Living with our 2009 Ford Flex
long-term car for over a week confirmed what I'd already figured -- when it comes to carting people and things around, this crossover gets the job done with both style and grace. The Flex inspired multiple double-takes and a few questions from onlookers during the week, and its plush interior, car-like handling and multiple gadgets (my kids loved the idea of a rear-seat 'fridge) made it a pleasant family tote bag for the most part.
Only two issues arose during my drive time. The first related to the car's flashy, 19-inch chrome wheels. These certainly enhance the Flex's looks, but on a vehicle with this much wheelbase (117.9 inches) keeping them away from curbs can be difficult. I found this out while going through the local McDonald's drive-thru, a path I've travelled several dozen times without incident. This time, however, I scraped the driver's-side rear wheel as I made the turn between order and pick-up.
I couldn't believe it, and looking at the odometer I thought "Well, at 1,850 miles I guess the wheels are broken in." When I got home I went to inspect the damage and noticed that while the rear wheel had a couple scrapes (pictured above), the front wheel (which never got near a curb during my use of the Flex) had much larger and deeper scrapes (pictured below).
So, apparently I didn't break the car's wheels in after all. But this confirms what I felt after scraping the rear wheel -- this car can be tricky to steer though tight places. If anything, the car-like driving quality masks how truly big the Flex is. Normally that's a good thing, but it can also lull you into a false sense of manueverability.
The other problem I encountered came during a gas fill up. I like the idea of Ford's capless fuel system, and it's always worked fine on my Ford GT. But this day, as the fuel pump hit its automatic shut-off point, I heard a dripping sound and looked down to see gas spilling onto the pavement -- from behind the Flex's rear quarter panel.
I'm not sure if the pump's shut-off sensor allowed for too much fuel to build up under the capless fuel cap, of if there's a leak at the top of the nozzel. Either way, it was a bit disturbing because the fuel came out from a location we don't have access to with this capless system. We'll keep an eye on the issue and see if it happens again.
joefrompa says:
08:40 AM, 09/10/08
I've had that happen before on cars with a capped-off system...I think it has more to do the the pump's sensors being mis-calibrated than with the car, and the fact that it has a release valve that dumps it underneath the car is nice (albeit I think almost all new cars have that).
Those wheels scrapes are disgraceful. You didn't just kiss the curb, you plowed it.
That's some freaking curb rash right there.
Joe
joefrompa says:
08:43 AM, 09/10/08
By the way, when I said "You plowed it" I meant edmunds in general, not you specifically Karl.
Side note: I hate seeing brand new cars with Hankook all-seasons on them. It's a little noticed sign of cost-cutting in an area I don't like seeing cost cutting.
And I say that having literally just paid someone $200 for 4 brand-new, never used Hankook W300 Ice Bears in 205/50/17 for the Subie to use this winter.
Joe
dougtheeng says:
08:43 AM, 09/10/08
Those are pretty nice rims, shame about the curb rash.
brn says:
09:57 AM, 09/10/08
Do they take that stuff out of your pay?
kevlang says:
11:23 AM, 09/10/08
yeah, it's the car's fault that you guys trashed the wheels.
greenpony says:
11:32 AM, 09/10/08
I did that to my rims too, but on the passenger's side. There was a full size van doing 20 mph in the left lane of a 40 mph zone. I waited, waited, then made a move to go around him. As I was passing him he decided to move over too. It was either let him sideswipe me or smash into the curb. My poor Mustang still has scraped rims...
billt9 says:
11:56 AM, 09/10/08
The Ford Flex has a spec'd ground clearance of 5.1" (130 mm).
So it has the ground clearance of a car.
This makes The Ford Flex a "crossover" between what, a wagon and a minivan?
subytrojan says:
11:57 AM, 09/10/08
It'll be cool to see what the Mikes do to get the rash repaired.
-------------------------------------
Joe, I expect to see some photos of you and/or your wife doing this with your LGT. :o)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKAI7LyBVkg
subytrojan says:
12:01 PM, 09/10/08
It probably would've been nice if Ford fitted the Flex with tires that have sidewalls that protect the wheel, especially if the wheel diameter is (unnecessarily - can you say unnecessary unsprung mass) large and the tires have low profile sidewalls.
This incident reminds me of an episode of when Karl's Ford GT's BBS wheels were spared from rash.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2007/02/2005-ford-gt-rim-protector-to-the-rescue.html
joefrompa says:
12:06 PM, 09/10/08
Subytrojan - I do that with my 06 Civic SI riding on General Exclaim UHPs, which are rated as a summer tire by tirerack and an all-season by General :)
(OK, I did that when I had them on and there was 2-3" on the ground...FWD can be fun in snow w/ parking brake application)
If we get some serious snow drifts, and the wife has snow tires on, then I'll throw a shovel in the trunk and we'll go a-plowing :)
Joe
firstwagon says:
12:09 PM, 09/10/08
"This makes The Ford Flex a "crossover" between what, a wagon and a minivan?"
Best description I've heard of the Flex so far.
We'll need a new name for this new class though. Vanwagons? WagoVans?
How about Vanagons?
Too VW? I'll keep thing about it
billt9 says:
12:12 PM, 09/10/08
"I hate seeing brand new cars with Hankook all-seasons on them. It's a little noticed sign of cost-cutting in an area I don't like seeing cost cutting."
Hankook tires are all very highly rated. Definitely not cost cutting.
I got a Nissan truck with Hankooks and they work great.
Your set of 4 for $200... "brand-new". At that price, you'd guess you were con'd into buying defective tires.
They cost $129 each at Discount Tires, $152 at 1010tires,
ih8hyundai says:
12:32 PM, 09/10/08
Bad Flex, Bad! It's all your fault Edmunds crashed your wheels into a curb!
joefrompa says:
12:55 PM, 09/10/08
Hey Bill,
Well, I inspected the carcasses and didn't see any degradation of the compound, and they were still strapped together with the original stickers on the tread. So it'd be hard to assess if they were defective.
Can you tell me where Hankook tires (as a whole) are very highly rated. I understand that, for instance, the W300 winter tires are fairly highly rated tires...but what about the brand/manufacturer as a whole?
For instance....General is not known for making alot of great tires, but their Exclaim UHP is manufactured by Continental. They assemble the carcass in ~6-8 pieces, which helps assure proper tire balancing. So the Exclaim UHP is one of the top-rated tires, but General as a whole is not one of the better tire manufacturers at this time.
I guess I shouldn't judge the tire prematurely. It might be fine.
Joe
tinyelvis says:
01:30 PM, 09/10/08
Bad Edmunds editor for taking the kids to CrapDonalds and stuffing them CrapTastic food.
The Flex is tryihg to tell you "feed the kids properly. Feed the kids properly."
billt9 says:
04:05 PM, 09/10/08
joefrompa,
These are the main internet outlets I know of...
http://www.1010tires.com/tiresearch.asp?brand=Hankook
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tires/hankook/home.do?r=TNWINT
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/hankook/hankook.jsp
Most common complaint is short life on some tires. Looks to be rated about as good as most brands. They don't make any one really bad tire.
sreed1 says:
06:01 PM, 09/10/08
As hard as you try, You can't blame a domestic auto maker for this blemish (as we'll put it politely) We'll just blame a domestic driver for this one! The more I see the Flex on the road the more I love it!! Truly a unique and awesome vehicle (no it's no Ferrari but for us normal consumers it is truly a great new entry in the North American auto market!)
ahightower says:
08:07 AM, 09/11/08
I think it's a bad design. Of course the driver gets the blame, but those wheels are too much for that car, and the tires are too low profile. I've kissed many a curb in our Yukon XL, it's just a fact of life with a big vehicle. And I praise myself for sticking with the 17" wheels every time. I've got like 4 inches of sidewall, and they bulge out quite a bit. The Flex needs no more than 16".
editor_karl says:
10:14 AM, 09/11/08
"It probably would've been nice if Ford fitted the Flex with tires that have sidewalls that protect the wheel, especially if the wheel diameter is (unnecessarily - can you say unnecessary unsprung mass) large and the tires have low profile sidewalls.
This incident reminds me of an episode of when Karl's Ford GT's BBS wheels were spared from rash.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2007/02/2005-ford-gt-rim-protector-to-the-rescue.html"
That went through my mind as well. Big tires and short sidewalls are just asking to be scraped. Having some extra wheel-protector-rubber, like the Eagle F1s on the Ford GT, wouldn't be a bad idea for every performance tire maker to consider.
I think I'll be checking the wheels of every random Flex I see (particularly the ones with 19-inch wheels). Any early predictions regarding what percentage will have curb rash?
dougtheeng says:
10:30 AM, 09/11/08
75%
ahightower says:
10:48 AM, 09/11/08
99% within a year. It's inevitable with a wheelbase that long.
billt9 says:
11:43 AM, 09/11/08
Taking a closer look, that is pretty strange how much farther out the wheel sticks than the tires.
Those tires are 235 right?
Looks like those rims are made for 265 or something.
cruiserhead1 says:
12:06 PM, 09/11/08
maybe they made a fat lip on the wheels knowing people would Helen Keller it into parking spots.
editor_karl says:
08:38 AM, 09/12/08
Hadn't thought about it before billt, but now that I look at them I see your point. As wheel/sidewall relationships go, these look a little uneven (but instead of the sidewall sticking out past the wheel, which is not uncommon, it's the reverse on the Flex). Hmmm...
jerrywimer says:
09:15 AM, 09/12/08
It's part of the new trend that allows fwd-based vehicles have wheels that are actually semi-attractive. FWD wheels tend to have positive offset wheels, so there's less room for the middle of the wheel to be set back inside the lip. I personally favor the look most rwd vehicles have, with at least some inset between the lip of the wheel and the hub. To do this with FWD cars requires that the rim be further out relative to the tire bead.
In fact, my Malibu LTZ no longer has the standard lip that used to be where lead wheel balance weights were attached, and neither do the wheels on the Flex shown here. It makes for much more attractive wheels (again, imo), but also leaves them more prone to damage such as this, especially with lower profile tires.
madlock says:
04:17 PM, 07/ 9/09
If it hasn't yet been determined that the pump's automatic shut-off sensor may have been the cause, why attribute it as a potential benefit/weakness of the vehicle until that has been determined?