We’re looking at replacing a car, and the Ford Flex has bubbled up to the top of the list.
If you don’t know it, it’s kind of a cross between a minivan and a SUV.
Does anyone have one, and want to give a review of it? I’ve only ever poked at one and done a test drive.
For us, the selling points are it’s high headroom (necessary for my SO), it’s low step-in height (for our mothers), it is AWD, and the second row has captain’s chairs, making access to the third row decent for adults.
The biggest downside, the gas mileage.
Pretty much all vehicles large enough to accommodate 3rd row seating get pretty crappy mileage, especially ones with AWD. Par for the course, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.
The Flex had some engine issues IIRC, you might want to look that up online relative to the model year of the car you’re considering. If you have access to a CarFax report, check that out too, see if it’s ever been in a serious accident or not.
We are on our 3rd Flex (2019). We have never done an AWD so our gap milage is better. The inside room is incredible. We have a family member that is 6’9" and he is very comfortable in the passenger seat and behind the driver with that seat back as far as possible. The cargo area is nice with the third row down and with it up there is still room for groceries or a few gym bags.
Lovd it and will keep driving until For DC quits making it.
I’m not sure why but I found the front passenger seat, not the seating area, the actual physical seat extremely uncomfortable. I might just be spoiled by the broad bench seats in my old truck but a ninety minute drive in a friend’s Flex was about all I wanted to do.
You’d probably call my Scion ugly too. But (1) Who gives a fuck whether a car is ugly? There are so many other much much more important factors involved in spending so much money on a critical necessary device, (2) the very thing that makes cars like the XB and the Flex look unusual is what makes it so useful, practical, and a pleasure to own, which itself changes my perception of its beauty, and (3) the concept of ugliness when applied to a car is merely a matter of arbitrary taste and fashion, which changes constantly, so why consider that at all?
My cousin had one. We went on a road trip with him several states away. On the highway the brakes partially seized and smoke was billowing from behind (a passing motorist waved to alert us).
Anyway, very long story, but it turns out that Flexes have a history of seizing brakes. You may want to look into that issue as well.
Here’s the NHTSA page on the 2016 Flex AWD. You can look at other years and models, too.
I keep telling myself I want to get a Flex while I can, but I never seem to get around to it. Yeah, the look is polarizing, but I love them (not so much the Scion, though).
I would be interested in the fast version, though, and would want the factory tow package, thinking that it can replace my Expedition as a tow vehicle for my (small) trailer.
FWIW, that brake issue is also on the Edge and Explorer and is mostly down to a really crappy caliper design combined with a proclivity for the caliper grease to be blown out by automatic car washes’ high pressure jets. I made sure to lube up the slide pins and the seats for the pads every wheel change (winter/summer) on SWMBO’s former Edge and will do the same on her present one.
Personally, I liked the Flex’s appearance. Reminded me of the Travelall or the old IH Scouts.
I’ve rented one before. I also found the driver’s seat extremely uncomfortable even for short drives (I’m 6’0" and 160 lbs. with long legs and a short torso). The automatic gearbox takes forever to kick down. On the upside, it handles rather well for a vehicle of that size (I mean, it’s better than a Suburban, not that you’ll be powersliding it) and is less “I’ve given up on life” than a minivan.
I have never driven one but I checked one out at a car show. It is the only Ford I ever considered buying (to replace a mini-van) since I was working for Ford and bought a Mazda in 1981.
If you look at the total cost of ownership over the useful life of the car you will find that the difference between 18 MPG and 30 MPG is noise.
I always liked them, looks wise, kind of a cross between an old school station wagon and a limo. They come with AWD but I always thought they needed one with AWD, higher ground clearance and some bigger all terrain tires to give it some deep snow and mild off road capabilities.
Well, we pulled the trigger today, and bought a used Flex. A 2018 with 12k miles on it, about 25% below new cost.
While it looks like a huge vehicle, it turns out it’s only about 8" longer than a Honda Accord, and it’s actually a few inches shorter than the Honda Element it is replacing.
As for looks, I will pick almost anything that isn’t the same shape that every SUV/crossover on the roads has turned into. SantaFe, RAV4, Cherokee, CR-V, Escape, Highlander, Pilot, Edge, Explorer. All of them have the same shape, just sized a bit differently. At least I’ll be able to find this in the parking lot.
RIP, orange Honda Element. You did good by us. I will miss you.
I you don’t mind me asking, how are the driver’s sight lines when performing parking maneuvers? I’ve heard that backing one of them up in a crowded parking lot can be a nerve wracking experience due to poor, all-round visibility.
Do you mean shorter in height? Because the Flex is 32" inches longer than an Element. It is a huge vehicle; it’s only 10" shorter than a Crown Vic, or 22" shorter than a Suburban. The Element is just slightly taller because of its arched roof (and isn’t exactly a small car itself). The Accord has grown prodigiously over the last three generations, and the US-market model is now a large car by anyone’s reckoning.
I kind of like your reasoning as far as styling goes, but if you don’t want an SUV/crossover, why not just buy something that isn’t an SUV/crossover?