[3] Although its body and chassis was used to produce the Mercury Meta One concept vehicle, no Lincoln-Mercury version of the Freestyle ever reached production.

To accommodate production costs for Ford and durability concerns for North American roads, many revisions were made to the platform, making the final vehicles significantly different.

The Freestyle was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2005 (placing second behind the Ford Escape Hybrid).

[5] The ZF-Batavia CVT was replaced by an all-new Ford/GM 6-speed automatic transmission, while all-wheel drive remained an option.

To increase its functionality, the Taurus X featured new power options, including a power-operated rear liftgate and power-folding second-row seats.

The 2005-2007 Ford Freestyle, and the 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, were offered in several different trim levels: The base SE trim level, only offered on the Freestyle between 2005 and 2006, was the "base" trim level, and offered the following features as standard equipment: a 3.0L "DuraTec" V6 engine, a CVT transmission (Freestyle only) or a 6 speed automatic transmission (Taurus X only), seventeen-inch alloy wheels and tires, an A/M-F/M stereo with a single-disc CD player and a four-speaker audio system, manual front and rear air conditioning with front controls, cloth seating surfaces, power windows, power door locks, keyless entry, an aluminum interior trim piece, black door handles and side mirrors, and matte gray lower body trim.

It added the following options to the base SE trim level: a 3.5L "DuraTec" V6 engine (2008 and 2009 Taurus X only), a six-speed automatic transmission (2008 and 2009 Taurus X only), sport-styled seventeen-inch alloy wheels, a security system, an A/M-F/M stereo with a single-disc CD/MP3 player and an auxiliary audio input jack, dual-zone automatic air conditioning with rear controls, a power front driver's seat, a woodgrain interior trim piece, and either Gray Metallic or Arizona Beige Metallic lower body trim.

It added the following options to the mid-level SEL trim level: dual front heated power seats, leather-trimmed first and second-row seating surfaces (the third-row bench seat was vinyl-trimmed), an A/M-F/M stereo with a six-disc, in-dash CD/MP3 changer (later with an auxiliary audio input jack and Ford SYNC) and a premium "Audiophile" seven-speaker audio system with rear-mounted subwoofer and external amplifier, satellite radio, color-keyed exterior door handles and side mirrors, and color-keyed lower body trim.

The Eddie Bauer Edition, only offered on the Taurus X between 2008 and 2009, was the "luxury" trim level, and added the following options to the base SEL trim level: an A/M-F/M stereo with a single-disc CD/MP3 player and an auxiliary audio input jack with Ford SYNC, satellite radio, two-tone leather-trimmed first and second-row seating surfaces (the third-row bench seat was vinyl-trimmed), dual heated power front seats, color-keyed door handles, and Arizona Beige Metallic or Ingot Silver Metallic lower body trim.