to-decipher heat/vent controls than the Windstar's. But perhaps the slickest thing is the new third-row seat. The Freestar's folds flat into the floor with a simple operation for those inevitable trips to the grocery store, and you don't have to take out the headrests to do it as you do on the competition. Or it can be flipped the other way for tailgating. There is 25 cubic feet of storage space behind the third-row seat.

Two V6s are available. The base engine displaces 3.9 liters and develops 193 hp at 6500 rpm and 245 lb-ft at 3500. Our test car, a top-of-the-line Freestar SEL, had the more powerful 4.2-liter, 201-hp, 263-lb-ft engine, mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. Ford says this 4.2-liter is the largest engine you can get in a minivan.

Our two-week stint in the SEL was ...