Oregon Coast 101 is an idyllic coastal highway that passes through some of the state’s finest views of the pacific. A storm has just blown through, and everything glistens from the fresh rain. The weather pattern is now blowing through the mountains to the east of us, which we just came through in a different car, and through which we will have to return. Right now, though we’re more interested in taking a cruise by the beach in the refreshed 2013 Ford Flex.
The Flex debuted in 2008, making its mark with a sleek style reminiscent of the woodies that became synonymous with the surfers that they shuttled from beach to beach. This year, the vehicle gets a refresh to give it more modern accents, yet still be indicative of its original inspirations. The grill has been updated, giving the metal fascia a cleaner look, integrating headlights which are more in line with Ford’s current design DNA. The blue oval is found only on the back, and the Flex name is prominently displayed on the front of the hood. Black 20” aluminum wheels round out the look of our futuristic “surfmobile”. Given that we’re cruising down the pacific coast, it seems almost too perfect.
The weather’s been erratic, and knowing that me and my driving partner would soon have to back track through the same snowy mountain paths that got us here, we were in no hurry to lead-foot it past the sunny shore. The platform of the Flex is the same found under the current explorer, a modified version of the platform that the Taurus is built on. Powering the Flex is two flavors of a 3.5 liter V6: a naturally aspirated Ti-VCT that puts out 285 hp, or a 350hp EcoBoost.
Being the passenger of this leg of the journey certainly seemed to be the sweeter choice, especially after our frosty ordeal. We’re ravenous for scenery that isn’t bleak and foreboding. As we made our way south, my journalist friend cooed at every break in the trees, seeing the ocean beneath us crash on rocks, while in the the storm that we drove headlong into smoldered in the distance. Often on drives, it’s a challenge to find a sweet spot to take shots of the car we’re testing, but in this case, there were almost too many places. We passed one scenic vista after another while we told ourselves that we could spend all afternoon pulling off the road and taking in the sights.
We resisted, but the truck in front of us didn’t. In his last-second decision, he brakes and pulls the truck right in a sudden maneuver. No matter how vigilant a driver you are, an accident happens in the split second you’re not watching. That second happened.
It’s the biggest fear an automotive reviewer has: wrecking the car you’re testing. A company has entrusted you with their product and the only thing worse for them than slamming the car in your article is slamming it physically into cars, trees, pedestrians, track walls, and the like. Safety and anti-collision technology is an important area of vehicle development that Ford talks to us about regularly, and while it’s very interesting, I’ll admit that most of us, myself included, are usually busy frothing at the mouth for performance specs. The “safety” part of the presentation is the brussels sprouts of the conference that we endure if we want any track time dessert. I was certainly thinking foremost of safety now.
Loud beeping! Flashing lights! All suddenly tell me “look in front of you!” and I hit the brakes just in time before the sightseeing truck makes for his rest spot. This was all thanks to the collision warning and brake support. Combined with the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®), this helps drivers avoid potential accidents by using radar to detect the relative position of other vehicles and warn the driver with a combination of visual and audio alerts. While I had the truck in my periphery, it was this system of beeping and red bar of LED lights projected onto the windshield that truly alerted me into action. I don’t want to make a habit of testing the various safety features of a car, but I’m glad to say that these worked.
Heading back through the mountain passage that got us to Cannon Beach, we see the aftermath of the storm that blinded us earlier. The road where we experienced the white out is a wonderful straight line of tarmac with trees on both sides, heavy with the snow that was dumped on them. 350hp sitting underfoot is awfully tempting, and the 35 V6 Ecoboost certainly loves to run. It’s spots like these that bring to my mind a feature of SYNC, Ford’s navigation system, that I find indispensable: Of all the many things this system is capable of, I thrill in the fact that the posted speed limit is always featured on the display when that information is available for the nav sytem. Other navigation systems can and probably do have this option, but it’s very prominent and standard in SYNC, and that’s the one I can clearly remember. I’m very thankful for it, thankful because the local highway patrol also know just how tempting this stretch of road is, and while I can get overzealous in testing a car’s capabilities, I behave myself, and we pass a camped out police vehicle without incident.
The Flex has the same AWD and sport mode featured in the Taurus, and finding ourselves back in the windy paths of the Oregon hills, I was curious to see if I would have the same experience in the elongated CUV. One turn after another was deftly trounced as the slushy undulations we climbed over barely slowed the Flex down. Paddle shifting through the 6-speed automatic was responsive, with little lag to speak of. When the Flex did slip, it was easily managed, and in one particularly daring moment in an inclined bend, I confidently drifted all four wheels of the seven-passenger CUV into place. I smiled. My partner was less than enthused. Hopping from the Taurus SHO, regarded as a “stealth sports sedan”, into the long and spacious Flex without having to change my driving behavior scored the vehicle major points. After that satisfying sequence of turns, I had to literally look over my shoulder and down the cabin to remind myself I was basically driving a small van.
Not that Flex drivers are likely the ones to thrash the seven-passenger car on bends and light up the highways. It is certainly capable of a fun ride, but the Flex is the party car, the stylish crossover your group of friends pile into for a day trip or a night on the town. It’s the “cool dad” family carrier that one can easily see accommodating both progeny and a drum kit at the same time.
You can go fast in the Ford Flex, but you probably wouldn’t want to. Somehow, it’s too cool for that.
The Ford Flex starts at $30,885, and can be priced $39,230 at when fully loaded.
Photos and Words by Alex Kalogiannis
