Our funky-looking minivan alternative -- or is it a wagon on steroids -- has been in our fleet now for about 8 months and more than 25,000 miles.
In that time, we've driven it across country to Fenway Park, cooled our lunch, stuffed it full of furniture, got pooped on in Oregon, got rear-ended in an unrelated incident, gave it the woodie treatment, and drove it bananas.
And now the Ford Flex is car of the week.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
lenoroc says:
10:47 PM, 06/ 7/09
Reading up on this car's long term test has given me a lot of confidence and hope for Ford's future. I hope you all test put more new Ford cars to the 20,000 mile test soon.
7driver says:
11:05 PM, 06/ 7/09
Now that you mention the rear-ender, Oldham stated in the post that you linked: "but we'll let you know how it all plays out."
Did he ever make good on that promise?
zoomzoomn says:
05:52 AM, 06/ 8/09
I like the woody look on the cover shot! Reminds me of my Dad's '73 Country Squire wagon!!!
dougtheeng says:
08:02 AM, 06/ 8/09
SUV of the week? haha not really a car, though I suppose that's up for debate.
mikeolan says:
08:13 AM, 06/ 8/09
I like this car, and I'm seeing more of them. I think the people who own them are a tick more intelligent than your typical go-and-buy-a-Honda-Pilot-or-Odyssey crowd.
adavis2493 says:
09:14 AM, 06/ 8/09
How many miles do you think it will have by the 12 Month Mark?
charlesb says:
09:48 AM, 06/ 8/09
The Flex needs the Ecoboost engine, pronto.
roar02ram says:
11:07 AM, 06/ 8/09
I realized that this is completely b*tchy to say, but as a self-proclaimed grammar Nazi, that last sentence nearly made me break out in hives...
cat_bus says:
12:03 PM, 06/ 8/09
Saw one in white the other day, looked like a ghost.
altimadude00 says:
02:57 PM, 06/ 8/09
mikeolan--"I think the people who own them are a tick more intelligent than your typical go-and-buy-a-Honda-Pilot-or-Odyssey crowd."
I can agree with you if you're referring to the automatic-look-to-the-import knee-jerk reaction that some people think everyone does.
What's wrong with a minivan. Did you not read the lament when the Dodge Caravan went bye-bye? Personally I fail to see what the Edge offers over a minivan (besides style, which is objective anyway).
Just because someone went with sliding doors for their family mover over swingers doesn't make them less intelligent. And if they choose to go with a minivan, the Odyssey is the best choice.
firstwagon says:
03:27 PM, 06/ 8/09
I gotta agree with altimadude00.
The person who buys the Flex may be more stylish but I question his intelligence.
Aside form the looks, you loose more then you gain. Biggest thing is space. The Flex makes clever use of what it's got but it only has 83 cubic feet compared to the Odysseys 147 cubic feet.
The smaller size would be OK if it were a lot cheaper, faster, better handling, better mileage... something, anything... but I have yet to see any real advantage.
actualsize says:
06:29 PM, 06/ 8/09
I can't argue with what you're saying. I've said it myself. But I have noticed that, as a 4-person family, we're using the minivan-y features and space envelope of our Odyssey less and less as the kids get older.
It's ironic how that works. My 13-year old only needs her iPod touch and a small suitcase and she's good. When the kids were 5 and 2-years old, we had jumpers, a pack-and-play, huge car seats, a stroller or two, luggage, etc.
The Flex really works when looked at as a largish 4-passenger wagon with decent cargo space. The middle row is much more accomodating (knee/leg space and seat comfort) than any minivan I've been in.
It also has room for 6 full-size adults and luggage for two; it handles grandparent airport shuttle duty just fine. The rear seats are not a penalty box. It can do grocery runs with all 6 seats in use, because it does have the well in the floor like modern minivans.
The lower seating position makes it less vomit-inducing on twisty roads than any minivan or crossover. I really prefer the way it drives compared to my Odyssey.
And, while I don't really need AWD, some folks do. The Sienna is the only minivan right now that offers AWD, but you have to tolerate hateful run-flat tires to get it. You can get the Flex in several AWD flavors and trim levels. It's a good counterpoint to the too-big, too puffy Enclave/Acadia/Outlook/Traverse.
Minivans still rock if you need a do-it-all vehicle when you have young children--especially more than two of them. And I wish that Ford had put sliders on the Flex. But there's a post-soccer, pre empty-nest period where the Flex works quite well and gets the job done.