Explorer vs. Flex

tjbell wrote: I lust over an ecoboost flex, is that wrong of me?

This is pretty much what clued me in to these. The AWD Ecoboost version might possibly not suck to haul kids around in. Exhaust, tune, reasonable tires. Do they make lowering springs for these?
You can!
And they look awesome.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Looks like Eibach and H&R make some, not sure on the drop though. Im pretty sure they are bolt ons and a tune away from 400WHP, which would be very fun and probably upset many

mazdeuce wrote:

tjbell wrote: I lust over an ecoboost flex, is that wrong of me?

This is pretty much what clued me in to these. The AWD Ecoboost version might possibly not suck to haul kids around in. Exhaust, tune, reasonable tires. Do they make lowering springs for these? You can! And they look awesome.

Not trying to rain on your parade- but do know what you are getting with the tune. There's a safe way to make more power, and then there are ones that will quickly hurt things.

The DI part complicates what can be done.

My father in law has a base model front drive Flex, one of the older less cool looking ones. Had it since new, and now has 135k on it. Minimal repairs. He hauls around samples, and picks up clients from the airport. Plenty of room for up to four grown ass men, and all their luggage in the back. I borrowed it for a week of highway running back n fourth in Texas. It is a awesome highway cruiser. Ride is ultra smooth, quiet and controlled. I'm 6'4 and was perfectly comfortable in the drivers seat. Usually that means there is no room for anyone other than a double amputee behind me. But in the Flex, I can sit in the back seat, without moving the drivers seat at all and still have knee room. Its that big. So much room. On the flip side, driving through San Antonio/Austin/Houston traffic in such a long vehicle requires more patience than I'm used to. Also, the base 3.5 is lacking power for highway merging, say, 45-75 mph. Mashing the throttle gives lots of revs, and will motivate the beast, but not with a whole lot of gusto. Around town speeds power was ample. I did average 23.5 MPG though, and I thought that pretty impressive for its size. Had I been involved in the purchase I'd have pushed for the Ecoboost engine, AWD, and the sunroof.

Having driven explorers, I'd go with the Flex. It has no offroad capability, but honestly, you're probably not going off road if you buy the Explorer either. The extra space and ride comfort is worth the extra length.

I love them both. I fear that for 2 dozen Deuce-lings the Flex may be a better bet due to interior space and ease of entry/egress form the third row. I've borrowed them for week long vacations in the past and the Flex is an amazing mile eater for interstate travelling and surprisingly capable on the mountain roads of Virginia.

That being said I love the mid cycle re-fresh for 2016 on the Explorer. Our 2016 Sport was built a few weeks ago, but no delivery date yet.

The base curb weight for an Explorer is listed at 4,443lb's on the Ford site. Road tests of the Flex seem to list it about 400lb's more than that
Tow capacity with the Ecoboost is 5.000lb's for both vehicles.

Road tests for the 13-15 Explorer Sport seem to get a sub 6 second 0-60 and low 14's in the 1/4. That's awesome, I can't wait.

There's a kid down the road who races a Formula Continental and he uses an Ecoboost Flex as his tow vehicles, it drives much better than a truck, is waterproof so his tools and gear don't get wet and are secure.

I don't think you can go wrong with either, and let's face it with 365hp and 350lb/ft with AWD the fun factor isn't going to be lacking.

BTW for those that didn't like the Flex art car Eric posted on page 1 (I thought it was cool), you could go the HotRod magazine rout and add moon discs :) And yes hell may well have frozen over, this is finally a vehicle I like other than military or off road with satin paint.

Cop versions will be cool used cars...

And there's always this: 2011 Flex runs 12.7s

Mrs. Deuce and I just looked at a base model 2011 Flex. It's pretty clever inside. Did they do an interior redesign between now and then? Most importantly does the very front passenger seat still flip fold flat? With that folded flat I can get all sorts of long things inside without having to drag around a trailer.
I'll be honest, this is now at the top of the list.

mazdeuce wrote: Mrs. Deuce and I just looked at a base model 2011 Flex. It's pretty clever inside. Did they do an interior redesign between now and then? Most importantly does the very front passenger seat still flip fold flat? With that folded flat I can get all sorts of long things inside without having to drag around a trailer. I'll be honest, this is now at the top of the list.

The interior was refreshed in 2013 with the exterior, but I would imagine they kept the folding passenger seat. FWIW, that dates back all the way to the Freestyle in 2004. Our Taurus X has it, and you can fit stuff up to 10' long in there. In some ways, it's a better lumber-hauler than my truck with it's piddly 5.5' bed.

How many tubas will it hold?

I would like one but it was out of my price range. I pictured a red Ecoboost one with a big American flag on the roof like a husky gentlemen's Cooper S.

New ones are $$$. The redesign was for the 2013 model year? I think that's what we'll be looking for. It looks like they can be found in the low 20's (though I might have to travel north to grab one for that)
Of course Megan makes coilovers for the 2008-2012 version, so there's that.....

Tom_Spangler wrote: The interior was refreshed in 2013 with the exterior, but I would imagine they kept the folding passenger seat. FWIW, that dates back all the way to the Freestyle in 2004. Our Taurus X has it, and you can fit stuff up to 10' long in there. In some ways, it's a better lumber-hauler than my truck with it's piddly 5.5' bed.

See I told you that you don't need a redneck truck

Bought the wife a lease return '13 Ecoboost Flex about 13 months ago. Drove her Element out to Northern Cali, drove the Flex back. It is a very comfy car, heated and cooled seats, radar cruise, etc. Just a peach of a car. We had one hiccup (dead battery that literally kills everything) and bought an extended warranty, but with that peace of mind I love the thing. It's surprisingly quick too, sport mode and paddles = good times. Two thumbs way up from me, love the thing.

Related, my "daily" (I work from home, so I don't drive, but this is the useful vehicle I own) is a 92 E250, which I also love. Some day I will have to give up said working from home and sell the Miata (not the Exocet, mind you) for a real daily driver. I expect that'll either be a FiST, a FoST, or a FoRS. At which point we'll have three Fords because the E250 is just too damn good of a tow rig.

If you have any questions, post em up, happy to sing the praises of the Flex.

I think both look pretty cool. Flex has more potential, but a bone stock charcoal explorer sport is a damn fine looking wagon.

I like the flex a lot more. It has more cargo space, you see a lot less of them, and it's a more unique design in the current mix of cars on the road.

pinchvalve wrote: Cop versions will be cool used cars...

Not if they're from Texas! Check out last night's national news reels!

etifosi wrote:

LOVE THAT PICTURE!! That's exactly my opinion of all the SUVS, CUVS, Cute utes, etc. out there. Chevy Chase's station wagon with mother on top looked better than any of those. And almost certainly wasn't as prone to roll overs!

The manufacturers are just putting lipstick on a pig. If I were still at that point in my life today, I'd just buy a minivan and be done with it.

In reply to gl21133:

How is the interior on the new high zoot models? The 2011 base model we poked around was a bit of a plasticy piece of crap. Everything I read says the high end ones are much better and the post redesign ones are even better.

Rupert wrote:

etifosi wrote:

LOVE THAT PICTURE!! That's exactly my opinion of all the SUVS, CUVS, Cute utes, etc. out there. Chevy Chase's station wagon with mother on top looked better than any of those. And almost certainly wasn't as prone to roll overs! The manufacturers are just putting lipstick on a pig. If I were still at that point in my life today, I'd just buy a minivan and be done with it.

The big thing with the Flex is the 4500lb towing capacity. That let's me tow my small racecars. The minivans top out at 3500, which isn't enough.

Towing Capacity with the Towing package on the Explorer is 5000 lbs.

Cars on a reasonable weight trailer (read - NO Uhaul) can be done.

The reason for me to choose the Flex over the Explorer is the space. The extra room really is significant when you're moving six people across the country a couple times a year.

mazdeuce wrote: In reply to gl21133: How is the interior on the new high zoot models? The 2011 base model we poked around was a bit of a plasticy piece of crap. Everything I read says the high end ones are much better and the post redesign ones are even better.

Solid. The thing I didn't like about the 1st gens was the dash seemed dated and the gadgets were thoroughly lacking. Starting in 2013 that changed drastically. The cluster has two LCD's that are genuinely useful and a nice big analog speedo. The center console is a nice sized and, despite it's quirks, well laid out touchscreen. There is redundancy, but in a good way (there are at least three ways to change the track/radio station and two to adjust the climate control). The cooled seats are odd, it kind of feels like you peed yourself at first, but it's wonderful in the summer.

We've got the gray/black leather, it's not the best but it seems nice and durable. The seats are very flat, they remind me of the lazy boys we had in our PSD Excursion. No bolster support but they're comfy enough on long trips. The power seats are nice, we've also got the power folding 3rd row which is a convenience but not a necessity. We also have the 2nd row DVD players (like I said, loaded) which seem like an afterthought. Large and they have a clunky interface. Not worth the $2k they are new IMHO, but this one had everything else we wanted, so we're not complaining.

The 3 row moonroof (vista roof I think?) is awesome. The front one opens and closes, the rears are fixed and have sliding semi-opaque shades. We were worried about them at first but they haven't posed a problem and my girls love them.

There are minor fit/finish things that remind me that it's not a Lexus/BMW/etc. but I'm a perfectionist and nit pick. My wife doesn't notice them, nor should she. For the price we paid, it is a lot of car and we really like it. Post away or PM with any other questions, happy to assist.

So that settles it then, flex wins

I knew I liked the flex. Just need to convince the wife.