With an introduction for the 2009 model year, the Ford Flex is one of the oldest vehicles on sale in the United States, or at least it was because the Blue Oval has just announced plans to retire the boxy crossover. Since beginning production, the company delivered over 296,000 examples of the Flex.
Gallery: 2016 Ford Flex: Review
While fairly old, there's nothing else on the road that shares the Flex's vaguely retro, boxy shape, and Ford is making them more attractive to buyers now with hefty incentive offers. Buyers can currently get them with $2,500 customer cash, $500 in select inventory customer cash, and a $2,000 bonus for a total of $5,000 off the AWD Limited grade. There's also $3,500 off the Limited trim, as long as a customer finances through Ford Credit.
When it arrived, the Flex was the first Ford to be available with the company's 3.5-liter, twin-turbo V6 that made 355 horsepower (265 kilowatts) and 350 pound-feet (475 Newton-meters) of torque. It hooked up to a six-speed automatic.
The Ford Flex Flexes Its Muscle One Last Time:
Today, the Flex is available with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 making 287 hp (214 kW) and 254 lb-ft (344 Nm) or the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 with 365 hp (265 kW) and 350 lb-ft (475 Nm). Both powerplants hook up to a six-speed automatic. Buyers can select between front- and all-wheel drive for the turbocharged model. Inside, there are three rows of seating for fitting six or seven people, depending on the customer's preferred configuration. Options include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and a panoramic sunroof.
Source: Ford
DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 28, 2019 – Fun and fashionable, the 2008 Ford Flex dared to be bold. It gained a loyal following as a stylish, roomy wagon blending sport/utility vehicle and minivan capability in a low-slung retro-inspired package.
Today, as part of a plan to strengthen its focus on products in the heart of the fastest-growing segments, Ford is saying goodbye to the Flex, a crossover wagon that dared to be different. Production that began to celebrity fanfare is now winding down after more than a decade at Ford’s Oakville Assembly Complex.
With its formula of offering a family-size interior and amenities on a platform that drove more like a car than a full-size SUV, Flex’s unique, innovative look – created by designers with backgrounds in fashion instead of cars and trucks – made a statement.
Its interior was created by Ford interior designer Anthony Prozzi, who worked in the New York fashion industry. He and his team brought in quilted leather seating surfaces and mahogany inserts in the door panels that resembled the surface of a beautiful roll-top desk.
For a time, Flex also could be ordered with a real refrigerator in the console between the second-row seats.