In anticipation of my upcoming more lengthy review (after the buff books get their 30 pieces of silver), I offer you my initial [looking and feeling, not driving] impressions of Ford's latest and greatest crossover (anyone remember the Edge, or Taurus X, or Freestyle?) from an up close and personal encounter. It has a design your mom could pick out of a lineup, and it looks great in person. It also looks great, as in "my goodness, that's a big damn car." For whatever reason, it conveys tall wagon rather than low SUV, but that might be in part due to the optional white roof on my test car. The bigness extends to the interior, which is the Flex' highlight. Yes, there's a 260 horsepower engine and a six-speed automatic. But the business class cabin is the biz. Best. Ford. Interior. Ever. Materials are seriously "oh my god, is this a Blue Oval car?" The middle row (especially when equipped with a brace of captains chairs) is spacious enough to allow even the gigantically tall and morbidly obese splay their legs in vulgar comfort. The Flex is utterly silent while in motion (which you'll recall from my test ride at the NY Auto Show), though standard 18" wheels sounds large for a would-be comfort cruiser. A home run for Ford? Maybe inside the park (consistent year-on-year sales). Otherwise, seating for four adults/three young 'uns and 24 mpg highway make this a strong triple. Full review to follow. Eventually.
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Maybe it is me, but I find this vehicle totally useless. Here’s why:
1. This is supposed to be a “minivan” replacement. However it is missing two very important thins that a minivan has. Cargo space, and sliding doors. This Flexible has an interior cargo volume that is in the same general area as an Explorer. The current Taurus X offers more interior space.
2. It is a box. It is nothing but a lengthened Scion xB. Is it really a good idea to base a vehicle’s styling on a Scion? Especially, a vehicle that is supposed to ‘save Ford’?
3. And this is probably the BIGGEST issue with the Flexible…Ford already has a 7 seat station wagon on the Market…the Taurus X. The Taurus X has more interior room, looks MUCH, MUCH better, and is already on the market.
Why spend TONS of money on a new 7-seat wagon, when you already have a 7-seat wagon on the market? How does that make sense?
Nice preview. I really like the nutshell review. I do love the way this looks. Of course we’re on our second Mini Cooper so I may be biased. Looking forward to the full piece.
CV; most Americans view sliding doors as a badge of shame and hence purchase SUVs even though they are less practical.
As far as the T-X looking “MUCH, MUCH better”, it sold 2200 units last month, the same rate as the Aztek.
P71_CrownVic-
Why spend TONS of money on a new 7-seat wagon, when you already have a 7-seat wagon on the market? How does that make sense?
It doesn’t! The only reason to buy a Flex is if there isn’t another wagon from Ford, so the least they can do is kill off the souless Taurus X.
I will say that a nice interior could make a big difference. But overall, if Ford wants to build a decent station wagon, they should…build a decent wagon! Audi, Volvo, Mercedes do it, why can’t Ford?
Praxis:
As far as the T-X looking “MUCH, MUCH better”, it sold 2200 units last month, the same rate as the Aztek.
While that is true…how many ads have you seen for the Taurus X?
Lack of advertising is the Taurus X’s only problem. The auto magazines as well as TTAC have all had very positive reviews of the Taurus X. It is a very solid automobile with a great safety rating.
To me, the better solution would have been to just spend some money…a dollar or two…on advertising the Taurus X. Then, there would be even less of a need for the Flexible.
i think the flex has a cool factor that the taurus x will never have and as such will do well at least for a while
Justin,
You’ve really piqued my curiosity on this one. I assumed the Flex would fail because it would suffer from mediocre execution, much like the Edge, Taurus and Focus. This would be VERY good news for Ford, and bodes well for the upcoming F150 and Taurus.
I think it looks too much like a Taurus X/Freestyle. Same old, same old, only bigger. At a time when the price of gas is up. Sounds like another strike for the Team Ford.
The reason I fell in love with it is because it sort of takes me back to the International Harvesters and the Woody.
All perfect examples of addressing what people want…with some weird square coolness.
Yes, I think it is very very nice looking.
My wife, however, thinks its nothing more than a square SUV box.
I don’t let her pick out the cars!
I DO like the Taurus X…but P71_CrownVic- is right, it sort of is souless. Perhaps because of its direct tie in with the Taurus car.
It seems to get really nice reviews.
But the real problem for me will always be mileage. 24 is still not long term livable with me.
I just need to see what the EcoBoost will add later, I believe in 2010.
Read what he is saying.
The design, the interior, the drive…everything was well done.
Its not like the TX.
By the way…does anybody else feel good about Ford like I do?
It seems to me they have a really good focus on the next 2 or 3 years.
Hope it sells.
I was burned becasue of lack of resale value of the last 4 Ford products I bought. Good cars, just could never sell them becasue they have poor resale value.
I saw one at the mall in light silvery blue. It was much better looking than the metallic brown one I saw last year. Still too boxy for my wife, though. I thought they were going to kill the Taurus X once the Flex was in production. Am I wrong, or is Ford?
Just when PT Cruiser sales started to crater – along comes the Chevy HHR. Now, as the Avis lot fills up with ChryCo 300’s here is that one’s pseudo clone the Ford Flex.
I saw about a thousand of these in the Ford Oakville Plant lot awaiting loading onto a train (to a dealer next to you…!).
Just what North America needs, another lifesyle vehical. At least it’s not a pickup.
Hideous all the same.
How is the Ford Flex a clone of the 300C? They’re both boxy but they’re worlds apart! I think it’s rather stylish, like a Lincoln Nav/Mini Club fusion.
jcp2:
I thought they were going to kill the Taurus X once the Flex was in production. Am I wrong, or is Ford?
I don’t recall any official word from Ford…but they probably are going to kill the Taurus X after the Flexible hits.
But that doesn’t negate the fact that Ford designing a brand new station wagon when they already have a very competent one on the market is a very stupid thing to do.
It should have been called Fairlane or even Galaxie, but nevertheless the Flex has the potential to be a big success.
The Flex could be the first vehicle to sell to rental companies without a discount. Think about it: three or four business travelers have to make a 100 mile drive. Will they choose an Impala? Fusion? G6? Caravan? 300? Vibe? Or go for the Flex and enjoy its spaciousness, comfortable seating, visibility, great interior and silent cruising? The question answers itself.
I still think a deluxe Town Car version in elegant black and chrome would be great for livery service.
I’ve always thought the Edge was an excellent CUV (if those two words can possibly go together)The DI engine is great already, and will be even better blown, it sits on the same platform as the CX7 that everyone seems to love, and this flex thing is on that platform too. It’s essentially a stretched Edge, so I don’t really see how you can like the Flex and dump on the Edge in the same sentence. Hopefully Ford will have a good marketing campaign behind the Flex because it just looks way cooler than any minivan, or the competent but un-cool Taurus X.
Is there any chance we could see the powerplant from Escape Hybrid in Flex in the future?
I am thinking of trading in ,my 06 Fusion (with which i have no issues whatsoever, and that comes from someone who’s family has had been on the Import bandwagon for 40 years now).
I am impressed with the looks and the news of decent interior might be the nail in the coffin of my wallet …
joe_thousandaire:
The Edge shares a platform with the CX-9.
The CX-7 is nothing but a jacked up Mazda6/Fusion.
I’d like to know the actual sales numbers on the CX-9 and CX-7, Mazda is offering cheap financing at least.
ppellico:
By the way…does anybody else feel good about Ford like I do?
It seems to me they have a really good focus on the next 2 or 3 years.
Well, maybe if they started import the Euro version they might.
I thank you.
But that doesn’t negate the fact that Ford designing a brand new station wagon when they already have a very competent one on the market is a very stupid thing to do.
It seems in reviews and in person the Flex is a bigger vehicle than the T-X. More luxurious, and more $$. Personally I like the T-X, but the market has spoken and heavily disagrees with me.
I know it’s asking a lot, but 18-22 mpg ain’t gonna cut it these days.
There was a Flex at the NY autoshow a couple of months back – it was nice looking in the metal and absolutely vast. While 24 mpg doesn’t sound great, it is slightly better than you’d get from a Yukon or similar. Problem is, I don’t see too many people shopping for that size vehicle any more. That boat has sailed, perhaps for good.
The other potential issue is build quality. Now this may have been a pre-production glitch, or the result of over enthusiastic fiddling by hordes of eager members of the public, but the third row mechanism on the NY autoshow car was already well and truly broken when I got to it about 4 days into the show.
Frankly, my dear………………….
GEMorris:
The CX-7 is an Edge sibling, they are both jacked up Mazda 6’s.
As to the Flex, this is what Ford should have come out with instead of the Freestyle/Taurus X. What the f even happened when they came out with the Freestyle and didn’t market it at all? What a giant waste that project was. The only possible reason to continue producing that vehicle after the Flex comes out would be to throw money away. However, if Ford gives the Flex the marketing support it needs, it should do well. Unfortunately, it will never replace the revenue once gained from SUV sales.
Marketing matters my friends. All of these comparisons of the Taurus X with the Flex are like comparing apples to oranges.
The Taurus X has been a disaster because it it was never marketed. A Gold boullion could have been in every one of these cars and nobody would have known it because Ford failed to market the vehicle. Shame on Ford because the Taurus X is a pretty good vehicle.
On the other hand—-the Flex will have A TON of marketing support behind it—-Farley’s rep is on the line with this launch. Said another way—if the Flex fails—it won’t be because of lack of marketing $’s.
Last—for all of you that talk about gas mileage—have you really done the math as to what difference it makes on an annual basis ? NOTE: if Ford increased the Flex’s MPG by 2 (no small feat from an engineering perspective)—it would only amount to about $220.00 in annual savings (assuming 12K driven per year). Do you think anyone spending $30K + on a vehicle is really concerned about $220.00 ?
Wish they’d at least offer sliding rear doors as an option. I’d pay $500 to maybe $1000 for that convenience. they can hide the slider tracks in the windows these days, and no one needs to be the wiser…doesn’t matter, though, as much as I love the car, my wife hates boxy vehicles.
@ umterp85:
“Do you think anyone spending $30K + on a vehicle is really concerned about $220.00 ?”
Yes. As was mentioned in another thread, people will spend $1500 more than they should on useless options nav systems and still bitch about gas going up several cents. The thing is, many people can’t do math. The others want to save the earth by driving a slightly more efficient vehicle that is 2000lbs and 300 sq-ft bigger than they need.
Guyincognito: You are correct…sadly…people do not do the math.
I do have issue with you presuming what people SHOULD drive (“others want to save the earth by driving a slightly more efficient vehicle that is 2000lbs and 300 sq-ft bigger than they need”). Maybe its the Libertarian in me—but I don’t like to be told what to do.
That said, When I was a kid—-people would just pile into a 4 door sedan without any concern for how many seatbelts were available. Not saying that was right—-but it was just common practice. Today—you just can’t pile 6 into an accord or malibu. Nor can you pile a bunch of people in the back of a wagon (used to get 4 kids back there !).
Net—anyone who carries more than 3 kids around on a consistent basis needs a third row vehicle like the Flex….there are alot of these people….even though at times you will only see Mom driving one solo.