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2009 Honda Oddissey BBQ ----> 2010 Ford Flex

420 views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Palmer 
#1 · (Edited)
so a few months ago my sisters Oddissey put itself out of its own misery:
http://www.saablink.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40370


and it was replaced with this:


the car is maybe the best ford i've ever driven. ride, handling (for a 7 seater), drivetrain, sound system, looks, comfort, hell, even the headlights are great!

The thing rides and handles like no minivan has ever done so (and the oddissey is supposedly best minivan suspension-wise). extremely well-damped and super smooth ride, really reminiscent of what a s550 feels like on the road. confidence in all its motions. given the baller dubs (20's) hers is sporting, i really can't sing high-enough praise.

the engine, which is the 3.5 non-boosted v6 coupled to a 6spd is very torquey with a nice burbly sound and feels like it runs and hides from the oddissey. this is the first time i drive this drivetrain in any package and its really great. i would say its the equal of the v6 in the sienna, but with personality. i can't imagine why anybody needs the tt version, although the 0-60 times are actually nothing to write home about.

hers has the the sync system and it's tits. it uploads thru bluetooth, can handle several phones, can scan the music library by genre, artist, etc., screen can be split into different setups so you can surf the sirius sattelite while not losing the map view and also showing telephone controls all together. neato. navi is better than the toyota-lexus system, just under the honda-acura system in ease of use and accuracy. and obviously the sound quality is incredible with the multiple speakers and amps.

packaging and seating is a touch smaller than a minivan, all of it related to the height disadvantage. however, the third row is as good as a minivan and her old LR3 -both of which afford good adult posture. the other seats are better than a minivan in that they are higher quality overall.

material quality is superior to the oddissey (not surprising with the $40k + price), and build quality is perhaps the best i've seen from ford. night lighting in particular is like a urban nightclub with several lighted touches that lend ambiance.

its a real shame that the sales have not been as good as more traditional minivans. production is very low and my sis had to locate a limited in a good color combo from NC, iirc. also, ford didn't sell them to rental fleets - which is a good thing.

in philly and also in florida, you are not seeing these on the street anywhere.
 
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#5 ·
Bruce, thanks for posting this up. Is the Flex really a minivan? I think it looks unbelievable and with that Ford badge it should be pretty affordable to maintain. I've really liked the Flex for a while now but plenty of people I know rag on it. I bet you could have one bad ass sound system in that beast!
 
#6 · (Edited)
its a volvo s80 underneath. what that means is that it has a ridiculously stout structure and lower center of gravity than a minivan.

the thing is solid. and it has a ton of sound deadening. both features are good for stereo crispness. so, yes, the stereo is awesome from factory :)

a cool feature is the doors skirt below the side rails which makes for a clean side profile, clean door sills, and the overlapping of metal presumably helps with noise intrusion.

if you need the space, i can't see driving something like a odyssey or a toyota vensa over this.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the write up. I was going to buy my wife a new car in two years and inherit her 2006 9-3SS. With Saab going tits up, she was looking at Audi. That is too rich for my blood. I was thinking the new Ford Taurus SHO. This vehicle sounds good. I may be able to overcome the poor 0-60 time by selling her on the awesome stereo.
 
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