I heard it before I saw it.
When I looked up I was being passed by a shiny black Nissan GT-R. I was driving the Ford Flex at the time. While the funky Flex is likeable, it just doesn't do it for me.
I longed to pull up next to the driver and proclaim, "I used to drive a white one. Really. I swear."
But he disappeared in a flash of obsidian.
I miss the GT-R. And somewhere in my heart, I know it misses me.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Despite the fact that our Flex has racked up nearly 50,000 miles, I had yet to spend any real quality time in it. That changed this week when I took it to Vegas, about a 600-mile round trip from my house in greater L.A. I averaged 22.4 mpg with the drive being mostly open freeway cruising running between 70-80 mph.
Herewith are some random cheers and jeers I had for this Ford, some of which you may have already seen noted by my colleagues.
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex Limited: Voyage to Vegas Notes.
Below are the fuel economy numbers for January 2010. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As usual, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments. You'll see a couple of newcomers on this list as well.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
19.4
|
13.8
|
16.2
|
|
| 2008 BMW 750i |
23.3
|
12.4
|
17.2
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
21.6
|
10.8
|
16.0
|
|
| 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS |
23.1
|
9.4
|
16.7
|
|
| 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 |
16.4
|
16.4
|
16.4
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
26.4
|
10.3
|
17.1
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 |
19.4
|
10.5
|
13.9
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.3
|
19.3
|
|
| 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid |
36.6
|
30.1
|
33.1
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
24.9
|
31.3
|
|
| 2010 Honda Insight EX |
43.9
|
27.9
|
38.7
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
22.4
|
10.7
|
17.0
|
|
| 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 |
28.1
|
15.9
|
21.4
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
27.0
|
13.2
|
18.7
|
|
| 2010 Volvo XC60 |
20.0
|
12.7
|
17.4
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Continue reading Big List of Fuel Economy: January 2010.
Here's a little surprise I stumbled into this morning while fiddling with the Flex's seats. This might very well give the Flex the ability to carry a ten-foot-long piece of cargo (like, say, a 2x4 or rain gutter or any other piece of hardware sold in that length) without cutting it down. I haven't measured it, but it looks possible.
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex Limited: Surprise Utility.
For now the rain is gone, and Blue Wave car wash is running double staff to satisfy the increase in demand. Before I washed the Flex, I found a couple interesting rain patterns that had been left behind.
Chief Road Test Editor, Chris Walton @ 46,004 miles
I had the Ford Flex throughout the deluge last week, and here's the reason. We had house-guests who flew from Portland to escape the rain and snow. D'oh! The plan was set in concrete with fly-or-die plane tickets so we were going to Disneyland come heck or high water. The good news is the Flex proved the perfect 6-passenger vehicle, once again, and even better, the Happiest Place on Earth proved to be the Emptiest (and Soggiest) Place on Earth.
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex Limited: The Happiest Place on Earth.
Thanks to ampim for this week's favorite caption. You can always get me with a Star Wars reference. We also enjoy when you mention other posts.
Here are the others that stuck with us:
The Flex holds up well to all our cheap shots! (ergsum)
Ford Flex: Give It a Shot! (ergsum)
Inside Line decides to "stick" with the Flex. (ergsum)
Darn! It must be armored or something! (eidolways)
I wish you hadn't done that, Dave. (eidolways)
No worries kids...the rear wiper has been deemed ineffective (rick8365)
On the highway, these will make us look MUCH faster (dougtheeng)
UnFORDgiven (ergsum)
Full shields to the rear! We're being attacked by Cling-ons!! (technetium99)
I told you, I WANT A BIGGER REAR WIPER! ARRRRRGH! (robert4380)
A look behind the scenes at real-world testing at Edmunds...(mrryte)
Edmunds, Dan Edmunds. (ergsum)
Edmunds staff finally takes out their frustration over the sunroof gap. (thejohnp)
What was your favorite?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds has spent a lot of time with our Ford Flex. So, he's had plenty of opportunities to take caption contest photos.
He here is taking a shot or two or fifty at this favorite family hauler.
We suggest: Ford Flex Hits Target Market
OK, that's not funny. We'll leave funny up to you.
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Don't forget to check out the caption contest on Straightline.
Why are rear wipers always so small? This is not an issue specific to the Ford Flex. I just happened to be driving the Flex in all this rain.
I've never seen a rear wiper that actually clears the back window. It's like they're an afterthought.
Can you think of any car with a wiper that clears the rear glass as completely as the front wipers do?
I'm obsessed with wiper blades today. I just put three new ones on my Integra. And its back wiper is small, too.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
During my roadtrip to Sacramento, I loved all the conveniences of our 2009 Ford Flex -- its Bluetooth so I could call my parents and let them know I was now passing Coalinga, its satellite radio so I wouldn't have to keep changing radio stations and the soft lights in the cupholders so I can safely set my cup of coffee down while driving. But the feature I appreciated the most had to be that the second row of passenger seats had their own seat heaters!
I had to pick my dad up from the hospital this weekend and it was really nice that we could get him all cozy for the ride back home. We had to put him in the passenger seat behind me because that's where the nurse wheeled him as it was closest to the wheelchair ramp. In any case, I was thrilled that he, too, could enjoy heated seats, since being a lover of them myself I know how awesome they are. And how often do backseat passengers get to enjoy such luxuries? I mean, besides DVDs.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 45,462 miles
It was a really close call this weekend for our 2009 Ford Flex and the trucker standing at the side of highway 5 in the Grapevine inspecting his rig's tires. I'm still shuddering over it when I think of it.
On Friday morning my brother and I were driving up the 5 North toward Sacramento. This was just the beginning of our 5 1/2-hour journey and we had already suffered several bits of bad luck. So not wanting to tempt fate, I was playing it safe and staying in the slow lane, driving with cruise control set at the speed limit.
But as we were trudging along the Grapevine just about an hour into our trip, at the corner of my eye I spot a silver Mercedes C240, who was originally in the fast lane, now quickly cutting across all the lanes till he was right beside me. I had no idea what he was doing, just that he looked like he was going to run right into the side of the Flex. I honked my horn and kept honking at him to let him know, "Hey! I'm in this lane!" Don't know how he could miss me in the huge, black Flex though.
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex: Pfew! THAT Was Close.
When I got into the Flex this morning, I noticed this star-shaped rock chip in the windshield by the driver side A-pillar. Bummer. It's about 1 inch in diameter and not in the driver's direct line of sight, so hopefully we can get it repaired instead of replacing the entire windshield.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com
Last week I showed you the wear and tear on our M3's seatback bolsters. At the time the car had less than 15,000 miles. Certainly the seat in our Flex doesn't have a big bolster to rub every time you get in or out, but the fact that it shows very little wear is impressive at 44,500 or so miles.
More examples after the jump.
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex Limited: Barely Showing Its Age.
Thanks to vwthing1 for this week's favorite caption.
There were so many funny ones to choose from. We had a hard time this week.
Here are the others that had us doubled over with laughter:
The Flex left a few skid marks! (ergsum)
Not surprisingly, the motel that night was a dump! (ergsum)
Ford Flex: The Load Warrior (ergsum)
Meanwhile, after my colonoscopy... (zoomzoomn)
Must be an old logging road. (ergsum)
Take Holloway, the other route always gets backed up. (lowmilelude)
Crap! That was our turn! (thegraduate)
Ford tests new FecoBoost technology. (vwthing1)
Craption Contest....hahahaha!!!! (rick8365)
Road trips in the Flex are always a gas. (sherief)
What was your favorite?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Happy New Year, captioners!
Dan Edmunds sent me this shot of the Ford Flex from his vacation.
We offer you: Been Driving All Night. I'm Pooped.
I know you can do better.
This is our first caption contest of the new decade. So, I want to ring the bell.
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
And don't forget to check out the caption contest on Straightline.
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Recent Posts
2009 Ford Flex Limited: Rain Patterns
January 29, 2010 8:15 AM
2009 Ford Flex Limited: The Happiest Place on Earth
January 28, 2010 8:05 AM
2009 Ford Flex: Our Favorite Caption
January 22, 2010 4:10 PM
2009 Ford Flex: You Write the Caption
January 22, 2010 3:00 AM
January 21, 2010 11:50 AM
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