Ford Flex 2013

The Ford Flex, is, of system, the Taurus's wagony analogue, the glitzy, boxy companion to the D-section sedan that the unlamented Freestyle never ever was to the Taurus's daddy, the Five Hundred. What this particular Flex is is the freshened-for-2013 version.

While the fundamentals stay the identical, Ford's up-to-date the styling of its boxy 7-seater, providing a front-conclude treatment far more avant garde than that of the prior auto--or even that of the 2005 Fairlane notion which spawned the Flex. The blue oval grille badge is long gone, changed by added-width "FLEX" lettering spanning the hood's top edge.

Inside of, Ford upgraded the resources and redesigned the sprint, providing contact-delicate buttons à la the Chevrolet Volt's middle stack--however the search is decidedly 1970s Aston Martin Lagonda--nominal relatively than the Volt's Starfleet hodgepodge. Furthermore, the new Flex ships with the up to date version of the often-cursed MyFord Contact. Some 300,000 individuals are now using the infotainment program, and we presume that some of them are satisfied with it.

Beneath the pores and skin, Ford upped the electrical power of the obtainable engines. The 3.5-liter in a natural way aspirated V6 now makes 288 hp and 254 lb-ft of torque, and the EcoBoost twin-turbo 6 pumps out 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. Mileage improves as effectively, up a tick to eighteen/twenty five mpg for the FWD in a natural way aspirated base model and 16/23 mpg for the AWD EcoBoost model. A 6-pace slushbox is still the only accessible transmission.

We sampled an AWD Flex Restricted EcoBoost. If you've driven the earlier design, the new wagonoid will really feel like a subtle nevertheless considerable improvement. Ford extra audio-deadening insulation, recalibrated the steering and imparted the handling with an aura of solidity that pairs nicely with the upgraded inside. Ford also beefed up the brakes, which now supply fantastic modulation and confidence-inspiring stopping energy.

The turbocharged 6 never overwhelms the chassis, nor does it come to feel underpowered. Phone the thrust amount "sufficient" in the Rolls-Royce way. Not that the Flex is Rolls refined. There is a hint of coarseness to every thing Ford builds on the D3/D4 platform (the MKS, the MKT, the Taurus, the Explorer, the Flex) that the business has nevertheless to entirely iron out. It's not bad, it just feels as if it need to somehow be far better.

2013 Ford Flex
On Sale: Spring 2012
Base Value: $ thirty,885
Drivetrain:288-hp, 254-lb-ft, three.five-liter V6/365-hp, 350-lb-ft, three.5-liter twin-turbo V6 FWD/AWD, 6-pace automatic
Gasoline Economic system: three.5-liter: twenty mpg (FWD), 19 mpg (AWD) three.five-liter turbo: eighteen mpg (AWD)

By: Davey G. Johnson

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