We've had our 2009 Ford Flex since September 2008 and even though it has been THE road trip car for our staff, surprisingly it seems like no one, besides me, has actually used it as a moving van, at least according to the long-term blog. I moved over the weekend and the Flex was a nice little supplement to the U-Haul I rented. It carried my precious mid-century wood desk which wouldn't fit in the already jampacked U-Haul. Obviously that power cargo door came in really handy during the move when hands were too busy carrying boxes to reach for keys. And hurray for fold-flat seats!
But something I found out about my new place, turns out the garage I was so excited about having barely fits cars the size of our Flex. The Flex's sensors and beeps helped me with easing the car into the spot oh-so carefully and it was a good thing that I could fold in the mirrors, too. For some reason the above picture makes the space seem bigger than it is but I did have to fold in the right side mirror. This was just a one-time thing and I will never try to fit a car this big in that garage ever again.
Besides that, the Flex made my least favorite thing to do in the world -- moving -- so much easier, whether transporting moving boxes and furniture or serving as an errand runner to Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Flex, I owe you one.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 66,433 miles
old_volvo says:
10:28 AM, 08/23/10
that garage is small? As you said, the picture must me deceiving. The flex has side parking sensors?
feloniousmonk says:
10:55 AM, 08/23/10
That garage entrance does look on the narrow side, but you can always widen it in the future if needed. I can't really see the rest of the space, but it looks like the other "bay" is just as tight so I'm guessing the entire garage is relatively narrow as well.
Anyway, glad to know the Flex came through. I dig it when things actually perform as advertised.
Hope the move went well. Congrats on the house.
caroscuro says:
11:18 AM, 08/23/10
old_volvo,
Yeah, it's made smaller by the fact that my neighbor's stuff is encroaching on my space. And you're right the Flex doesn't have side sensors. At first I had tried backing it in but then realized there's a shelf back there for storage.
feloniousmonk,
It's scary-narrow! This building was built in the 1930s, don't know how they fit their big Packards in there back then.
And it's not a house but a really cool apartment. :) I love it.
adamb1 says:
11:34 AM, 08/23/10
I have a 24x24, 2-car garage. The Mazda 6 and the Ram QC go in there every night. I have to maneuver the right mirror around the garage door frame every time I enter/Exit. I have 18" all the way around the truck once it's in.
caroscuro says:
11:44 AM, 08/23/10
adamb1,
Great job with the parking! Sounds like you have skills. The fact that this isn't my car makes it an even scarier proposition for me.
throwback says:
11:44 AM, 08/23/10
Congrats on the new place. Once you have a garage it is hard to do without one! As for the Packards, they went in the "Carriage House". The garage was for lawn implements.
adamb1 says:
12:02 PM, 08/23/10
I've never hit the garage or anything in it. I did leave one time to get a pizza and forgot my mother-in-law was parked behind the truck and couldn't see her Chevy Lumina in the mirrors. I backed up into it and did $3,500 damage. My receiver hitch tore a hole in the hood. My insurance company said "happens all the time."
felonious says:
12:21 PM, 08/23/10
Caroline, with the rear camera and parking sensors, you might have an easier time going in backwards than forwards. I've found that to sometimes be the case with mine.
I sure wish it had power folding mirrors, though. That's one retrofit upgrade that I'd gladly pay for, if it existed.
caroscuro says:
12:27 PM, 08/23/10
Throwback,
Wow, really? You learn something new every day.
adamb1,
Ouch! That'll learn her. ;)
felonious,
Yeah, that's why I started backing it in first but then the shelf back there touched the rear window and the Flex's nose was sticking out.
And agreed on the power folding mirrors. It was a biatch trying to scoot over the center console and gearshifter to unfold that passenger-side mirror.
feloniousmonk says:
12:38 PM, 08/23/10
caroscuro says:
11:18 AM, 08/23/10
"feloniousmonk,
It's scary-narrow! This building was built in the 1930s, don't know how they fit their big Packards in there back then.
And it's not a house but a really cool apartment. :) I love it."
Oh, well, nevermind on widening the entrance then. Tell your neighbor to shift their junk! Also, Packards ended up in converted carriage houses/stables, that garage was built for a Ford. :)
Congrats on the really cool apartment. Glad you love it.
jaden82 says:
12:54 PM, 08/23/10
This reminds me of an old duplex I used to live in that had a basement/garage combination. Not only was the garage door narrow, but there was a concrete wall on the driveway mere inches from the car's right side when driving in there. There was also a stairwell at the front of the garage leaving only about a foot of space between the car and the garage door....and we owned a small Sunbird at that time! Made me a nervous wreck since I was a teen getting used to driving and mom would make me park in there all the time so I'd get used to narrow spaces.
Thanks to her, I pretty much blast into narrow spaces and park with confidence instead of taking a hour to inch and inch into there. A few friends of mine experienced that horror and swore off riding with me again. :-P
awd_ownz_u says:
01:09 PM, 08/23/10
You have a garage... in LA. Who cares how big it is, that's baller status here.
felonious says:
02:18 PM, 08/23/10
Caroline: I see, you tucked the nose under the shelf. That's a really tight fit! Don't you wish the Flex had a set of front parking sensors too? I'd pay for that upgrade as well.
caroscuro says:
03:14 PM, 08/23/10
jaden82,
So did you ever scrape the car in those formative years?
awd_ownz_u,
AND it even has a lock! Haaay!
felonious,
Yes! Front parking sensors would be awesome.
jaden82 says:
05:10 PM, 08/23/10
Caroline,
No I did not, thankfully. I did stop in time once when I saw that the right side mirror barely tapped into the garage door frame and was going to break off if I drove any farther. I could hear some plastic and metal creaking a little as I prayed the mirror wouldn't snap off before I backed up. Thankfully there was no damage...not even the paint was scratched.
I spent the first couple dozen times or so parking in there slower than a grandmother. The problem was that Sunbird spewed exhaust fumes like there's no tomorrow. My bedroom happened to be right above the garage with the ventilation ducts exposed in the basement's ceiling so the fumes would easily get into my room and it'd stink for a hour or so. I forced myself to park in there faster, otherwise I'd just punish myself. Pretty much knocked the nervousness out of my system before long.
maastrichtian says:
01:46 PM, 08/30/10
Couple of comments: It is a really parkable car, which I'm very pleased about. I'm a little bummed out that I can no longer park in my garage with my bike rack (hitch mounted) and my bike on. That combination is conservatively estimated to be approximately 587 feet long.
Second, and I want to state this for any potential buyers, the seats fold down to a single PLANE, but that plane is most definitely **NOT** horizontal. I haven't measured it, but it's probably about 5 degrees down to the rear (I'm just guessing 6 inches drop over 70 inches length), which is a LOT - at least a lot more sloped than it sounds. So stacking a bunch of boxes is no problem, but, for example, a trash bag filled with compost will simply roll over toward the rear of the car, which is $hitty. It can be very frustrating. So do think about what's most important to you - sliding things in easily or having them stay upright easily. ***NOTE TO FORD: Some car companies have figured out how to do BOTH! :-)