by Michael GolubiewskiProduction Editor
‘Flexing’ a Ford
I admit to not knowing much about this week’s Ride of the Week — a 2009 Ford Flex — when Dave Coleman of Berwick submitted it. But ever since hearing from Coleman, I’ve noticed more and more Flexes on the road, which hopefully means they are growing in popularity, because they certainly turn heads.
The Flex is a full-size crossover that made its debut at the 2007 New York International Auto Show, and the 2009 model was the first for the Flex. Like the Ford Windstar it replaced, the Flex features 7-passenger seating but isn’t your average minivan.
“It’s neat,” Coleman says. “It has a lot of neat things as features.”
Some “neat things” that convinced Coleman to buy a Flex include a personal jukebox capable of holding 2,300 songs, interior “mood lighting” that you could change to one of seven colors, and a refrigerator mounted between the second-row captain’s chairs.
The exterior Flex continues Ford’s recent signature chrome horizontal 3-bar grill that is also seen on the Edge, Taurus and Fusion. Coleman chose the cinnamon exterior color for his Flex with a white top, which is also available in silver or the color of the body.
The Flex features a 3.5-liter, DOHC, 24-valve, 60-degree, 6-cylinder engine. It has a 6-speed automatic transmission capable of more than 260 horsepower and 245 pound per feet of torque. Coleman picked the standard front wheel drive.
“I might have picked the all wheel drive, but I was just worried about what would happen with that if gas prices go up really high again,” he explains.
Before his Flex, Coleman owned several Jeeps — Cherokees and Grand Cherokees — but when he went shopping for a new car last fall, Ford’s stability was on his mind.
“It still is up in the air what happens with Jeep/Chrysler and what happens with General Motors,” he says, “so I decided to play if safe and go for a Ford. First time I ever owned one, but if they all drive like this Flex does, it certainly won’t be the last.”
w
| Tweet | Follow @wkdr |
|
|
