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2013 Ford Flex Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: A unique style by jgalt

A member in Texas, United States

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Introduction

Buy it for what it does not how it looks. Or, buy it for what it doesand for how it looks. The worst thing about the shape of the Flex is that it's hard to wash the top of the car. The middle of the top can be quite a reach. I like to hand wash cars. Drive through or self service car washes have no problem with this.

Reviewed: 2013 Ford Flex

4dr SUV 287-horsepower 3.5L V6 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD

Why the 2013 Ford Flex?

Cargo capacity

Replaced a '99 Yukon with this and was concerned about cargo space. The Yukon did not have a 3rd row seat and the Flex does. While obviously less than the Yukon it will still hold an impressive amount of cargo. I do wish the rear hatch went a little bit higher as I always have to duck a bit. Definetily not a deal breaker.

Handling

It has the weight of a truck but handles much smaller that it is. I've been tempted to drive it harder than I should. I've given in to the temptation a couple of times. :-). It's no sports car but it's abilities with high speed on winding back country roads can be fun. Just remember it's front wheel drive, nose heavy and heavy overall.

Powertrain performance

I've been impressed with it's acceleration when getting up to speed to merge or when passing. Much better than what I expected from a V6 in a vehicle of this size. However this performance comes with a hit on your MPG so I try to keep my foot out of it.

Quietness

Very quiet. That said my other vehicles are: 94 F150 XL (currently own) and in the past 2001 Bonnivelle and 1999 Yukon. So I can't compare with other more recent cars.

Interior styling

I have the black leather interior and really like it. starting at just above the door/dash the color changes to a light cream color on the pillars and across the roof. It makes for a nice contrast and keeps the car from feeling too dark. Controls are easy to see and reach. One weird thing is that on each visor the mirror is really small. Visors are big enough to handle a 6-7 in mirror at least. I don't use or need the mirror, I'm just commenting because it seemed quire odd when I first noticed it.

Why Not the 2013 Ford Flex?

Powertrain performance

It's front wheel drive. I really miss the RWD of my Yukon. My Bonniville was FWD but it was a car and it wasn't going to be a long term vehicle for me anyway. 90+% of the time I don't notice that it's FWD. However, when accelerating when turning onto a road, if the aceleration is enough to cause wheel slip (wet roads, heavy foot etc.) the sterring wheel jerks and it feels very odd & unsafe. It may be that I am just so used to RWD I'm having trouble adjusting. having a vehicle fishtail feels normal to me. The jerking shaking wheel doesn't.

Audio & nav systems

SYNC system. It is tempermental and it really needs a manual reset option. the only way to do a hard reboot is to pull the fuse. The fuse box is in a almost impossible to reach area behind the dash on the left wall. A really, really horrible location. Back to the SYNC system. It will occasionally do a restart on it's own but inbetween that you can count on there being a slow decrease in performance and useability. Navigation. Works OK. it's my first built in navigation system. Used a Garmin Nuvi in the past and currently use the Waze app on my phone. The main reason I don't use the built in navigation is that inputting an address is a convoluted & frustrating process. The User Interface is designed to guide the user through the process. Maybe a good idea for the commitee designing this for someone who... actually I can't imagine who they had in mind when they designed the UI. it defaults to start with the zip code. 99% of the time I have no idea of the zip code. Also, the full keypad is not available for use. Say your zipcode is 76843. once you press the "7" most of the #'s will go away as the system knows that there are X number of options for a zipcode that starts with a 7. This style is extremely evident when entering a street name. Say I live on Woodhue street. Press the "W" and the system will only display the letters that it knows of that follow immediately after a W. All other letters are greyed out. You do have the option of scrolling through a list of streets that start with a W. Press "W" it will say 188 results. Press "W" then "O" and you are down to say 62 results and so on as you continue to pick the letters that it will allow you to.

Audio & nav systems

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Conclusion

This is a car that I'm going to keep forever. The only thing I would change would be to make it a RWD. That is impossible so I'm keeping it forever as is.

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