July 3, 2009
Suddenly the interior of our long-term 2009 Ford Flex is showing some age. The small chrome latch on the center console is broken (actually it's about the fall off) and will no longer grab hold and secure the console lid. Funny, the same thing has happened to our long-term Mazda 6.
And that's not all.
July 2, 2009
This morning on the way to work I realized that our $42,080 long-term 2009 Ford Flex Limited does not have auto up and down windows. Only the driver's window has the feature. The other three aren't auto up or down.
The fact that I haven't noticed this until now (the Flex has more than 26,000 miles on it) tells me this isn't a big deal, but I still find it disappointing in such an expensive vehicle.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
July 1, 2009
Below are the fuel economy numbers for June 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town 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.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
21.9
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
22.3
|
11.3
|
18.0
|
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
13.9
|
19.8
|
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
12.4
|
17.9
|
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
20.5
|
12.7
|
16.1
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.2
|
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.6
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
24.9
|
31.0
|
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.4
|
14.3
|
20.4
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
16.9
|
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.3
|
19.4
|
23.5
|
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.0
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
24.4
|
13.7
|
17.9
|
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.4
|
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.6
|
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
28.3
|
18.6
|
22.5
|
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.0
|
34.6
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
June 29, 2009
Ford's been on this kick for a while now where they equip their cars with the most pathetic cruise control interface possible. Our longterm 2009 Ford Flex is the most recent victim. Pardon the lint in the pic above; the Flex was fresh from the car wash.
I've ranted about this before for other Ford vehicles. To re-reiterate, Ford's cruise interface fails on many levels:
First--still no 'cancel' button. Mystifying. Tapping the brakes is a terrible way to accomplish this. Ever wonder how traffic forms?
Second--since there's no cancel button, the on/off button takes its place. This means that every time you press 'off' to 'cancel,' you have to then un-cancel by using the 'on' button. And yes, you will have to rely on your memory for this because:
Third-- there is no telltale in the instrument cluster to inform you whether the cruise is currently 'on' or 'off.' Sure, it tells when it's 'set,' but not when it's 'on.'
Fourth--at a fundamental level, having to turn on the cruise before setting it is silly. I have to turn it on before I turn it on? Seriously? And it defaults to 'off' every time you turn the Flex off. We have nobody but overly paranoid lawyers to thank for that.
Fifth--the buttons are all too similarly shaped and in a neat column. I'm sure some designer received mad props from a middle-level desk jockey when he or she came up with this golly-gee-looking arrangement fifteen years ago. However, even after living with this for days or even weeks, I still find myself having to look down at the buttons every time I want to use them. Ergonomics fail.
Sixth--they're on the wrong side of the steering wheel. The correct layout if you must have buttons is audio on the left; cruise on the right.
Attention, Ford Cruise Control Department: grow a pair and don't have the lawyers or designers tell you how to do your job. Then do what you know is right and copy the BMW stalk.
That is all.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor at 26,xxx miles.
June 25, 2009
After 26,000 miles things are bound to break. Fortunately, the non-functioning pieces I discovered last night are minor, but irritating nonetheless.
June 15, 2009
Here's a look at the rear of the Flex Limited. The concept car for the Flex used this nice metallic looking treatment too but how close do you think the Flex is to the original Fairlane Concept from 2005?
Check out the Concept version after the jump...
June 12, 2009
Much has already been said about the Flex's high tech features - Sync, Sirius Travel Link and a touch screen nav system are all useful. Yet, Ford has done something really remarkable here - they've made all those complex features easy to use and even easier to understand. On one screen you can see the nav map, the current song playing (satellite radio, iPod or CD) and climate control settings. This is exactly how tech SHOULD work. High fives all around.
Brian Moody, Automotive Editor @ 25,901 miles.
June 11, 2009
Last Saturday, I was lucky enough to get tickets to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. And by "lucky," I mean "received the honor of paying an arm, leg and pancreas to attend four events." But it still took some effort, so I still feel accomplished. If you care, I go into more detail after the jump.
What does this have to do with our long-term fleet? Well, I need your help blogosphere. I'll be driving to Vancouver in the dead of February and will need something to get me, three friends and all our stuff through the wintry climes of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and a sliver of British Columbia. Therefore, I'll prefer all-wheel-drive. At first glance, our present fleet actually has quite a few vehicles that meet that criteria: Audi A4 Avant, Audi S5, Mitsubishi Evo MR, Suzuki SX4, Infiniti FX50 and Nissan GT-R. On second glance, never mind. The Infiniti is orobably the best candidate, but as Phil discovered back in December, our long termer has summer tires on it. The Audis would be great for making a hip Olympic entrance, but neither satisfies the friends and stuff criteria. The GT-R would be awesome if my friends were Keebler Elves and we had a plow escort.
If I were to leave tomorrow, I'd probably just take the Flex and its chains since I know they can handle a snowy road trip. But I have eight months before Vancouver and we'll have a different fleet by then. What cars and SUVs should I lobby for to make my Olympic road trip? The serious and ridiculous are certainly welcome.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
I think I talked someone out of buying a Flex. It wasn't really on purpose - a mom at a kid's b-day party asked how I liked our Long Term Flex Limited and explained that her current Saturn lease was up. I said "It's a great car but it is BIG - drive one before you decide." The next day she showed up in a brand new 2010 Ford Fusion. My fault? I hope not but this sucker is quite large, something pictures alone don't convey.
Brian Moody, Automotive Editor @ 25,811 miles
June 10, 2009
This is my favorite picture involving the Flex in all of our 25,000+ miles.
This was taken by Dan Edmunds on his trip to Oregon.
Fierce.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
The 2009 Ford Flex sits crossways in my driveway and the right side wheels are off. Time to peek into the wheel wells to see what's going on in there.
Will we find any surprises?
June 9, 2009
As I hinted at in my last post, the 2009 Ford Flex spent the better part of the afternoon in my driveway during a suspension walkaround photo session.
The tires have to come off for this treatment, of course, and it was during this procedure that I discovered that our dealer screwed-up royally when they replaced our Flex's rear brake pads. How so?
I'd better run out and buy lottery tickets. Why? There are only 100 Ford Fiestas in the Fiesta Movement program, and one them turned up two doors down from me as I was in my driveway finishing the photography for an upcoming 2009 Ford Flex suspension walkaround.
If that wasn't enough, the driver turned out to be none other than Courtney Force, daughter of Funny Car legend John Force. An up-and-coming drag racer in her own right, Courtney went to the same grade school as my kids and still lives nearby.
What can we tell you about the Ford Flex that we haven't already? Post your questions and we'll get back to you.
Have you seen any Flexes on the road? What color did you see?
If you've driven one, write a review in the comments section.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
June 8, 2009
Even though our seven-passenger Ford Flex is longer than the Infiniti FX50, it feels more maneuverable to me.
I know these aren't direct competitors but they happen to be the only two cars in our fleet right now that can carry a lot of stuff in the back.
At 201.8 inches long the Flex has 10.5 inches on the Infiniti which is just over 191 inches long. In a previous post I talked about how the Infiniti feels all boaty like its length is all in its nose. The Flex feels more normal.
Both vehicles are the same width at 75.9 inches but I have trouble sensing where I am in the lane when driving the Infiniti. In the Flex I feel right in the center of the lane and more in control.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 25,620 miles
June 7, 2009
Our funky-looking minivan alternative -- or is it a wagon on steroids -- has been in our fleet now for about 8 months and more than 25,000 miles.
In that time, we've driven it across country to Fenway Park, cooled our lunch, stuffed it full of furniture, got pooped on in Oregon, got rear-ended in an unrelated incident, gave it the woodie treatment, and drove it bananas.
And now the Ford Flex is car of the week.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
June 3, 2009
How many wheels/tires do you think you could fit in a 2009 Ford Flex given these limitations:
-No tire may be higher than the headrests.
-Must be room for two persons.
-Must be room for two carry-on bags, a 3 1/2 ton floor jack and a few doze cones.
-Must be stable for > 1,000 miles.
Follow the jump for the answer. (And some pictures!)
June 1, 2009
Here are the fuel economy numbers for 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll add them as they come in and I'll let you know in the comments.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
22.0
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
22.3
|
11.8
|
18.0
|
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
12.4
|
18.2
|
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
18.8
|
9.6
|
15.4
|
|
| 2008 Cadillac CTS |
32.5
|
9.9
|
19.3
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
22.3
|
10.3
|
16.0
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.4
|
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.7
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
26.0
|
31.5
|
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.5
|
20.7
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
17.0
|
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.4
|
23.3
|
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
27.2
|
11.7
|
17.3
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
24.4
|
13.7
|
18.2
|
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.5
|
|
| 2008 Pontiac G8 GT |
24.0
|
12.0
|
17.5
|
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.4
|
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
28.3
|
18.6
|
22.6
|
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.7
|
35.0
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
It's been 9 months, almost to the day, since the Ford Flex joined our fleet with the goal of hitting 20,000 miles by year's end. Turns out driving a car to Boston and back has a significant impact on that sort of thing.
25,000 miles, zero squeaks, zero rattles and zero problems. I love this car.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 25,000.1 miles
May 26, 2009
Ford never tried to use that marketing line on its Flex, probably because the cars are separated by 3 model years, a couple dozen feet of cargo space and over $100,000.
But it still occurred to me as I hauled a load of spare Ford GT parts home in it recently. Yup, I'm stockpiling Ford GT parts because A) I might need them someday and B) even if I don't, I'm thinking they're better than money in the bank as far as future value goes. And I felt this way even before A) the government added a third shift to every mint in country and B) the U.S. automotive supplier base appeared destined for its own carpocalypse (supplier-ocalypse?).
May 23, 2009
Would I buy one? It's a question I ask myself whenever I slide behind the wheel of a car. Would I drop my hard earned money on one of these? Would I want to own it? Drive it for years? Look at it in my driveway? Tell people it's mine?
It's also the question you the reader ask me the most. So I've decided to go through all the cars we now have in our fleet and decide whether or not I would buy one. I also included a few recently departed vehicles. Seems appropriate since they just left us.
May 20, 2009
I mean, seriously. The lengths we go to for our readers' entertainment. But hey, that's what we're here for. If we have to drive all the way to El Mirage to do donuts in the Flex on a lawless dry lake bed, then by OIdham, that's what we're gonna do.
Donut artist Magrath reports that the Flex's always-on stability control system made his job rather difficult, requiring spastic stabs at the throttle to stay a step ahead of the computer. Not surprisingly, the parking-brake pedal proved entirely unhelpful (come on, no handbrake in a six-passenger minibus?!).
Alas, there would be no successful top-speed run this time, thanks to the Flex's anemic acceleration above 85 mph and an abundance of dilapidated Winnebagos randomly driving around. I did however snap a revealing picture (right) of Magrath's high-speed driving posture -- no wonder he's not bothered by those demonic headrests.
Josh Sadlier (text, photos) and Mark Takahashi (animation) @ 23,250 miles
May 18, 2009
Breaking: Santa Monica, Ca.
Top olfactory scientists were baffled at the sudden, gripping funk that took over the Inside Line Ford Flex.
"It smelled like bad bananas," says one editor who asked for anonymity, "but I searched, there were no bananas. No bananas!"
The source of the fruity fragrance remained a mystery for literally days until 6 Edmunds editors crammed into the 3-row crossover to escape the blistering desert heat and stumbled upon something horrifying.
Continued on Page 2.
May 12, 2009
Here's what happens on an evening photo shoot while we're waiting for the light to get good. We buy gas station burritos, beef jerky nuggets and Bugles, and make the 2009 Ford Flex watch as we consume this garbage gourmet food.
Why the Flex? Because its compliant yet controlled suspension and roomy cargo area (with the third-row seats folded) make it useful for shooting car-to-car photography (cool action photos shot from the road of cars on the road... see example shot by Kurt Niebuhr in thumbs below).
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
May 11, 2009
Could raising or lowering the 3rd row seats on our 2009 Ford Flex be any easier?
Yes, of course: they could be power-operated.
But like all of us, Ford is trying to save money.
So instead they devised some easy-to-use pull straps on the seats.
But what's the order for pulling on those straps?
If you had a fancy-pants 3G phone, you could watch Brent's award-winning video before loading your luggage.
Or you could go old-school and read the clearly marked labels just below the seatbacks.
Easy.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Eval Engineer @ 23,250 mi
May 7, 2009
May 4, 2009
Here's a shot of the Flex navigating a sissy creek crossing at the Hurkey Creek campground near Idyllwild, California. This was just one chapter in another family hauling adventure for the Flex last weekend. And, once again, the Jacquot family pushed the limits on how much crap can be jammed into a family hauler.
Trivial content details after the jump.
May 1, 2009
Here are the fuel economy figures for April 2009. As usual, we've listed the best and worst tanks and the average over the entire life of the vehicle.
We're missing a couple of cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time we took the readings.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
22.3
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
9.5
|
19.8
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
14.6
|
19.1
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
16.8
|
9.6
|
14.8
|
| 2008 Cadillac CTS |
32.5
|
9.9
|
19.2
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
18.1
|
10.3
|
16.3
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.6
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.7
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
26.0
|
32.0
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.5
|
20.7
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
17.1
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.5
|
23.5
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.2
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
21.3
|
11.7
|
16.8
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.5
|
| 2008 Pontiac G8 GT |
19.4
|
14.1
|
17.3
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.7
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
25.0
|
18.6
|
22.5
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.7
|
35.3
|
| 2005 Volkswagen Jetta on Biodiesel |
49.1
|
26.2
|
38.8
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
April 30, 2009
An open letter to car manufacturers (those that are left, anyways),
Please standardize steering wheel controls for all makes and models accordingly: Audio controls on the left, cruise control on the right.
April 27, 2009
This weekend, our long-term Ford Flex made a trip to some family-owned desert property just past Willow Springs Raceway, the last 6 miles of which were on well-kept dirt roads with only a few relatively minor ruts. The Flex performed like a champ. The ride was a bit bumpy, sure, but it wasn't intolerable, and with the air conditioning on recirculate while we trailed the lead car to our final stop, the desert dust stayed where we wanted it (on the outside, seen above). Despite strong, gusty winds at times on the drive out there, the Flex felt quite steady and planted, unlike a crossover with a higher profile might feel.
I used to think that the Flex was too funky-looking, too big, too hard to drive. But I've gotten used to its size. It's visibility is actually better than most crossovers thanks to the giant greenhouse, and the funky styling had grown on me. Child safety seats are easy to install, too. I think I've finally been won over by this giant wagon with the men's lounge-style interior, pardner.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 22,267 miles
April 16, 2009
My DVD collection has grown too plentiful for its present home, so a journey to Ikea was in order to add a second, identical storage cabinet. For those of you who've never been to Ikea, it's important to know that they give everything they sell funny Scandinavian names. That loveseat with the flowers over there is Bjorn; that four-drawer chest is Kviby. So you now know what I mean when I say, the original 6-foot-5 Billy I bought nearly two years ago barely fit in our old long-term Cadillac SRX. I obviously had to flip all the seats down and both boxes (the frame and glass door) were resting on the center console armrest. Not ideal.
For the new Billy, I brought along a much better companion -- our long-term Flex. I folded down the second-row seat backs, flip-folded the third row and easily slid both in. Also, the front seats were pushed almost entirely rearward. Despite the picture, I could have stacked both on top of each other and still had room for four passengers and some more Ikea stuff in the trunk well behind the raised third row. Plus, there was a perfectly sized cubby for a pair of extra glass Billy shelves.
If you're wondering how Billy would fit in other big vehicles -- say a Buick Enclave and a Honda Odyssey -- you're in luck. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a few weeks for an Edmunds comparison test. What a tease.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 21,410 miles
April 14, 2009
What's it like working at Inside Line?
I get this question almost daily from somebody, and my answer usually blows their mind. I say, "Well, everyday this guy Mike walks up to me with a clipboard that contains a list of 15 to 30 cars ranging from a Smart to a GT-R and he says, 'Scott, what do you want to drive home tonight.'"
It's true.
April 13, 2009
The Ford Flex can be frustrating to drive in a congested, fast-moving city. Quite often this weekend, I found myself trying to merge into a slot onto the freeway or into a quicker moving surface street lane only to have the Flex utterly refuse to downshift. It would usually take a full foot-to-the-floor and then a good two seconds before it would oblige with a two-gear drop. It would've only needed a one-gear drop, but it lost so much momentum with its stubbornness that more effort, noise and fuel had to be exerted. After a while, I started second guessing merges that I normally wouldn't second guess in such a powerful vehicle -- but its downshifting negligence would cause me to second guess and just wait patiently for a bigger hole in traffic. The fact that the Flex feels 29 feet long doesn't help things.
Normally, I'd agree that an automanual shifting override would be useless in a vehicle that offers no driving fun. But if the transmission is going to be so stubborn in its adoration for sixth gear, it would be nice for a better override than simply L.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 21,300 miles
April 3, 2009
Thanks to ergsum for this week's favorite caption.
Look how many ergsum had in the finals. You guys are really getting good at this. The final decision was killing me. Heh.
Honorable mention goes to:
Quit your coffin back there. -- I can't, my throat Hearse. (ampim)
For the life of me, I can't get this dead pedal to work. (mnorm1)
Ford Flex, got Goth? (ergsum)
It really is that quiet on the inside. (hendrix22)
Flex!!! -- I cant!! Rigor Mortis! (CommonSense01)
A hearse is a hearse, of corpse of corpse! (ergsum)
No, no, I said you needed to buy a gasket, not bury a casket! (ergsum)
Strange place for a drive-thru, but boy is this McSoylent Green burger tasty. (ergsum)
What was your favorite?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Scott took this picture of the 2009 Ford Flex in its unnatural habitat.
I offer you "My Kingdom for a Hearse"
I'm sure you can do better.
We'll post our favorite at 4PM Pacific Time.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
April 2, 2009
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
April 1, 2009
Houston, we have a problem. The woodie treatment I applied to our 2009 Ford Flex last night just won't come off.
It was funny when I drove to work this morning and got more looks that I ever got in the Nissan GT-R. (Got cut-off a lot more, too.) The best part was that not all of them were disgusted. Some seemed mildly interested.
But now it's April 2nd in Australia. The joke's over. Now what?
Taking a page from Mini Cooper and their Mini Motoring Graphics kits, Ford Motor Company announced a similar product for their 2009 Ford Flex.
We've installed a sneak-peek sample on our 2009 Ford Flex long-term test car. The Country Squire Graphics Package, as it's formally called, will be available as a dealer accessory at the beginning of June.
Richard Duschene, senior product planner and strategist for Ford's car division, explained it this way:
March 30, 2009
Ford's SYNC gets my award for the best bluetooth interface of any vehicle on the market today. It's a simple interface that, with a few button punches, can be easily linked to your phone. And, once bonded, it can easily be reconnected while moving. This wouldn't matter so much if my phone didn't insist on deactivating bluetooth every time it leaves the car. It also allows phone volume adjustment on the audio system volume knob when bluetooth is in use. Excellent.
Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor @ 20,804 miles
March 20, 2009
This is what you see when you look over your shoulder in the 2009 Ford Flex. With the third row lowered, you have an amazing amount of glass space (it's not that different with the seat raised). As such, there's really no excuse for errantly backing into things -- especially with the rearview camera. The Flex's boxy shape might provide its trademark look, but its subsequent interior space and visibility advantages add to this family vehicle's overall practicality.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
March 17, 2009
I've spent a good deal of time in the Ford Flex, just not our particular long termer. Last summer, I journeyed up to Big Bear Lake, California, in a Cinnamon-colored short termer and was left thoroughly impressed by its road trip manners. One month later I was in Toronto on vacation and picked up a Light Ice Blue SEL from the same factory in Oakville, Ontario, its Ford family-hauling predecessors were built since 1994. Both the Windstar and Freestar (and Mercury Monterey!) minivans were mediocre-to-horrible for most of their existence, and the fact that these diseased members of an endangered species have been replaced at the Oakville plant and in the Ford lineup by a hopefully game-changing vehicle like the Flex certainly seemed symbolic.
While the Flex doesn't have the same max utility of a minivan, that summer Toronto trip certainly showed it had the type of appeal the Windstar could only dream about.
Photos and more after the jump.
March 16, 2009
Just like our long-term Subaru Impreza WRX, our 2009 Ford Flex Limited cruised its 20,000th mile this weekend.
Unlike in the WRX (which has been with us about 4 months longer), it only took us about 8 months to run the Flex's odometer to the 20,000 milestone. I don't know if tha'ts a long-term fleet record (and I'm sure you'll tell me, if it is), but it's obvious that we like this boxy crossover. It seems to like us, too, as it's given us little trouble.
To date: three major road trips (Oregon and back, Massachusetts and back, Utah and back), two scheduled oil changes, one visit to the dealer for brakelights staying on, one not-our-fault bumper scrape.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 20,087 miles
March 12, 2009
Our Long Term 2009 Ford Flex limited just got back from an oil change, tire rotation and brake inspection over at Santa Monica Ford. Preliminary estimates predicted this service to cost about 90 bucks here in Santa Monica. It didn't.
$44.59 and a few hours later the Flex was ready to roll. The service advisor even gave me a form to fill out for a $10 mail-in-rebate on the service. The ownership experience with this car just keeps getting better.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 19,932
March 11, 2009
Our long-term 2009 Ford Flex Limited pulled light-aircraft duty this past week, shuttling us on an 1,800-mile extended ski weekend to Colorado, and earning a spot on any traveling family's must-consider list. Like a gentlemen's smoking club on wheels, our leather-lined and faux-wood trimmed black Flex Limited is a road-trip tour de force, providing a swift and serene environment capable of hauling the mail or whatever else you wish to carry, while coddling you with impressively integrated electronic conveniences.
We unleashed the Flex on the interstate, where it painlessly delivered us from L.A. to Vail, CO in a single 13-hour/900-mile stint. With the cruise set reasonably close this route's near-constant 75-mph speed limit, the Flex ate up the miles while hauling a ridiculous amount of gear and luggage for a six-day outing on the slopes. With all the rear seats folded flat, cargo space was a non-issue in the Flex, and few circumstances let you pack with such abandon. No need for roof racks as the Flex happily ate our ski box in the cavernous cargo area, with tons of room to spare for luggage ahead or behind it. Did we overpack? Heck yeah. Did it matter? No.
March 2, 2009
Here is a list of most of our long-term vehicles with their best, worst and average fuel economy numbers over the life of the vehicle.
This list is missing a few that were not available at the time I was compiling this list.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
| 2008 Audi R8 |
20.3
|
11.7
|
15.3
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.0
|
17.5
|
19.9
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
13.9
|
20.5
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
| 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan |
30.8
|
12.0
|
18.6
|
| 2009 Ford Flex |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.8
|
| 2008 Ford Focus |
37.4
|
16.6
|
26.4
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
16.6
|
31.4
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
37.1
|
28.0
|
32.1
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.7
|
20.9
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
17.4
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.5
|
23.6
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.0
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
24.7
|
11.7
|
16.8
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.6
|
| 2008 Pontiac G8 GT |
24.0
|
12.0
|
17.4
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo |
43.2
|
29.7
|
33.7
|
| 2008 Subaru WRX STI |
24.4
|
12.3
|
18.9
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
40.4
|
30.0
|
35.7
|
| 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Biodiesel |
50.4
|
30.3
|
39.3
|
Follow the jump to see the list organized by average so you can see how they stack up against each other.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
February 23, 2009
With just over 17,000 miles on the odometer, our 2009 Ford Flex Limited is requesting an oil change.
Edmunds' Maintenance Guide estimates we should pay $28.74 in parts (oil and filter) and $63.00 labor for the LOF and tire rotation in our Santa Monica zip code.
We'll see what our local dealer has to say.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 17,255 miles
February 10, 2009
The other day our 2009 Ford Flex took a shot in traffic. Not our fault. The damage seems to be cosmetic and limited to the plastic bumper cover, but we'll let you know how it all plays out. Body shop here we come...probably next week. Heck, maybe it'll just buff out.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
February 9, 2009
Now that I'm armed with a video camera, I'm going to drive you CRAZY with moving images. You're gonna get video on EVERYTHING.
As Socrates once said, "An unvlogged life is not worth living."
Here's a video montage of driving the Ford Flex in the rain on my morning commute.
In the second segment, that big gray thing you see looming in the distance is the Pacific Ocean. You'll get a closer look at it in the third segment. Don't worry the whole thing is only a minute long.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 16,529 miles
February 6, 2009
Thanks to edubya for this week's favorite.
Quite a few gave us a good chuckle. These commenters get honorable mention:
Ford Flex found soiled. Fowl play suspected. (eidolways)
Gullible buyers welcome. (eidolways)
Ford introduces a new Gull Wing option for the Flex (wable)
Ford reveals eco-friendly two tone paint facility. (vwthing1)
With this, we can strike anywhere, anytime. We're unstoppable! Drive on puny human! (gooney911)
What was your favorite?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Here is a lovely scenic photo taken by our Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds.
Our Vehicle Testing Manager Mike Schmidt came up with "Talk to me, Goose."
Can you do better?
We'll post our favorite at 4PM (Pacific Time).
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
February 4, 2009
Inside Line Editor in Chief Scott Oldham takes you on a tour of the warning chimes in our 2009 Ford Flex. We've submitted this short moody piece to the Cannes film festival.
February 2, 2009
I just spent an enjoyable weekend in our long-term 2009 Ford Flex. It's not exactly a perfect vehicle, but it's as close as Ford has gotten to perfect in a very long time. Although I have issue with the Flex's seating position and its shifter, most of the time I find myself thinking, "Man this is a well done vehicle," or some such gush. I've even recommended it to several friends.
One thing that jumped out at me this weekend was the Flex's solidity. So far our Flex does not have a single squeak or rattle. There's no loose trim. No bugs in the Sync or navigation systems. In fact, after more that 16,000 miles in just six months you'd swear our Flex is brand new.
Okay, it did have to return to the dealer once for an unscheduled fix; at 1,686 miles its brakelights stayed on, so Santa Monica Ford replaced the brake pedal switch. But that's it. Otherwise solid as a rock. If you ask me, one trip to the dealer in 16,000 miles is a record any vehicle manufacturer would be proud of.
Now I don't know how the Flex is going to hold up over the next six months or six years, but up until this point, it's been one of our most reliable and durable long-term cars ever.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 16,158 miles
January 6, 2009
It's over. The 2009 Ford Flex has been washed and gassed for the final time and the keys are in someone else's hands for a change.
All told, our trip lasted 2,275 miles. Over that distance, I added a total of 99.8 gallons of unleaded gasoline.
Average trip fuel economy: 22.8 mpg (Enclave last year = 22.1)
Best tanks: 26.7 and 26.5 mpg (Enclave last year = 25.6)
Longest run: 454.5 miles
Worst tank: 18.2 mpg (multiple runs up the steep switchbacks to my folks' mountaintop lair after feeding seagulls and such)
Number of other Ford Flexes seen on the road: Zero (dealer lots don't count.)
Yes, but what do we think after all of that time?
January 3, 2009
Our 2009 Ford Flex is spending tonight in my driveway wearing 9 days worth of road grime. As for us, we're only a little bit cleaner, but we're happy to be sleeping in our own beds.
Earlier on I'd passed along my dad's praise for the narrow door sills and how they ease ingress and egress. An alert reader pointed out that this would keep one's pants leg from getting dirty, too. At first I thought this comment had to do with the geometry of the design and how it made it less likely that one's pants leg would drag across the narrower sill when getting in. But there's more to it than that.
January 2, 2009
Today, after spending Day 7 doing nothing but recovering from the previous night's celebrations and watching football, we finally pointed our 2009 Ford Flex southward for the trip home. The weather forecast called for conditions conducive to the formation of ice. It had rained overnight, and then the temperature dropped below freezing.
Indeed the icy black asphalt of our hotel's parking lot was hard to walk across as we loaded-up. But we couldn't dawdle too long waiting for sunshine because we needed to get past Weed, California, some 200 miles south, before the predicted snow arrived there at 2pm.
After a few test laps of the parking lot, the front-wheel drive Flex felt secure enough on its all-season rubber and we lumbered out of town as the in-car temperature gauge dropped to 29 degrees and stayed there. It had snowed overnight along highway 97, and we padded along with a group of other cars at 35 mph in places where the plows hadn't yet scraped or sprayed de-icing fluid. We had no problems with grip, but then I wasn't demanding much as I squeezed the throttle like a hypermiler and used sparing steering inputs.
December 31, 2008
Today we said goodbye to my parents on the coast and headed inland to Bend, Oregon in our 2009 Ford Flex. Our route took us over a 5,400 foot pass where recent snows had brought the snow accumulation up to over 70 inches.
At least 100 miles of our route was in the snow zone, so as the law around here requires, we carried chains, just in case.
Much of the road had been cleared, but just after we stopped to have the Oregon Department of Transportation's "Trip Check" road camera record our passage, the route entered an area with 5 and 6% slopes that was still coated with packed snow.
December 30, 2008
Turns out our 2009 Ford Flex is well suited to those who aren't so flexible. Dad still gets around pretty well, but he appreciates the Flex on two counts:
The seat height is neither too low nor too high. No gymnastics are required on the mount or the dismount.
The door sill is much narrower than it looks when the door is closed, thanks to a very narrow rocker. He can get into position to sit down while keeping his outside foot planted firmly on the ground.
All of the above applies equally to the front and rear seats.
His one complaint? The grab handle is over the top of the door, where it doesn't do him much good for ingress or egress. He'd prefer the A-pillar location to help him hoist himself in or out. Most Ford trucks and SUVs have A-pillar assist handles, but not the Flex.
Overall, however, Dad finds the 2009 Ford Flex easy to get in and out of.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 14,067 miles
December 29, 2008
Want to have some fun at the beach in your 2009 Ford Flex this winter?
Load grandma, grandpa and the kids into all three rows. Don't feel bad about those in the back seats, because all three rows enjoy generous legroom. Despite the flat roofline, the third row sits a bit higher than the second, which in turn sits fractionally higher than the first. Everyone can see out.
Take a couple of slices of stale bread down to the jetty and wait for the seagulls to gather. It won't take long; they know the drill. Roll down the windows a little ways and toss a bit of it out onto the ground. In no time you'll have a couple of dozen new friends.
December 28, 2008
I can't remember where I heard it, or even if it's true, but the Weather Channel is supposed to be the most-watched cable network. It's hard to fathom in southern California, where this trip in the 2009 Ford Flex Limited began. But here on the Oregon coast it's a lot easier to believe.
Dad has his own weather setup, and he has logged temperature, rainfall and windspeed more or less each day since he moved here from So Cal some 19 years ago. This morning's rain gauge reading was 5.4 inches, the second-highest 24-hour total he's recorded.
Despite this, we pointed the Flex toward Gold Beach, 15 miles away. Our mission: fresh Dungeness crab for tonight's annual crab feed. That's right, some adventerous fisherman was out in it last night, bobbing around in his boat and hauling up crab pots to harvest what would become dinner for a lot of locals around here.
On the way to town, we encountered a rotted tree that had blown down across the road. Further on, we came to a place where the Pistol River had overflowed its banks and overtopped the road. We had another route to choose from, so we got our crab anyway.
The Flex has a really handy pair of 3rd row seats that fold into the floor like most late-model minivans when not in use. But when the third row is in use, a deep well with a surprising amount of space is revealed behind the deployed seatbacks. It was here that our cooler full of fresh crab rode securely, with no need for tie-downs to keep it from moving about on the trip home up convoluted Carpenterville Road.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 13,951 miles
December 27, 2008
Phase One of our holiday odyssey in the 2009 Ford Flex has come to an end. We've arrived at my parents' place near Brookings, Oregon after some 830 miles in the saddle.
But not until after we made our now-customary lunch stop at the Lost Coast Brewing Company in Eureka, California. The above painted wall mural frames one end of the parking lot across the street.
So far, our intrepid crew has nothing but good things to say about the Flex:
The ride was smooth and comfortable, yet body motions were never buoyant or floaty. This is quite a trick on many northern California highways, distorted as they are by frequent land slippage and roadbed settling. Kudos to the suspension tuning crew at Ford.
We sit lower in a Flex than a minivan or big SUV and the lower roofline produces a lower center of gravity. Inside, we feel less roll movement in corners. I'm not sure if this is because the body actually rolls less, if it rolls the same but more gradually, or if our lower seated position (closer to the roll axis) results in less seat displacement for a given amount of roll. It's probably a case of "All of the Above."
Bottom line, no one got car sick this time -- even with their heads buried in a book, playing with their Nintendos or watching the DVD screen.
And everyone loved the Flex's entertainment system. The kids found it easy to manipulate the system to keep themselves busy with movies in the back, while Tracy and I kept the iPod going up front. I only wish the Sync interface provided better control over audiobooks. They don't show up under genre. You have to select the author, Neil Gaiman in this case, as if he were a band, or something. And trying to listen to a continuous 7-hour track with no chapter markers is a pain. A book should be an album, and chapters should be tracks. But they aren't.
Even so, the touch screen controls for it all, made possible by the navigation screen, kept it all running smoothly.
And then there are the seats. Stormy weather and cold fuel and food stops made the front and rear seat heaters a big hit. Some of you scoffed at the wrinkly look of the seats themselves in my pre-trip post, but the fact that the leather isn't stretched as tight as a drum made them quite pliable. They squish down just enough in the right spots while providing strategically-placed support over long distances. Sure, they aren't wildly bolstered and sculpted like Recaros, but the Flex isn't a GT-R and it isn't made to haul butt. But it does seem to haul butts rather well.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vedhicle Testing @ 13, 875 miles
December 26, 2008
"What car are you driving up this year?" asked my dad as we called to report our progress from the road.
"It's a 2009 Ford Flex," I replied.
"A what?"
"A Ford Flex. It's new."
"Never heard of it. Does it run on ethanol?"
"No, it won't run on E85."
"Why do they call it Flex, then?"
Good question. I have no answer to that one.
Dad wasn't the only one to make the incorrect flex-fuel assupmtion, either. Two or three other relatives I saw over the last two days made the same deduction. It's such an easy conclusion to draw, apparently, that Ford felt the need to emblazon the Easy Fuel filler neck with "no E85" icons. I don't remember seeing anything like it on any other car that won't run on E85. But, then again, none of them are called "Flex," either.
This misconception seems so pervasive that I have to wonder if the Flex is being dismissed as a vehicle choice by those who either don't have E85 in their area or don't believe in the stuff. That'd be a shame, because this is one nice ride.
As for the Easy Fuel itself, I'm still not used to the lack of a cap. I have to wonder if those who have a two-car stable, one with Easy Fuel and one without, ever get used to it.
All that aside, we burned two tanks totalling 30.06 gallons of regular unleaded today over 682.8 miles of mostly high speed freeway driving, for an average fuel economy of 22.7 mpg. The in-car gauge apparently reads a bit high; it reported the day's average as 23.6 mpg.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 13, 743 miles
December 25, 2008
I was struck by a sinking feeling on the day before liftoff to Oregon in our 2009 Ford Flex. Just as the odometer turned over the 13,000 mile mark I noticed that the mileage on the dealer-installed oil change label was identical.
Great. I'm about to embark on a 2,000 mile trip and it looks like the Flex needs an oil change. But didn't it just have one? And how am I going to pull this off on Christmas day?
Out comes the owner's manual to look at the maintenance schedules. The first oil change comes at 7,500 miles; the second at 15,000 miles. This 7,500 mile interval carries through the life of this Ford. Severe service intervals are 5,000 miles, but Ford's definition of "severe" is quite specific and, well, severe. We don't tow, we don't make deliveries or use it as a taxi. Our driving pattern doesn't come close to meeting any of the threshholds.
So the manual is quite clear that 7,500 miles is the proper oil change interval for the way we drive our Flex.
Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath texts me to say that the last oil change came a couple of hundred miles after the service reminder light came on. He's home for the holidays and away from the receipts, but we figure it at about 7,800 to 8,000 miles. The next change is therefore due at 15,500 miles or so, not 13,000 miles. Indeed the service reminder light has not yet re-illuminated to indicate that oil change #2 is looming.
So the sticker mileage is either an example of a dealer who doesn't read the manual himself or good old upselling. And check out the "Motorcraft Full Synthetic" label. More upselling. The Flex neither requires synthetic nor did we spring for it on the last change. By its presence, the label implies that pricier synthetic is required here. But it's just an ad. The Flex needs nothing more than regular 5W-20.
Nice try, guys. Better luck next time. I'll have ithe oil changed when I get back, and I'm not going with synthetic, either.
This is one of several reasons why I usually change my own oil.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 13,042 miles
December 23, 2008
To almost no one's surprise, I've got the keys to the 2009 Ford Flex in my pocket for our annual holiday trip north to Oregon.
We're all looking forward to it. It has plenty of room for us to stretch out, plenty of room for our stuff and it's loaded with plenty of toys to keep the miles from wearing us out. We'll put the navigation system, satellite radio, Sync iPod connection, Bluetooth connection, rear DVD screen, and built-in cooler to very good use.
We don't actually leave until the day after Christmas, so I have a couple of days to watch the weather and plan my route. Snow is going to be unavoidable this year because we're adding a side trip to Bend to see my sister-in-law. We have to cross the Cascades to get there from the coast.
California and Oregon are militant about the need to carry tire chains and use them. They set up checkpoints. They're dead serious about it. And many times they don't care if you have AWD. This might not be a problem if you're a local and you have snow tires. But if you're driving up from sunny SoCal, you need chains. And the 10-day weather forecast shows that pesky little snowflake icon up north the whole time.
In fact, as I write this, a colleague in our video production department is already in Oregon and he just called not 5 minutes ago from the roadside while installing chains on the Ford Edge. "Front or rear?" he asked with chattering teeth. I'm not making this up.
And this is where the Flex has a potential problem: The Flex's owner's manual says you can't put chains on a Flex, even so-called S-type cable chains. Chains won't fit, they say, over the standard 18-inch tires as well as the 19 and 20-inch optional ones. (Our front-wheel drive Limited has the 19's.) I've never heard of such a thing on a volume family product. Who signed off on this?
December 22, 2008
I see a lot of politicians on TV lately. They say stuff like "American cars aren't competitive." I don't know, I've been driving this Flex for a few days now and I can't really see anything that's so bad about it. I'd rather have this than a minivan or even a truck based SUV. The interior is well finished, the car is attractive plus the new nav and audio system is easily class leading.
I'd rather have a Flex than an R-Class, Pacifica, Tahoe, Sienna, Murano and even a Range Rover. Not sure I'd get black though - color aside, this is really a very good family wagon. I could probably name 6 or 7 other American cars that are good enough to put in my garage - the Flex is just one of them.
Brian Moody, Senior Automotive Editor @ 13,122 miles
December 19, 2008
I cannot drive this car.
It pains me to say this, because in most ways the Flex is a home run. Its interior materials are what Lincoln's should be. Real adults can lounge comfortably in the third row. The second-row seats are veritable thrones. It performs well. It looks cool. Et cetera.
But I cannot drive this car.
Why? Primarily because of the absolutely demonic angle of the front headrests. In the Flex, "headrest" is an oxymoron. "Headpunch" is more like it -- these things force your head forward at a ridiculously stern angle, and no, they're not adjustable. It's not just the Flex, either; a number of current Ford products share this flaw. Did anyone actually try this headrest design out before it went into production?
There's also the matter of the steering wheel, which doesn't telescope. Even with the adjustable pedals all the way forward, I can't get my lanky 6'1" frame close enough. My elbows are locked during normal driving, and I have to lean forward in my seat to crank the wheel when turning through an intersection. Hey Ford! Great car! Telescoping steering wheel please!
I like the Flex. I'd like it a lot more if I could drive it.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 12,678 miles
December 16, 2008
My brother drives a 2002 Ford Explorer and now he's shopping for a new mid-sized SUV. He called me for some advice and I asked he what he was considering. He said, "We were going to look at that new boxy thing but we're done with Ford."
I said, "Hold on a second."
I bought the 2009 Ford Flex Limited for our long term fleet about two months ago but I hadn't driven it until just recently. On the freeway I noticed it had a very pleasant ride, like a big, heavy luxury car, and it was extremely well insulated. I liked the wide leather seats and loved the feel of the wood and leather steering wheel.
The surprise came when I reached my exit and swung into the spiraling off ramp.
December 15, 2008
I bought a Christmas tree this weekend. And put it inside the Flex. Because I'm an idiot. Christmas trees have needles. Lots of them. And they come off inside a car. No problem, I figured. "Tomorrow is Monday and I'll be getting this rig cleaned up before I take it to the office anyway." This is IL policy, lest you suffer the wrath of Oldham.
The plan comes undone after the jump.
December 1, 2008
After four months in service, our 2009 Ford Flex has earned the following fuel economy numbers:
Worst tank: 14.9 mpg
Best tank: 24.8 mpg
Average: 20.1 mpg
Not exactly the 24 mpg that Ford is touting, but not bad, either.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @11,650 miles
November 11, 2008
Somehow a 59-inch-long sleeper sofa needs to fit into the back of our long-term Ford Flex.
Voila!
The Flex's 83 cubic feet of cargo space easily swallows the small sofa, its "hidden" storage box, and the packaged mattress and slipcover.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 10,325 miles
November 3, 2008
When not in use, the 2009 Ford Flex's 50/50-split third-row seat folds flat and stores in a fairly deep rear well. When the rear seats are raised, the well is exposed. It's perfect for securing grocery bags, especially if you're using the reusable kind.
A low-production-value video of me raising the third-row seat and operating the power liftgate follows after the jump. Why bother watching Marina's HotForWords on YouTube when you can watch this instead?
October 31, 2008
Mike actually mentioned this in Part Two of his road trip cross-country odyssey, but it's worth focusing on specifically here. Like on many other Ford products, the Flex's automatic transmission gear selector has just two forward gates: Drive and Low. There's no manual mode.
If you leave it in Drive and are driving on hilly terrain with steep inclines, the transmission hunts between gears in response to your changing throttle inputs. There is a button on the left side of the shifter ("Grade Assist") that drops the transmission out of overdrive. It helps, but it seems to be designed more for getting additional engine braking on declines rather than ideal gearing for inclines. And dropping down to Low seems like overkill.
But wait, there's more...
October 29, 2008
One notable attribute about our long-term 2009 Ford Flex: road noise is impressively quelled. Even on concrete, only a minimal amount of tire noise makes it into the cabin. (Our car is shod with Hancook Optimo H725 tires.) There's more wind noise than road noise, but even so the Flex remains library quiet during 75-mph highway drives. Too bad Flex owners with squabbling children in back probably won't notice.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 10,034 miles
October 20, 2008
Just sayin'.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 9,744 miles
It was a long (very long) journey, but I've been back for a few days now. Conclusions-- including a by-the-numbers account-- of the trip are after the jump.
October 10, 2008
This is the interior of the refrigerator inside the 2009 Ford Flex. Pictured is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There was also a fluffernutter, but it didn't last long enough to be in the photo. It's a neat idea but the execution here is a little lame. First, they put the rear armrest hinge on the front. Probably to dissuade the driver from attempting to reach in while driving. Sorry, Ford, not gonna work. Humans are where we are today by adapting and bending the will of our opponents, animate or not. It's possible to get inside if one's willing to drive with their foot (cruise control is a necessity here) and contort a little. It's easier still to make your passenger do it. Its second shortcoming is the size. That's not trick photography, folks it really is that small. The third thing wrong with the fridge is the freeze setting. 12-hours and there's only some frost on the side of the water. It keeps things--and even gets things--very cold, but if you're going to give me a button that says freeze, the damn thing better freeze. Solid. Maybe I should have gone 24-hours straight.
The fourth thing that warrants complaints about the availability of a fridge is the lack of a microwave. Don't laugh. It's got a TV and a DVD player and a refrigerator already. Why not? 10 years ago I would have punched the current me for suggesting a car have any of those things. Now I'm jealous of future-Mike for having an in-car microwave.
Take, for instance a road trip across the country. You drive through a town that actually has food that looks safe and edible, but you're just not hungry...or maybe it was so good you want another order to go. Why not? It won't spoil thanks to the modern marvel of refrigeration. But then the problem arises that cold BBQ sucks. Sure, I could've wrapped it in foil and chucked it under the hood for a few hours but that's not the point.
Speaking of Road Trips across the country, today's installment covers the first few days of the return trip. Boston, NYC, Columbus, St. Louis and Tulsa!
October 8, 2008
With its black-on-black color scheme (no mini-cooper/FJ white roof for us!) some have complained that our 2009 Ford Flex Limited looks like a hearse. So I took it to one of New England's newest cemetery-- established in the 1720s-- for a better field of reference. Indeed, it does look a bit like a hearse. But the kind of cool hearse that you'd see on open drag nights with a tubbed rear, big block and skull shifter. Except that this has a V6, FWD and a six-speed auto.
While it may not be able to do a huge burnout, and it doesn't have those cool curtains hearses do, it is still the best road trip car available today.
October 5, 2008
Made it.
October 2, 2008
When we last left our road trip diary the Ford Flex was whisking us through eastern Colorado and on into Nebraska. Thrilling, I know. With 75 mph limits, straight roads and just enough traffic to avoid being the only car on the road, this was the Flex's time to shine. And shine it did. I turned on my Valentine One, set the cruise control and drove for hours in perfect comfort. Once acclimated to the system, Sync works exceptionally well with an iPod. Sirius' weather link kept me apprised of the looming thunderstorms (which eventually halted my run), and the flat-looking seats kept my butt supported and warm with no complaints. I also managed to, at those speeds, beat the EPA estimated 24mpg with a 25.7mpg tank.
October 1, 2008
After being thankfully thrown from my original plan due to the lame headlights on the Flex (even the high beams weren't sufficient in that scenario), I was able to, as posted before, see Utah for all I never really knew it was. I wanted to hit Grand Junction by day one. I've been to Colorado before (for off-road driver training) and was won over by the views and the general "vibe" of the state. I don't have any data to back this up, but I'm pretty sure there are more bike trails in Colorado than the entire rest of the world combined. (Unfortunately I don't have my bike with me on this leg of the trip...on the way back I will.) Losing my night running hours meant stops had to be ditched. Denver was out. Grand Junction was punctuated. Vail, however, was still very much in.
The Flex, after almost 1,000 miles, is doing well. But, somewhere around 10,000 feet, before the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel (West of Denver) the Flex's second weakness showed. The transmission-- which it shares with the Buick Enclave amongst others-- just doesn't know what to do with inclines. With no manual option and a lousy L mode, the engine is constantly torn between fuel economy and maintaining momentum. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Down. Down. Up. It's not fun. If I were in the Enclave I could just push the button a couple of times, leave the thing in 4 and get on with my trip at a steady RPM. It's a great gearbox in GM vehicles, why isn't it great here at 11,000 feet where I need it?
September 29, 2008
The first leg of this trip was going to be a drag. I knew that much from the start. Southern California up through Vegas, the north western tip of Arizona and then into Utah-- it all looks pretty much the same until you get to Arizona, by then though the drive has started to take its toll. But the Flex is, so far, a willing partner in this adventure and I was feeling pretty fresh. When I hit Salina, Utah-- only 590 miles from my departure point-- the sun had set and route 70 through Utah is a bendy, four-lane highway with a surprisingly high 75-mph speed limit. The highway is also, as the signs indicate, chock full of deer, elk and eagles. I was willing, but the Flex's headlights were not. We paid extra for these HIDs but they simply are not up to the task of illuminating an unlit desert road at 75mph. Maybe it was a good thing, had I been able to "make time" through Spotted Wolf Canyon, I would have missed some of the best sights I've seen to date.
September 26, 2008
There's nothing quite as American as the road trip. Nothing. Not apple pie. Not baseball. Hell, compared to the road trip even mom looks like a flag-burning communist. And in terms of road trips, this is a good one.
September 24, 2008
I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.
The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.
September 15, 2008
Ford just might have pulled it off. For years, I've told anyone who'd listen that the first company that makes a cool minivan will create the next must-have family hauler trend and score big. The 2009 Ford Flex just might be the template for that cool minivan--or whatever you want to call it.
"It looks like a big Scion," said the caretaker at our secret test location. And I've gotten more than one double-take and enthusiastic thumbs-up from other drivers while commuting in our Flex, some on crotch rockets and one from a genuine first-generation Scion xB pilot.
From some angles the Flex manages to look like a chopped-top surf wagon--especially with the optional white roof. And the embossed side strakes somehow say "woodie", but minus the dry rot and termites. It would look at home with a pair of surfboards on top. But what to call it?
I like big cars and I cannot lie, but there's something about the Flex I can't deny. It's big, not round and frankly just too big for me.
Apparently, the Flex has got it goin' on, till the break of dawn because everywhere I went people were taken with this big wagon. I can see why - it has minivan usefulness without looking like - well, like a minivan. Several neighbors used the phrase "surf wagon." Although the Flex feels wide and long on the road, the handling is OK. It never feels sluggish and doesn't have excessive body roll. Nice Job, Ford.
Brian Moody, Road Test Editor.
September 10, 2008
Living with our 2009 Ford Flex long-term car for over a week confirmed what I'd already figured -- when it comes to carting people and things around, this crossover gets the job done with both style and grace. The Flex inspired multiple double-takes and a few questions from onlookers during the week, and its plush interior, car-like handling and multiple gadgets (my kids loved the idea of a rear-seat 'fridge) made it a pleasant family tote bag for the most part.
Only two issues arose during my drive time. The first related to the car's flashy, 19-inch chrome wheels. These certainly enhance the Flex's looks, but on a vehicle with this much wheelbase (117.9 inches) keeping them away from curbs can be difficult. I found this out while going through the local McDonald's drive-thru, a path I've travelled several dozen times without incident. This time, however, I scraped the driver's-side rear wheel as I made the turn between order and pick-up.
I couldn't believe it, and looking at the odometer I thought "Well, at 1,850 miles I guess the wheels are broken in." When I got home I went to inspect the damage and noticed that while the rear wheel had a couple scrapes (pictured above), the front wheel (which never got near a curb during my use of the Flex) had much larger and deeper scrapes (pictured below).
September 2, 2008
We've added a 2009 Ford Flex to our long-term fleet.
It's a modern minivan alternative without the sliding doors but with a retro trendy look reminiscent of the Addams Family. Oh, come on, in black it kinda looks like a hearse.
It has a 262-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. The fold-flat third row is handy for packing in large items. And a host of convenience options like an auto-folding second row, rear console refrigeration, navigation and DVD entertainment system add to the fun.
What do you think of the new Flex?
Read the Ford Flex Introduction on Inside Line.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
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