2009 Ford Flex: Is It Flexible Enough?

My 5'2" wife has yet to drive the Flex (and maybe never will), but I think she'd fit okay. As canadaphant said, the telescoping steering wheel is now standard, and it has power-adjustable pedals which should help a lot.

The size is intimidating though, even for me. I am still getting used to navigating such a big vehicle. I wish they would have included front parking sensors, that would help a ton.

Random note: I was trying to describe the Flex to a friend who hasn't heard of them yet. The best I could come up with is a mix between a large station wagon, a limo, and an iPhone. :)

My wife is 4'10" and she drives a Honda Odyssey. I'm 6'3" and we both fit, albeit at opposite ends of the seat and pedal adjustments!

I'm 5'4" and had no trouble driving the Flex. In fact, it was a much better fit than my Odyssey, where I really have trouble reaching the pedals.

My wife test drove the flex and she commented how big the hood was and how diminished her visibility, also the flex was more flotey than the Traverse.

I drove a rental one. It's about average for a big lumbering SUV/crossover thing for us (wife 5'4") to drive. Seats are not supportive though. I get the "swimming" feeling like Donna, but side-to-side, completely lacks lateral support. Decent leather for the price I think.

I have sat behind the wheel of the 09 Flex and could not reach the steering wheel comfortably with my legs at a comfortable distance from the pedals.

I sat in a 2010 and the telescoping wheel allows me to be comfortable.

Is the Flex really that big to be classified as big lumbering crossover?

At 5'5" I can drive one easily with the seat most of the way forward.

im 6'2" and feel generally comfortable in the flex. The foot wells seem smallish and make me feel the need to get out if in it too long.

Haven't driven one, but whenever I see one I cannot get over how good looking of a vehicle it is. My mom, who is 5'9" has driven one, however, and loved the thing and thought it was comfortable. She drove an SEL model and said it needed more power (she drives a heavily modified Trailblazer SS right now), but I think if she tried the EcoBoost model she could be convinced.

I drove one and found it to be underpowered and with weird ergonomics. And yes, it drives very big and lumbering compared to other crossovers. The seats were flat out horrible, the worst of any vehicle my wife and I test drove, which included all the current minivans and most of the affordable large crossovers. The second row seats were the worst, you felt like you were about to fall forward off of them. I like the design of it, but after taking one for a long test drive, I just do not understand the love this thing gets at Edmunds.

We own a 2009 FWD SEL with the adjustable pedals (9 mo, 12k). My wife has no issues with the lack of telescoping steering wheel, but occassionally, to get comfortable on a long road trip the wheel will get a bit far away for me. As caroholic pointed out, I find myself running the seat back quite a ways even w/ the pedals all the way forward. My wife has pointed out several times that there are no issues seeing out of the car, and even w/out backup camera, the sensors do a pretty good job. Just remember to hit the Reset button while backing out of an alley to turn the beeping off...

I spent a week in a rental 2009 Flex SEL with leather and thought it very comfortable. It did not have the telescoping wheel now standard, but I prefer an arms out position anyway. The business guests I had with me also found it very accomodating in the 2nd row, we didn't use the 3rd row. Tons of cargo space however. Compared with other crossovers I've spent time in, the Flex blows away the Highlander and Dodge Journey, is about even with the Enclave/Acadia/Traverse. I did think the Flex had better interior trim than the GM products except the Buick, which was pretty nice. Drive wise I thought the Traverse on it's standard tires and suspension was horrible; wallowy, spongy and most barge-like. The Enclave however had bigger tires and felt slightly more buttoned down. The Highlander is the least sporty of all. For what it is, I thought the Flex the best thought out of the bunch, not pretending to be an SUV like the Highlander and GM products. Perhaps the slightly lower seating position of the Flex helps it feeling of stability and less roll. Finally, it got about 20mpg overall, which I though OK, but only 2mpg better than the 2wd Suburban I had last week while traveling in Florida. If Ford could find a way to get 500lbs. out of the Flex, I bet it would be an even more impressive overall family vehicle.

The posts illustrate why a thorough test drive is so important.

@ hybris,
Perhaps I am too biased. Sure, there are a lot of ridiculously large Excursion/Suburbans out there that make this Ford look svelte. I don't haul more than about 4 people with any regularity, so I think my (barely midsize) sedans are big enough and anything bigger is "lumbering." ;)

I could see why a woman at 5'4 or less would feel this way in the Flex if it anything like the Taurus.

I just drove a rental Taurus this past weekend, and I was taken back by how humongous the dash and center console looked when I got in. It was ungainly. I looked as though the center console was about 1-2 inched too tall between the seats.

For such a large and tall car, my friends and I felt squeezed in. Not a airy feeling car, like an Accord, to say the least. A claustrophobic might have a hard time in this car.

I was also perplexed as to why Ford didn't take the extra care in making the two pieces of plastic trim on the east and west side of the center console better. It's probably the two places people would notice first, and would normally touch since the start button sits there, yet they're hard as rock and shiny too. With all the lengths they went with this car, and they cut corners there??
Ponderous.