2009 Ford Flex
In absolute terms, the Ford Flex is squarely brilliant. Here is a six- or seven-passenger spawn hauler with none of the minivan stigma that so evidently traumatizes suburbanites and their delicate eros. -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
The total family package is high-functioning and deserves a good home.
In terms of packaging -- the art of putting the most usable space over the smallest footprint, carbon and otherwise -- the Flex mops the garage floor with your typical full-size SUV, such as Ford’s own Lincoln Navigator. -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
Based on the Ford Taurus X platform -- a large crossover, in other words -- the Flex is, essentially, a super-sized wagon, powered by a 3.5-liter, 262-hp V6 channeled through a six-speed automatic, with optional all-wheel drive. -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
It’s got a voice-recognition multimedia system that will keep you updated on sports scores and schedules, weather, traffic, and will even direct you to the stations in the area selling the best-priced gasoline (that’s the Ford- Microsoft Sync system with Sirius Travel Link service -- see our Web video at latimes.com). -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
In up-level trim, it’s got glassy roof panels over each seat position. It’s got an honest-to-Häagen-Dazs refrigerator between the vast second-row bucket seats. -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
The Flex offers about 83 cubic feet of cargo space -- it’s a pity children aren’t cube-shaped -- compared with about 103 for the [Lincoln Navigator]. Meanwhile, the Flex weighs about 1,500 pounds less and gets 30% better fuel economy (17/24 miles per gallon, city and highway). -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
Here’s my prognosis for the Flex. It’s too good a vehicle to be ignored entirely. It will scavenge minivan sales away from league leaders like the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna (the redesigned Chrysler Town & Country never really achieved escape velocity). -- Dan Neil (Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)
