2009 Ford Flex: First Look and Crawl Around

post from Karl on Cars on 16 May 2008 09:05:00 AM. © Karl on Cars

I just got my first close-up look a the 2009 Ford Flex. One of Ford's able-bodied reprsentatives brought it by the office, showed us all the major features and then let us crawl in, through and around it. We didn't get to actually drive it, but we do have a First Drive coming in a few weeks.

I'm impressed with this car for several reasons. First, I like the square profile. We all know that everything comes in cycles, and I'm more than over the "SUV-with-curves" style dominating the current crossover segment. Have I mentioned how many times I've had the keys to our long-term Enclave or CX-9 or Veracruz and walked up to the wrong car in the parking garage? I'm not trying to make a joke -- this has really happened, several times. Between the similar colors and shapes it's genuinely hard to tell them apart from more than 20 feet. If nothing else, the Ford Flex will not look like every other $30K crossover.

Second, it's got impressive interior packaging. The second-row seats literally flip and fold forward at the touch of a button (not sure that feature will be on base models...) and the third-row seat is fully functional for full-sized adults. This car also had the latest version of SYNC combined with a voice-activated navigation system. It was easy to do everything from order up a song-list on an iPod to input a street address using only my voice (and the "voice" button on the steering wheel).

The overall look and feel of the interior was impressive as well. There were also soft-touch inserts along the door panels where your hand or arm is likey to contact them, and while much of the dash (and the bulk of the door panels) were hard plastic the plastic had a rich texture that made it look premium. The seat leather looked and felt premium, and the multiple clear roof panels had a Nissan "skyview" effect on the cabin.

Many of the other editors, after seeing the Flex in person, felt it looked better than it did in pictures. I would concur, and suggest people who aren't sure about the styliing hold judgement until they see it in the steel. It will have the Edge's drivetrain, so power shouldn't be an issue (let's hope it loses the slow-to-downshift six-speed tranny).

My only complaint thus far? No telescoping steering wheel. That seems like an oversight in a segment this competitive.

We'll know more in the next month between our upcoming Ford Flex First Drive and getting seat time in a test car. But Ford needs new product like Lindsay needs an image makeover, and it's nice to see it finally showing up.

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