2010 Ford Flex EcoBoost V6 - First Drive Review

2010 Ford Flex Photo
We think the funky Ford Flex is comfortable and generally likable, but we’d hardly call it a performance vehicle. The newly available twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 doesn’t fundamentally change that, but it does at least add some performance to a crossover desperate for speed. As it turns out, a few other modifications help spice things up, too.

Ford Flex Review wallpaper
Even Heavier, Much Faster
The standard Flex might look like a wagon, but it drives like a crossover. It isn’t particularly quick, hitting 60 in 8.4 seconds, and although it handles relatively well, it isn’t terribly thrilling to toss around, due to numb steering and a base curb weight that tops 4800 pounds in all-wheel-drive guise. The Flex EcoBoost, available only with all-wheel drive, adds roughly another 200 pounds. But with 355 hp at 5700 rpm and 350 lb-ft of torque available from 1500 all the way to 5250 rpm—advantages of 93 hp and 102 lb-ft over the naturally aspirated Flex—it feels much, much quicker.

2010 most collectible Ford Flex
We didn’t have a chance to strap test equipment to the Flex on our initial drive in mile-high Boulder, Colorado, but Ford claims a 0-to-60 time of 6.8 seconds. Our recent test of the Lincoln MKT, which shares the Flex’s platform and EcoBoost powertrain, resulted in a 0-to-60 figure of 6.1 seconds, so we think Ford may be sandbagging a bit.

First Drive: 2010 Ford Flex with
The blown engine is complemented by the same six-speed automatic transmission found in the standard Flex, only it’s enhanced with an overdrive lockout mode with hill descent control, as well as a true manual shift mode. Self-shifting is done via steering-wheel paddles shaped exactly like those on a BMW 3-series, a surprisingly sporty touch for a Brady-grade family hauler. (It’s too bad about the cheap black plastic in which they’re rendered.) Speaking of grades, the overdrive lockout mode’s hill descent control automatically downshifts into an appropriate gear for engine braking when the shifter is set in “M” and the brake is held for a half-second or so.

Ford Flex Review
The hill-descent control works well even while pulling a 2500-pound trailer, which the Flex did with incredible ease at the 7000-plus-foot altitudes we experienced in Colorado. As a forced-induction motor, the EcoBoost V-6 is innately thin-air friendly, which helps explain—but in no way tarnishes—the fact that the Flex EcoBoost proved more adept at light towing than the Chevy Suburban, Toyota Sequoia, and GMC Acadia that Ford brought along for comparison.

2010 Ford Flex Review
But the story of the Flex EcoBoost is not merely one of flexing muscle. The suspension is revised with stiffer springs and revised dampers, which serve to lower the vehicle by 0.4 inch and deliver a nice, taut ride that remains delightfully free of harshness. Roadholding was impressive as we hustled through mountain passes. We did notice a bit of a low rumble emanating from the rear of the vehicle during high-speed cruising, however, as well as a bit of wind noise from the A-pillars—no doubt a byproduct of the tall windshield, which is also responsible for ending many a bug’s life (in a splat, not even a smear).

2010 Ford Flex Review
The standard Flex has a hydraulic power-steering system which we don’t particularly like; it’s replaced in the EcoBoost model by an electric power-assisted system that we also don’t particularly like, owing to its having more or less the same lack of feel. The EcoBoost’s electrically operated system does allow for two noteworthy pieces of technological innovation: an active straight-line assistance feature that countersteers automatically in the face of crosswinds and crowned road surfaces and a sonar-based self-parallel-parking system that absolutely shames the slow and sloppy camera-based self-parking technology currently offered in certain Lexuses.