"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15)
06/30/2016 at 21:41 • Filed to: Reviews No One Asked For
4
16|
"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15)
06/30/2016 at 21:41 • Filed to: Reviews No One Asked For | 4
| 16 |
I’ve always liked the Ford Flex. I like its pseudo-Range Rover styling, its practical, boxy shape, and that it can seat seven people comfortably. I finally got to drive one today, and the normality of it is striking.
( FULL DISCLOSURE: Ford wanted me to drive the Flex so badly that they started building it when I was 11 and have left it largely unchanged for seven years. They then graciously leased one to my sister this morning who was kind enough to let me drive and take pictures of her new vehicle.)
Let me start by getting you up to speed on the particular car I drove. Its a 2016 Flex SEL with front wheel drive. It is not the AWD 3.5 EcoBoost SHO-wagon. It is not fast.
That, however, is fine because fully-specced EcoBoosts can edge up on $50,000, while the one I drove is nearer to $35,000. ( AUTHOR’S NOTE: As far as I can tell by going onto Ford’s configurator and trying to remake the car from memory. )
Please ignore Smash Mouth playing on the stereo. This is not my car. Do not judge me, judge my sister.
The driving experience is certainly nothing to write home about. It drives like a big car, which is fitting considering that’s exactly what it is. It has a slow 6-speed automatic transmission that has buttons to change gear that are apparently just for show, and thanks to electronic power steering it has the steering feel of a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
When you change into “manual mode” a little digital tachometer appears in the gauge cluster. Cool, yes, but disappointing when you find that this is the only thing the gear up and down buttons do.
With the standard 3.5 liter V6 the Flex has no problem getting out of its own way, but at over 4,000 pounds I feel the EcoBoost would be a better fit.
So it drives like every other new car i.e., numb and boring. This, however, is okay because the majority of people driving the Flex don’t care about body roll or 0-60 times. They care about getting their kids to Taekwondo and listening to Mumford and Sons.
The Flex does this brilliantly. It can hold up to six kids plus a driver and thanks to the Flex’s unique (boxy) shape, even a 6'0 kid like me can sit in the third row with plenty of head and leg room. The SYNC 3 system also offers dozens of different ways for you to listen to Mumford and Sons.
What don’t I like about it? Well the name is something that’s always rubbed me the wrong way.
Ford launched two new models for the 2007 model year: a rounded off SUV and a box with a V6. They, in their infinite wisdom, decided to call the obscenely round SUV the Edge and the literal box with wheels the Flex.
Why Ford did this has always astounded me. The names are plainly better suited the other way round.
I should also mention that the particular Ford Flex that I drove was christened Fabio by my sister’s children. I am aware that this is a terrible name for a car much like Ruesifit would be a terrible name for a child. This car will likely be bullied in the parking lot by cars whose names make sense.
Another bad thing about the Flex is reward visibility. Now I own a car that has a wing, and then a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! blocking my view out of the rear-view mirror. The Ford Flex, however, takes the cake on most careless obstruction of rear-view mirror.
These needlessly large head rests in the third row are non-removable.
The headrests in the third row block an area large enough to keep a garbage truck out of the driver’s line of sight. While this may not be a problem for some people, my sister has four kids and the headrests are non-removable meaning she will have to look around them every time she drives.
The Ford Flex is cool enough that normal people like it, weird enough that car people like it, and practical enough to be enjoyed by everybody. While I’m sure Fabio here will suit my sister’s family very nicely, I’ll hold out for a CPO EcoBoost one, that way I won’t feel so bad when I take a chainsaw to the headrests in the third row.
S65
> Matthew Keyser
06/30/2016 at 21:50 |
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Ecoboost flex is best flex
FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> Matthew Keyser
06/30/2016 at 21:57 |
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Good review. Hints of Demuro. I enjoyed it. People who own these really seem to love them. A coworker of mine totaled hers that she had owned for a few years in an accident last month and bought another as soon as she had the insurance check without pausing to even look at other cars.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Matthew Keyser
06/30/2016 at 22:01 |
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The Flex and the Explorer share a lot of DNA. The gauges and sync system come from the same bin and it looks like the third row seat backs do too. That's a really good thing because it means that the gigantic head rests will flip down when the seat isn't occupied. There should be a small strap on the back of the seat which will make that happen. With a little strategic arranging of kids in seats, your sister may be able to keep the passenger-side headrest down at all times.
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Matthew Keyser
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/30/2016 at 22:09 |
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Thank you very much. They're pretty solid cars, honestly I had forgotten Ford was still making them until recently. Always liked them though.
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Matthew Keyser
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/30/2016 at 22:11 |
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They do fold down, I just think having them be removable would be more convenient. An eight year old doesn't need a headrest anyways, let alone one of that size.
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Matthew Keyser
> S65
06/30/2016 at 22:12 |
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No arguments there. Haven’t driven one but if this thing had 100 more horsepower and AWD it’d be a pretty formidable daily.
The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
> Matthew Keyser
06/30/2016 at 22:16 |
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The rear head rests do fold froward to increase rear visibility.
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Matthew Keyser
> The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
06/30/2016 at 22:20 |
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They fold but when people are in the seats they pretty much have to be up and with four kids they'll pretty much be up all the time.
GinaGeo
> Matthew Keyser
06/30/2016 at 23:46 |
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I traded in my AWD Limited Ecoboost for an SUV (long story, it involved boats and towing capacity) and I went back to the dealer a month later and asked for it back. I love my Flex. My Flex is to mom me as my Wrangler was to single me.
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Matthew Keyser
07/01/2016 at 00:20 |
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You just made me miss ours:
I’ll be damned if that think wasn’t as cool as three row crossovers can get.
Pistol Whipped Cream
> Matthew Keyser
07/01/2016 at 10:17 |
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I dont mind the look from the outside. Personally, i actually like it a lot. I hate riding in it though. Windows are too small and I feel like the window sills are way too high. In a sports car I can forgive sitting low, not in a flex.
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Matthew Keyser
> Pistol Whipped Cream
07/01/2016 at 11:09 |
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That’s where you get into the whole “it’s a big car not an SUV” thing.
Justin Hughes
> Matthew Keyser
08/12/2016 at 13:37 |
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My wife has a 2012 AWD EcoBoost SHO-wagon, and we love it. I modified the intake so the blowoff valves vent to atmosphere rather than recirculate. I love pulling up next to WRXs and modded Civics and getting strange looks when the Flex goes PSSSSSssssshhhhh!
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Matthew Keyser
> Justin Hughes
08/12/2016 at 14:51 |
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And I'm sure it can leave some of those Civics for dead.
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Justin Hughes
> Matthew Keyser
08/12/2016 at 14:57 |
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Dude, it’ll totally smoke my BRZ.
Brought AMC Matador to Bullfight
> Matthew Keyser
07/19/2017 at 08:40 |
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I have a Flex and agree about those headrests...if not removable, I would like ability to fold the other way or something.