Ford Flex Turns Heads and Builds an Image

Chrysler , of course, ruled the minivan roost because it was the first to the market and then everyone jumped in just to say they offered a minivan. Some lucky imports took off, like the Honda, while others just sat in the middle of the road.

Ford, though it set the tone of the 80s with the front-drive Taurus, a later helped to keep the minivan market alive with its Windstar (still a good vehicle), in the 90s when minivan sales were tailing away, had an ace up its corporate sleeve that it didn't let on about.

It hinted at mockups of the Flex in various stages of development and even focus groups kept hush-hush (sort of tough in Detroit). And, Flex variants were shown as concept cars at auto shows, still there was nothing on the radar until the start of the 2008 model year when - as a TV chef likes to say "Bam" there it was.

At first, customers came in to see just exactly what the Flex was. They'd heard about it and wanted to see it for themselves. The first reaction usually was: "Boy, this is a long vehicle," but shortly the reaction changed to "this handles just like a car."

Indeed, the Flex, driven by Ford's 3.5-liter V-6 and mated to Ford's smooth-shifting six-speed automatic, was a nimble vehicle. The front-drive model that was tested was as nicely developed as any Ford new product that has appeared in some time. Because it was a front-drive vehicle, the Flex held its line through turns and corners and on the highway it is a stable platform.

With 260 horsepower available at the driving wheels and 245 pounds-feet of torque, you can easily chirp the wheels in first (something that's really not advisable to do if you're driving for mileage, but is still lots of fun).

Using a fast-acting rack-and-pinion steering setup, the Flex has a relatively tight steering radius. In fact, given that the Flex is longer than it is wide, you would think the turning radius would be big, but, surprisingly, it isn't.

Flex is available in three model levels, SE, SEL and the Limited. As you'd expect the SE is the base model, front-drive, usually cloth seats, but it does include some goodies like power doorlocks, windows, steering, brakes and mirrors. It includes seating for eight - two-three-three - and a huge amount of space when you have all of the rear seats folded down.

Indeed, that's one of the features you'll like about the Flex. Rather than just folding flat, the seats actually fold into the floor and leave a level cargo surface that. With all three seats in place you have about 20 cubic feet of storage that about doubles when the second row int the floor and then doubles again when you drop the third row.

Interestingly, since the rear seat is about 60/40 and since the center seat is also 60/40 (meaning that it 60 percent remains in place if you need it for seating) you can actually have nearly half of the Flex available for hauling stuff and the rest available for seating passengers. It's a nice arrangement.

Of course, as you move up in the price pointing - the SE lists about $28,000, the SEL is in the $30-32,000 range and the LTD is about $34,000 or so - not counting factory incentive money or other incentives the dealer may have available so the pricing can change more than a little - you will find each higher level model better equipped.

For instance, the SEL features climate control and upgraded sound system and you can add heated seats and leather, as well as a moonroof, power driver and front passenger seat, power sideviews and more. Indeed, the SEL and Limited packages include "adaptive" high-intensity lighting. This type of lighting is the bright blue/white lighting that steers where you steer as it has about a 15-degree sweep on each side of center. It's an interesting effect at night.

The features that make the Flex interesting, aside from its longish stance, though, are not only the high-intensity lighting, but also the access to the rear seating areas which is pretty easy for the far rear seat (just slide the right-rear seat to the front and you're in easily) and the seating itself which is quite comfortable and supportive. Through turns and corners, you stay put, which is exactly what you want your seats doing.

The AWD version of the Limited features an intelligent AWD system that ensures that the Flex, like other "intelligent" AWD system remains primarily in front-drive, only moving power to the rear wheels when sensors at the wheels sense slippage and then the viscous universal takes over and moves power to the wheels that need it while backing power away from those that are slipping. It does help keep your Flex stable.

This piece could go on and on about the great features you find in the Flex, which what it all winds up to in the end is that the Flex looks like it has finally begun to find its niche and its sales should move upward from there.