1999 Ford Windstar...Continued

Windstar offers optional head-and-chest side airbags. This is a first for Ford and for any minivan available in North America. The airbags are located in the seat bolsters, not the best place but useful so long as seat covers are not placed over them. Sensors located beneath the front seats act independently of the front airbags and deploy when a side impact is sensed. These airbags are designed to reduce rotational neck injuries and keep the head inside the vehicle, protecting the occupants from contact with objects outside of the vehicles such as trees, telephone poles or car parts.

Perhaps the best safety feature offered on the 1999 Windstar is the Reverse Sensing System. Given the line of sight in a minivan, having help backing up is very important. You may have seen the BMW commercial where the large 7 series sedan maneuvers into position between a set of tightly spaced ming-esque vases. The 1999 Ford Windstar employs the same Reverse Sensing System found on BMWs and Mercedes. The system senses objects behind the vehicle that are within 5.9 feet warning the driver with an audible beep. The beep quickens until becoming a continuous tone when the object is within 10 inches. The system detects solid objects such as metal garbage cans or concrete walls better than a plastic garbage bag or bush. It is also better at detecting things directly behind the vehicle as opposed to those that are at an angle. Mercedes has touted their system as a way to keep from running over Junior in the driveway. While the system may help, it does a better job sensing things behind the van, if they are solid. So it is easier to detect Junior on a bicycle than if he is sitting on the ground. One more caveat with the system, the beep comes from a small speaker in the rear right D pillar of the van. It is not very loud and cannot be adjusted. We recommend that drivers make sure passengers are quiet while they are backing up so that they can hear the beep.

Cargo Space: The 4-door wagon has an impressive 148.5 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats removed. Even with the rear seats in place the Windstar had more than enough room to carry all the we had with us for our two-week business trip including: four large suitcases, a computer bag, a large camera bag, a briefcase and a variety of shopping bags. This is equivalent to the amount of luggage a family of four or five would take on a summer vacation.