Road trip with the 2009 Ford Flex: What a treat!

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's not Superman, but the all-new 2009 Ford Flex. Best described as an incredibly roomy "people hauler" with a unique style, the 2009 Ford Flex is Ford's newest entry in the growing crossover SUV market.

Like many new vehicles that are launched today, the 2009 Ford Flex has received its share of hype, but hype either fades fast or grows with increasing momentum, as people experience the vehicle in the real world. Our first test would be a good one. We loaded up four adults and the accompanying luggage, and headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the weekend in Dark Ink Blue/Whitetop, 2009 Ford Flex Limited. This Flex Limited was equipped with AWD, a voice activated 8" color navigation screen that doubles as a rear view camera in reverse, a second row center console refrigerator that kept our bottled water chilled at 34 degrees, four, yes four, sunroofs, a centermounted rear DVD entertainment system, heated front and rear seats, power rear lift gate, and Ford's exclusive SYNC personal communication system, just to name a few.

The first thing we noticed on the interstate at 80 miles per hour was the silence. Conversations could be conducted with hushed tones, wind noise was non-exsistent, and only the faintest tire hum could be detected. It was almost like sitting in a soundproof room getting ready for an annual hearing test. Before reaching Luverne, Minnesota, though all the quiet was starting to counteract the effects of our early morning Starbucks coffee, so we decided to put in some CD's. Upon doing so, we soon realized that this Flex was not equipped with a 6 disc CD changer like you would expect, but with a jukebox that can record up to 2400 songs from your favorite CD's at the touch of a button. No more CD's on the visor or in the center console. What a treat!

As our trip continued on east to Milwaukee, a familiar comment continued to surface. It was all about the room. My right seat passenge, or co-pilot and cool new feature discoverer, is 6'7" and he had at least 5" inches of headroom and his knees didn't touch the dash...a first for him as a right seat passenger. Our wives were in the second row bucket seats commenting that while driving wasn't as fast as flying, they certainly had more roomy comfort than any 1st class airline could ever offer.

Our 1st gas stop was around Austin, Minnesota, where the Flex returned a respectable 22.3 miles per gallon, while averaging around 78 miles per hour. After hitting the road, it began to look dark and ominous, and a few large drops of rain began to fall. My co-pilot had been researching features on the navigation system, when he came across Sirius Travel Link. With a push of a button we suddenly had color weather radar superimposed on our route to Milwaukee. We knew right then, we had at least 50 miles of heavy rain ahead of us. After additional fiddling and research, he realized that not only could we pull up radar, but we could also pull up the gas prices at stations along our route. It appeared that gas prices 2 miles off the interstate seemed to be significantly less than those along the interstate, a fact we would use to our advantage during the remainder of our trip.

We made it to Milwaukee, had a great weekend and made it back safely. The Flex was certainly a hit with the valet at the hotel, and at every rest area we answered the same questions. What is that? Who makes it? And where can I find one to drive? No the Flex isn't Superman, but it sure made us feel that way.