The all-new
2009 Ford Flex, with unique styling and seating for seven, is a cool-looking alternative to a minivan.
Flex features an interesting shape, signature side grooves, and an all-black greenhouse. Add to that the distinct roof that is sure to provoke "love-it" or "hate-it" emotions, and you have a distinctly different Ford.
You can put me on the "love-it" side. Flex dares to be different and its exterior styling represents a radical departure from anything else offered by Ford.
Topping the Flex is a roof that comes in two colors: White Suede or Brilliant Silver. The roof and all-black greenhouse nicely contrast Flex's exterior paint palette. The Ford Flex tester looked sharp with its Sterling Grey Clearcoat Metallic finish topped off by an all-black greenhouse and White Suede roof.
The tester also came equipped with an optional ($1,495) Panoramic Vista Roof. This option features four separate glass panels that really let a lot of natural light inside the cabin. The glass panel over the front seats opens while the other panels are fixed.
Flex is available in three trim levels: SE, SEL, and Limited. Pricing ranges from around $28K - $36K.
The cabin is spacious and the materials look and feel upscale. All three rows offer plenty of head and legroom. The Flex SEL tester came with comfortable Charcoal Black leather seats and some interesting options.
First, I especially enjoyed the latest Ford SYNC and voice-activated navigation system with SIRIUS Travel Link.
SYNC is a Ford-exclusive system developed with Microsoft to link your Bluetooth phone to the vehicle's entertainment system. It's one of my favorite features for its ease of setup and number of features.
The navigation system with SIRIUS Travel Link includes real-time traffic, coast-to-coast weather conditions and fuel price information for over 120,000 gas stations.