We remember growing up when lots of families had station wagons. And we thought they were cool. Fake wood on the sides, rear-facing third row seats, the perfect family hauler for trips to the store or cross-country. Along the way, the noble wagon got replaced by minivans and SUVs, but we always felt like something was lost. So we were pleased to get a chance to drive the new Ford Flex. Okay, Ford calls the Flex a crossover, but to our eyes, this is just one cool, big wagon.
The Flex has actually been around a year, but for 2010 Ford has introduced the twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost engine making this spacious hauler a rocketship as well.
This is a great looking vehicle that stands out in a crowd. Square, blocked off lines, grooves running down the sides and a contrasting white roof on our Red Candy tester gave it the look of a modern-day Surf Wagon. Add in the EcoBoost’s slightly lower suspension and optional 20-inch alloy wheels and our Flex was the epitome of cool.
And with EcoBoost you’ve got the goods to back up the image. The stats on the engine are impressive: 355 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. That’s a whopping 92 hp and 102 lb-ft over the standard 3.5-liter V6. But it’s how the EcoBoost works that’s really impressive, coming on swiftly, quietly and strongly at any speed, making it great fun to surprise some more “performance” oriented machines. And while the EcoBoost pulls with V8-power, it sips with V6 efficiency, with an EPA 16mpg city/22 mpg highway rating – strong numbers for such a big vehicle.
Helping you enjoy the power is a standard 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters for manual-style fun, standard all-wheel drive to make sure none of the power is wasted, and a sport suspension that gives surprising sport-sedan responsiveness and a maneuverability making the Flex feel much smaller than it actually is.
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