Test Drive: 2009 Ford Flex
As the masses turned away from SUVs faster than Patriot fans have abandoned their squad , Ford went back to the drawing board to create a crossover that would appeal to those who need the space of an Expedition but whose wallets are more befitting of a Focus. What came out was the Flex. We took Ford’s new crossover around for a weekend to see if it’s as good as the blue oval hopes it is. Check out our breakdown of the truck below…
PRICE:$28,295
SPECS:
Engine: 262hp, 3.5-liter V-6 Duratec Engine
MPG: 16 city/22 hwy mpg (AWD)
RIDE: Despite the feeling that you’re pushing a hallway on wheels, the Flex has the road manners of a mid-sized sedan. The multi-link, fully independent suspension and the gas pressurized Macpherson struts provide a extremely smooth ride that will have passengers thinking they’re riding in a Lincoln. Steering is too light to do any real crazy driving (take it easy on the curves), but it feels confident whether you’re going 25 mph or 90 mph. Also, parallel parking this barge is made much easier with the great built in back-up camera.
INTERIOR: We’re not sure how this happened, but the Flex interior felt more high class than the Lincoln Navigators. The leathers are soft and supple, the wood grain lining the dash and the steering wheel looks great and there’s crazy head and leg room. The four moon roofs give the Flex an even more spacious feel. And while you’re riding around you’ll notice that road and wind noise is kept to a minimum, so you won’t be disturbed while you’re doing whatever you do in the back.
AUDIO: Sony comes through with a 390 watt, 10 speaker, 6 disc sound system that knocks pretty well. However, it doesn’t get nearly loud enough. For a ride as big as the Flex, we expected a sound system to match. What we got was a stereo fit for a Civic. It does come with a Aux and USB input so you can play your iPod or other MP3 players through the stereo.
WHIP APPEAL:Ford did the smart thing and went with an entirely different design route for this crossover. The box-on-top-of-a-box look, along with it’s faux wood grain and two tone paint schemes allow it to stand out from the rest of the crossover onslaught. You’re not guaranteed to get any numbers strictly off the strength of the Flex, but it did get the attention of a lot of people while sitting at traffic lights. Mostly just wondering what the hell we were driving.
ONE MORE THING: Most companies advertise that they can fit mad people in their crossovers. What they don’t tell you is that they all need to be the size of Bow Wow and Yung Berg. The Flex actually has the room for six to seven full sized adults. It also has a fridge for the bubbly.
SUMMARY: Ford’s newest crossover attempts to make you rethink what a crossover is supposed to look like and, for the most part, they succeed. It’s a huge ride that drives like a much smaller car. While the gas mileage is still not good enough to make those sick of SUVs buy it, if we needed to haul around a gang of people, we’d strongly consider it.
RATING: 4/5
