Wife Wants a Flex

I saw one sitting next to an explorer (admittedly a 10 year old explorer) and the flex seemed to dwarf it. The things just seem huge.

Anyone else keep thinking the thread title is "wife wants sex"?

Ditchdigger wrote: I saw one sitting next to an explorer (admittedly a 10 year old explorer) and the flex seemed to dwarf it. The things just seem huge.

just like other minivans. It's a good illusion for a public that likes big cars.

There's a better than 50% chance that we'll be getting a new Flex in the spring. Taurus is now 6 years old, she'd like some of the newer comfort/convenience features, and AWD this time around. But I doubt we'd spring for the Ecoboost. Much as I love that engine in my truck, Flexes are expensive enough. Having an extra 100hp in our mommy-mobile isn't worth the money to us. And the base V6 is more than adequate, IMO.

But I am going to scope out some other family haulers at NAIAS next week.

In reply to alfadriver:

IIRC, that same guy has several other "drag only" vehicles. Also, as far as we know, he's the only ecobrick in the 12's right now.

New guy here but I can add to this topic. We bought a Flex in 2009 - the first year of production. Ours is a basic model 7 seater with tow package. It does have rear heat and air.

We currently have 109k on it. No problems. None. Runs like new. 3.5 V6 (non-turbo) front wheel drive. It is a big car. Like others have said, bigger than it looks. At the time we bought ours we had a daughter in HS and an exchange student and usually a friend or two in tow. Now the daughter is away at college and it's just my wife and I so we've been thinking of trading for something smaller.

On the plus side...the rear seat leg room is limo-like. The third row is not bad at all once you're back there but the climb back is a bit awkward due to the car's lower roof line (as compared to a Caravan etc).

The Flex rides very smooth. Although ours is a base model, you can tell the car is engineered for a higher price point if that makes sense. All the glass is laminated for example and the Flex is so quiet at 75-80mph that conversation in the car is easy for me and I have some hearing loss from years of working around aircraft.

in two-row mode, it will swallow large items such as a lazy boy recliner we recently took to the daughter. In three row mode there is still some space for luggage. More than my in-law's Navigator with the rear seat up.

I have used mine to tow a 20' Bayliner 2050 with a 5.0V8 as well as a number of cargo trailers and jet skis. Never a problem. The fwd even handled the boat ramps with little drama.

I've been using it as my work car since my wife prefers the smaller car for her dd. I get about 18-20 in mixed driving. I've seen 26-27 on flat roads at 65-70 but normal for me is 24mpg at 80mph on Kansas Intersates.

I overpaid for mine as an early adopter but there should be some nice deals out there now. Oddly enough, my mother recently bought a new Edge (we also test drove one) and to my butt dyno the 3.5 in my flex was significantly stronger than either of those two - both also 3.5/fwd. Odd since I would assume the flex is heavier too.

1988RedT2 wrote: My neighbor bought one for his wife last year. Brand new. I rode in it once or twice. Seemed very nice. His had the eco-boost 3.5 V6 and seemed quite peppy. They had it to the dealer about a dozen times and they were unable to resolve certain issues. I think most of them centered around the infotainment system. They finally gave up on it and got a RAV-4, which has been fine, AFAIK. Pretty sure they wouldn't recommend the Flex.

The last thing I read on the My Ford Touch was that early ones had an almost 40% failure level. However I can say that we purchased a 2012 Explorer last year and we are very happy with it.

Explorer and Flex are built on the same chassis family. AWD works very smoothly and even the 3.5 V6 has plenty of power.

The subject of buying a ford flex has come up previously. My wife hates the looks of them and its funny you mention she wants to ditch her CRV as that is the SUV that my wife likes. I prefer the element but I've been looking for a CRV for awhile, probably won't pull the trigger for another couple months. But the flex is friggin awesome. I had one at work and it was a blast, very quick, nice and roomy, great vehicle!

In reply to alfadriver:

So you are saying that:

Nitrous + Ecoboost =

In reply to Ojala:

i'm saying that power adders who bring fuel to the equation work. in this case, he had an X shot with fuel.

There is a weak spot in direct injection engines- in terms of peak power and torque. The fuel pump is volume limited. They are getting better, but there's a point where they just can't move more fuel.

Back in 2010 my wife said we need one newer car in the fleet with our older daughter heading to college at ISU. I gave our daughter my 98 explorer with a 5.0 and AWD and traded my daughter's 94 J30 for a 09 fwd Flex. I love it. It handles great with the 18" wheels. It has a lot of power with the 3.5. Traveling between Chicago and Bloomington I keep it around 90-95 and you don't feel it. If I keep it below 90 the mileage is much better. We can put our 8 year old and all of her friends in the back. With the seats down ( including the front passenger) I can if all my tools and an 8' ladder inside. I am fine driving it downtown and parallel parking it. My wife even likes driving it. I promised my wife I would not mess with it until the warranty is up, then I foresee a CAI, new program and a cat back exhaust. With all the snow we just had it handled well. The only beefs I have are the driver side front window molding rattles on the highway and accelerating into traffic pulling out of a parking lot the traction control kick in. I would love to have got the awe with the eco-boost but it was out of our price range.

My parents had a flex. It was AWD, ecoboost, and loaded with everything. I think the ecoboost engines get slightly worse mileage than the non-ecoboost ones (especially with my mom driving, she has a heavy foot) but I once got nearly 30 mpg on a trip where I tried hypermiling. The mileage tanks the instant you put your foot down, but it has pretty good pick up. My parents said it once smoked some kid in a beater Camaro 3 lights in a row that kept trying to drag race them. Good power, pretty comfortable, but I found the transmission programming to be a bit infuriating. even in 'manual mode' if you push the gas pedal down too quickly, it will downshift. A sudden downshift from 6th to 3rd is death on mileage.

I have been toying with the idea of buying a 2013 Flex. I think it would look great parked next to our MINI vert. My wife currently drives the MINI and is looking for something that holds 6 or 7 people. The fuel economy for the FWD non-turbo version seems to be pretty good and all the reviews are fairly positive on the reliability once you get past the early years of MyFord Touch. I have noticed that the first year depreciation is astonishing. They lose like $20k in the first year and 20k km. $42k drops to mid $20k. Perhaps the only 2013 used ones are former daily rentals. I wonder how bad a former rental would be?

Red with the black roof in the Appearance Pkg would be pretty sweet. Of course if I got the bright blue with a black top it would twin the MINI.

Aspen wrote: I have been toying with the idea of buying a 2013 Flex. I think it would look great parked next to our MINI vert. My wife currently drives the MINI and is looking for something that holds 6 or 7 people. The fuel economy for the FWD non-turbo version seems to be pretty good and all the reviews are fairly positive on the reliability once you get past the early years of MyFord Touch. I have noticed that the first year depreciation is astonishing. They lose like $20k in the first year and 20k km. $42k drops to mid $20k. Perhaps the only 2013 used ones are former daily rentals.

I bought my wife's 2013 as a used, former Ford employee car. I bought it in September with 28k on it and paid under 24k. It's an SEL with leather, white roof and the sunroof. I had actually had one ordered (for 42k) when I found this one. It's been nothing but great to us. The miles are higher, but the difference in price was too big to pass up. And after a few years the mileage won't matter. I say go for it if you find one you like

Does the SEL have the stainless looking panel on the rear? That's one of my wife's favorite elements on it.

bravenrace wrote: Does the SEL have the stainless looking panel on the rear? That's one of my wife's favorite elements on it.

It looks like you need to get the "Limited" package for that. Unfortunately you have to get 20" wheels which I don't want to get the gloss black roof.

I'm right on the edge of the Flex love. My main beef is that they seem so damn big, but that's what I like about them too- just seems so indulgent and luxe. Maybe I'll wait until my son turns 16, pick one up, and have him take us on road trips. Wife and I in second row sipping cocktails on a son-chauffered road trip sounds too good to be true.

Another note- getting the black roof seems like a recipe for a smoking hot car in the summer. I was thinking either the blue or black with white roof would be the good looking/cool combo.

I would love a Flex, buty SWMBO, who suggested it in the first place, has lost interest. What I'd really like is a MKT. Has to be one of the strangest cars ever designed, but a great used value. When you're inside, who cares what it looks like really?

In reply to mattmacklind:

Of the 4 Ecoboost cars, that's the only one I never drove. Although, I hear they are super comfy. If you like it, can afford it, get it.

I've thought about the MKT since the wife's #1 objection to the Flex is it's styling. But man, they aren't cheap....

Tom_Spangler wrote: I've thought about the MKT since the wife's #1 objection to the Flex is it's styling. But man, they aren't cheap....

They also look like a baleen whale with a grin.

Reviving an old thread. We're kicking around the idea of replacing our '06 Kia Sedona that we've had since new. While we'd like something with big towing capacity, my wife wants a newish (2010+) with low miles and some nice touches. So Suburban, et al is out of our price range. The Flex actually can tow more than my Sedona...4500 vs 3500...so it's a step up anyway. As mentioned above, the Flex depreciation curve in the first 2 years is insane. We can pick up a nice 2013 or even 2014 for 35-50% less than new.

Anyone ever gone from minivan ownership to the Flex? How do they compare in day to day use? We have 3 active kids, and we're active too. I've heard folding the center row for rear access is easy.

We went from a 2010 VW Golf Wagon to a 2012 Ford Explorer. Not quite the scenario but close.

Love it. The Explorer is better in almost every way. BTW, with a Factory Towing package the Flex and Explorer are rated for 5K lbs, unless Ford de-rated them. We have the NA V6 and it moves right along.

NGTD wrote: We went from a 2010 VW Golf Wagon to a 2012 Ford Explorer. Not quite the scenario but close. Love it. The Explorer is better in almost every way. BTW, with a Factory Towing package the Flex and Explorer are rated for 5K lbs, unless Ford de-rated them. We have the NA V6 and it moves right along.

As close as you'll get without being a flex, since the explorer (for now) is based off of the Flex.

If you have questions about the turbo V6, I should be able to answer them.