So I'm researching the 2013 Ford Flex and....

"SlickMcRick" (slickmcrick) 01/11/2015 at 01:24 • Filed to: None

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Some "genius" decides to go off on his high horse without facts as usual. This is a reason I love the Oppo/Jalop community. In our comment section we rarely have someone so blatantly off and with a pompous attitude to boot.

Whoever "jon368" spoke my mind whenever I see nonsense like this. Sad since the info found is a Google search away.

SlickMcRick > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 01:26

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Still had another good laugh at the lunacy after I just read it for at least the 5th time lol

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 01:28

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A fucking Suburban doesn't even weigh 6,000 pounds.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 01:29

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Forgot to mention, you should check out fordflex.net. It is a really good forum with really nice people who know a lot about their cars.

SlickMcRick > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 01/11/2015 at 01:33

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You're a life saver I tell ya. May you live long and prosper.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 01:34

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Holy shit, that is surprising. It weighs 400lbs less than a fucking Raptor, even fully loaded and 4WD.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/11/2015 at 01:38

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Somehow GM managed to make the SUVs and trucks really fucking light for what they are without going to extreme measures (e.g. Aluminum)

A crew cab, standard box Silverado with the 6.2 and 4WD is only 5500.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 01:42

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But the Ford with aluminum that will cost both arms and your favorite leg to repair, only weighs 5k!

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/11/2015 at 01:44

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I think I'd just take the extra 500lbs and keep my arms and leg, thanks.

Dusty Ventures > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 01:50

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Not to pile on regarding their obliviousness, but here's a little something from Edmunds.com

Ford Flex:

In Edmunds brake testing, both a Flex Limited with the standard 3.5-liter engine and an EcoBoost model stopped from 60 mph in 128 feet — average for the class.

Toyota Prius V

Braking 60-0 mph (ft.)129

Standard Toyota Prius

In Edmunds brake testing, the Prius came to a stop from 60 mph in 118 feet: very good for a compact or midsize car.

I didn't realize the difference between very good and piss poor was 10 feet ;)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 01:53

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I think I'll go the even heavier route for a Ecodiesel, if I had to choose. Though I have to say, if the Colorado diesel turns out well, and the front air damn is removable(yes I know the Taco has one too, it also looks easy to take off like the Colorado), it might convince me to eat crow. Unless the Taco gets the mini-Cummins like the Frontier.

SlickMcRick > Dusty Ventures 01/11/2015 at 01:59

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So a Prius which weighs 3,042 lbs stops only 10ft shorter than a vehicle that weighs 1200 - 1600 lbs more.... By that measure I say it's breaking distance is Hypercar beating. :)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/11/2015 at 02:02

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I want to imagine it's going to do very well. 325 ft-lbs of torque sounds like exactly what the Colorado needs. Plus that diesel longevity. As far as I know you can unscrew that air dam, just like on the full-size trucks.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 02:11

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That is what I thought about the airdam. My biggest concern is weight with the diesel Colorado. At full spec, it's already 4500 lbs. With the extra weight of the diesel and the accessories that go with it, I would imagine it will be around 4700-4800, which is in F-150 territory. I don't know how well 190 hp and 325 ft lbs will be able to perform. Then again, the Ram does fine with what it has, so we'll just have to see.

Birddog > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 02:30

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jon368 is a damn hero among men.

Birddog > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 02:36

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Nope, wrong. Intraweb math puts a Suburban somewhere north of 22,000 beehives.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Birddog 01/11/2015 at 02:43

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Or to the average internet commenter "Approximately the weight of the moon."

AdverseMartyr > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/11/2015 at 03:59

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I would think that would depend on the dragon en coitus with said Suburban. I'm thinking the combined weight could easily go over 6,000 pounds.

buford-t-justice > Birddog 01/11/2015 at 06:45

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Give me 5 bees for a quarter

buford-t-justice > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 06:47

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Don't you mean more then 6000 lbs...

QCGoose > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 13:03

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We have a 2014 Limited and absolutely love it. Insanely comfortable, spacious, versatile, and oddly enough it's even somewhat fun to drive for a 4500lb box.

One of the things that drew us to it the most was its quirky looks. We love the unique design and the fact that they aren't a dime-a-dozen beigemobile. There's nothing else like the Flex on the roads today. Seeing one on the road is almost like a pleasant little surprise. I've never gotten "excited" about regular cars, but something about the Flex just seemed different; special even. I love that it's completely unapologetic about being a giant box. The designers embraced that fact and it shows, inside and out. It's just a great, honest, comfortable people mover that has style in spades.

Sadly this is the only pic I have of it, but here's ours shortly after we got it a few months ago:

If you have any questions about the car or living with one, I'll do my best to answer. Either way, it's awesome to hear of another gearhead who's a fan of the Flex.

SlickMcRick > QCGoose 01/11/2015 at 16:33

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That thing looks beautiful. The more I post about this amazing vehicle the more people I seem to come across that have some type of experience with one. Be it ownership or rental I tend to here nothing but great reviews about it. I want to get either a SEL or Limited AWD with a Vistaroof and 6 seat combo. That's all I want. I was looking at the first gen models because they were squarely in my budget currently but I think the by the end of this year I'll be able to find some 2013s that fit my bill in my budget as well. Did you spring for AWD or just keep it FWD? I'm honestly more Jalops aren't in love with this car. We always beg for wagons and that's essentially what this is except it's easier to get in and out of.

QCGoose > SlickMcRick 01/11/2015 at 17:45

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Ours is a FWD, so unfortunately that means it's not an Ecoboost model. It's actually my wife's car (though I was the one making the push to get a Flex a few years ago before she finally came around and fell in love with them as well). I wanted the Ecoboost (though I didn't want AWD and that's all the turbo comes in so I'd have excused that) but she didn't, and neither of us wanted AWD as we'd just be lugging around that drivetrain's extra weight (and therefore worse efficiency) when we didn't need it 99% of the year.

Even in this winter's snow so far, the FWD has performed commendably, even with the big 20" factory wheels and tires. I was searching out a set of smaller factory wheels to add winter tires to and planned on swapping them on to the Flex from early December to early March, but the way ours has handled the slippery stuff so far, I'm honestly in no hurry for a winter combo setup.

Ours has the Vista Roof, which we really wanted, but not the dual DVD front headrests, which we also wanted (we have a 5 month old baby boy right now, with another kid planned in the near future, as well as nieces and nephews), but figured if we really wanted a DVD player in the car we could always just spend a few hundred on a third-party unit. Much easier than trying to figure out how to retrofit a Vista Roof setup lol.

Ours also has the 3-person 60/40 bench in the second row to maximize passenger seating when needed. The nice thing about it is both sections of the bench seat are able to recline a good amount if needed; not as much as the individual captain's chairs, but enough to make a big difference in the passengers' comfort levels. However, they don't slide back and forth like the captain's chairs do.

Being a Limited, it also has all the dash/infotainment doo-dads and gizmos and power EVERYTHING; steering wheel, pedals, seats (the cooled seats are fantastic in the heat), automatic folding/unfolding 2nd and 3rd row seats, power liftgate, etc. Adds some weight and complexity, but we wanted this more for comfort and convenience and so far it's more than delivered. No roof rails and no rear hitch as we wouldn't have used either, and like the AWD, we didn't want things we wouldn't use or need (at least more than a handful of times a year, if that).

I'll add this as well; the seats are ridiculously comfortable. Even the 2nd row is a great place to spend time on the road as there is a TON of legroom. That was one of the things that shocked my wife and I when we checked one out at a car show a few years back. These things are just insanely comfortable. Even the 3rd row isn't a penalty box for adults on cross-town rides (can't say I'd wanna spend more than about 3-4 hours max back there).

Also, another thing to note about the Flex is that the '13 update wasn't just a cosmetic update, they also updated the engine and almost all of the interior. The non-turbo 3.5's power was bumped from 262 HP / 248 TQ to 287 HP / 256 TQ. It's still not direct-injected, though I wish it was because on top of gained efficiency there would have been a major jump in power; easily over 300-310 I think. Oh well, it still performs well enough. It'll spin the factory 20's with ease, but it's not exactly quick off the line. However, once already moving at, say, 30 or so, the 287 HP pulls this thing along at a somewhat surprising rate.

The brake sizes went up, so the smallest factory wheels that'll fit are 18's; the '09-'12 had 17's as the base size and I was searching for them initially when looking for a winter setup, but then learned that they wouldn't clear the revised model's brakes.

There's also additional padding and insulation throughout the cabin and along the firewall, etc for added noise insulation. I spent a good amount of time in a '12 years back, and never noticed it to be "noisy" on the highway, but I will say our '14 is sooo quiet.

Going back to my old comment that it's surprisingly fun to drive, I really believe that. Even with its heft and electric power steering, it's surprisingly responsive and I enjoy it on the curvy stuff. But it also soaks up the bumps, even with the big 20" wheels. As well as being enjoyable to drive, everything inside is easy to use after a bit of time getting used to it while behind the wheel. MyFordTouch, Sync, all the menus on the central display as well as all the menus on both sides of the speedometer to thumb through, they all become easy to navigate and use once accustomed to it all. It really is a "connected" car, short of having its own WiFi like some of the new GMs. There are just so many toys and gadgets to play with.

And then efficiency. Using the good stuff (87 NON-ethanol), we're able to get 25+ on the highway quite often. During the warmer months, 18-20 in the city is easy, as is seeing 25-28 on the highway. With it being as cold as it is, extended idle time to warm up, and the shitty winter blends, we're seeing about 16-17 in the city and we haven't done much highway driving with it this winter so I don't have much to give there, but I'd imagine 23+ wouldn't be a problem.

A good friend/co-worker of mine, him and his wife also have a '13 Flex, but theirs is an Ecoboost. While it's certainly quicker than our non-turbo, and would be a hoot to have and modify, I can't say it makes our feel inadequate. It's got much more torque down low, and from 0-60 it'll blow ours away, but from a roll on the highway the non-turbo isn't exactly as far behind the Ecoboost as the power numbers and 0-60 times would suggest. Like I said before, the base engine's 287 HP shows its strength when already moving and is no slouch itself.

While I'd have loved an Ecoboost, it's probably a good thing we didn't get one. For one, it's HER Flex, not mine, and I'd be going crazy trying to NOT throw money and mods at it as well as probably driving her crazy wanting to tinker with her car lol. Second, even then, I'd still be tinkering with it and that wouldn't be great for my bank account or her warranty lol, especially when I have my own cars and motorcycles to fart with.

Anyways, holy hell that's a longwinded post. If you're still with me this far, I appreciate you going through all this and hope it helps provide a little more insight on the car. They're unique, they're spacious, they're comfortable, and they're safe and reliable (ranked #1 in Ford's current lineup). As someone already pointed out, there are a couple Flex forums and they're great. You'll learn everything you'd want about them, and hopefully you'll find yourself behind the wheel of your own Flex in the near future!

OK, last point I'll make. I'm such a dork about the Flex and us finally having one that every time we see one, no matter who's with us and whether we're in the middle of talking or not, I immediately shout out "FORDFLEX!" (really fast like it's one short word lol) and I'll also honk when we pass one, kinda like the Jeep/Corvette/motorcycle guys having "their wave" lol.

The wife... Yeah, she puts up with me lol.

SlickMcRick > QCGoose 01/11/2015 at 19:43

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That has to be about the LONGEST reply I've seen lol. Yes I read it all because it was well put together. Would have kind of felt guilty if I didn't. I would love to get an Ecoboost model as well but that won't work because the only one's that'd be in my budget are the first gen models and of course they didn't get the improvements from the 2013 model that you mentioned. Better handling and upgraded braking which seemed to be a major complaint with the Ecoboost trim in the 1st Gen Flex. Thanks for all of the insight as well, it gives me great confirmation that this vehicle is the one for me even without a turbo. Besides I always have my little Saturn to play around with if I feel like rowing through gears. Once the vehicle is mine expect a thorough Oppo review that way we can finally push the Flex to the forefront of fellow Jalops minds.