NE1 Rolling a Ford Flex?

changingnames

We test drove a suburu outback for my husband and a ford flex for me today. I didn't expect to like it so much. The space in it is like riding in first class!

I want To go back and drive a mini van and the Toyota venza. We have two boys (3.5 and 1 yr)and it is miserable having a family of four in my Infiniti qx4. It might not be so bad if I didn't have a chronic illness that makes riding with the seat scooted forward to accommodate a carseat really painful for me. Plus the way the latch system is located it is only possible to locate the two carseats right next to each other with absolutely no space in between, the carseats touch. It also means that on long drives the passenger has to spend the whole trip breaking their back Turning to look and see if it is hand holding or eye poking that is going on between the two of them. I want space to haul family and "stuff" without having to step up into the car like an SUV. Flex is looking better, never thought I would consider a "cube" car but I guess it isn't any more strange than looking at mini vans.

. Is anyone driving a ford flex or any other car you think I might love? I'd like to stay in the 30-35k range. I like the idea of third row seating though it isn't completely necessary- it's just that the cars without it don't seem to have much mo leg room than my qx4.

leenie426

One of my best friends drives one.  We work together and go to lunch multiple times a week so I ride in it frequently.  I actually wanted to look at one at one point to purchase in late 2011 when we needed to get something larger (expecting our 3rd).

My H and I could not settle on it but I still like them a lot and I know my friend loves hers.  It is very roomy and they take it on long trips up to Montana (from Kansas) and have driven it to Florida as well.  I am short and it is easy for me to hop in.

That being said, we ended up buying a Honda Odyssey and I love it so much.  I never thought I would drive a mini-van and this one changed my mind.  We were able to keep it under 35K as we did the model under the "Touring" one.  I wasn't paying for the DVD player, etc.  We have portable ones and my kids like the iPads better.  We still got leather, navi, etc so I feel like we still have a super nice car. 

GL - driving a car that isn't working is not fun so just think how great you will feel once you find the right one!!!! 

brownmouse

I know nothing about the Flex, but I have to chime in and recommend my car. I have a Honda Element, and we absolutely love it, though, they are not for everyone. All the seats fold up and can be removed in a pinch, which is nice. And there are vinyl floors in them, not carpet so they are super easy to clean. We have two dogs who always get it muddy from the park and its wipes out nicely. The seats are also water resistant so water beads off them and doesn't soak in or stain. Also, the leg room is amazing! We had a Mazda Wagon and Basil was constantly kicking our seat backs. (HATE that!) But even with a huge amount of room in front of my seat, she still can't even touch our seats with her legs stretched all the way out. If you are an outdoorsy kind of family, the Element is awesome. We spend a lot of time hiking, biking and camping, and don't have to worry about where we can go, or getting the car dirty. Even sand from the beach vacuumed right out!

When we went to test drive one, I was skeptical because I assumed it would drive like a giant truck, but it totally doesn't! Drive so smooth and feels like a car. And depending on what year/model you get, they still get pretty good gas mileage for such a large vehicle. I get about 22 in city and 24 highway.