Anyone own/driven an Ecoboost Ford Flex

[05yellowgt]

Does anyone own, or driven an Ecoboost Ford Flex? The wife and I went to a local Ford dealer yesterday to see if we do decide to trade\sell my 08 F150 SuperCrew, what a suitable replacement might be. With twin infants, there is an entire support battalion worth of stuff to haul around with us when we make visits. Two car seats, two diaper bags, a twin stroller, pack and play, etc, take up a TON of space for a simple trip. Because of that we ruled out an Escape, and Edge because they just don't have much in the way of cargo space at all. That leaves us with really two choices, a Ford Edge, or Explorer.

I'd like something that gets better fuel mileage than my truck which gets about 14/17. The 2010 explorer only gets 13/19 which really isn't enough to make me want to switch. The 2011 does get better mileage but we aren't really considering it at the moment being a brand new model and not being able to see one, plus the obvious option of not being able to find a used one.

All that being said, if anyone has some first hand experience with an Ecoboost Flex, please let me know! And Terry, as always, we'll be heading down your way if we decide to make a move!

[firestang70]

John I own a 2010 with the NA 3.5 fwd. I love this vehicle. Plenty of room, nice interior, and a fabulous ride. Only complaint is it does have tq steer. Guess I shouldn't complain with 265 hp and fwd. MPGs best has been 26 mpg doing 75 with the A/C on. Normally gets 24 highway/18 city.

I traded a 2007 Freestyle on it. The Fresstyle was a mid level SEL. My Flex is a base SE model. The Flex is a much nicer vehicle. You don't realize how big it is till you look inside. It rides and handles like a much smaller car. If you can't tell I have been very impressed with the vehicle. .02

[05yellowgt]

We have a requirement for 4x4 or AWD anyway so hopefully torque steer isn't a big issue.

[mustangboy]

I use to have a super crew f150 with 3 kids in car seats and I put a cap on the back of the truck. Worked great, could haul all the crap you could ever want. Only reason we got rid of it was to get an Excursion so we could haul the kids their friends and a big ass camper

[05yellowgt]

It works fine when I drive but if my wife takes it by herself only being 5'3 its a bit of a challenge for her.

[CNTLOSE]

We have a 2010 N/A Limited and love it. I drove the Ecoboost and it was fun but I could not justify the price difference. I figure it is a family car...I will haul ass in my Mustangs. The FWD has done great in the snow so we are happy with our choice. We average between 19-20 mpg all around.

Now we have 4 kids, oldest being 7 so we take up all three rows of seats. If you plan on having anymore soon I will warn you, you will run out of room quick. We can get our single stroller in the rear and the diaper bag and that is about it. If you have just the two and can leave the back row down you will be fine...but if you plan on adding anytime soon you might want to think about it.

[05yellowgt]

We aren't planning for any more than these two so we'll be ok. Otherwise we'll be forced into an Excursion or Expedition EL.

[CNTLOSE]

We aren't planning for any more than these two so we'll be ok. Otherwise we'll be forced into an Excursion or Expedition EL.

lol...that was what we said with the first two. :lol:

With just the two little ones it will be perfect. Also if you like to keep your cars awhile eventually they can have their own space too.

[Markcore]

Dare I say it, but Chevy has a hybrid Tahoe...

[05yellowgt]

Dare I say it, but Chevy has a hybrid Tahoe...
And the starting price is $50,000 yikes!!

I can't personally justify buying a hybrid. A) I'm not a tree hugger. CO2 ISN'T a pollutant. I'm all for lowering NOX emissions and particulates but for the love of God this carbon footprint bullshit is for the birds. B) The pollution that is created in the process of mining and refining the nickel that goes into hybrid batteries is staggering. C) I also have a bad taste in my mouth about buying a Government Motors vehicle.

I went ahead and priced it out. A Tahoe Hybrid with Navigation, DVD rear entertainment, spare tire (a freaking $995 OPTION), and sunroof is $57,425 before any rebates or promotions

I can spec out a Platinum Flex with every option I could possibly want, moon roof, navigation, active park assist, 2nd row refrigerated console, and DVD Rear Entertainment system for only$48,450.

[02mingryGT]

My brother has a 2010 Flex. He lives in Atlanta but brought it up when he came to visit. I drove it around and can say it will torque steer but not a big deal as long as your expecting it or, dare I say it, can drive. Only did it on wide open throttle. I thought it was a great vehicle.

[thecollector]

Dare I say it, but Chevy has a hybrid Tahoe...

I was looking @ hybrid Tahoes/ silverado's to replace trucks in my fleet and found real world fuel economy was only a 3 MPG's better while maintenance and initial cost were insane. Also no long term cost is established for me to budget to keep the things on the road (will a battery cost $1,000 or 12,000 when the powertrain warranty is up. I can find LS motors and transmissions all day long). It would have taken 220k miles of trouble free service for the hybrid option to pay itself off in fuel savings, tax incentives do come and go however im betting I won't turn that mileage without a truck load of expensive service parts.

I checked out a limited edge for a family friend a few months back. It was a few years old but still had bumper to bumper factory warranty left and she got it out the door for 15,000. It also had the 3.5 and seemed to have good power and handling for an overgrown minivan.

[beefcake]

The Flex's are really nice, one of the most comfortable vehicles, especially for long trips.

The ecoboost rocks. Basically a SHO but a little bigger. I'm pretty sure they've broken into the high 12's already. With the AWD you won't have to worry as much about torque steer.

Explorers are too tight imo, not no where near enough room.

If you don't have to have a 3rd row, the Edges are great too. Just picked the wife up a used 07.