Maverick is like a Flex

[Saltwater Cowboys]

I did a road trip in a Flex last Saturday. Nice ride, but I can't get over the looks.

The Maverick is economical, practical, and it actually looks great.

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[K5Blazer]

Flex were expensive. Can’t see any comparison with the Maverick.

Never understood the Flex.

 

[inthecabin]

The head room in it is phenomenal, if it wasn’t pricey I’d be there. It’s goofy looking sure but not economically sound.. It’s certainly was a great idea with a few short comings.

 

[ilikebike]

I owned a couple Flexes and they were AMAZING road trip vehicles. Second row had miles of leg room, whole thing felt like driving a couch. Just a comfy, roomy family hauler.

I always thought they looked great but I've been a sucker for unique looking cars.

 

[Decayed]

Because station wagons are awesome. Especially when available with AWD and twin turbos.

My dad had 2 of em. He traded up the second time to platinum because he got a deal. They were great family haulers and could tow a light camper. Had good tech and lots of luxury for their time.

I never saw them as station wagons but then again I never sat in one either. They always seemed like another take on the mid sized SUV. Station wagons used to fill the niche now occupied by SUVs -having a lot of internal volume has always been desirable.
Didn't know they had twin turbos either. Maybe they were trying to capture the magic of that muscle wagon chrysler used to make - what was that thing called, the magnum?

 

[holy triumvirate]

If you can get past the looks, vehicles of that style and minivans might be the most practical consumer vehicles on the road. There's not much you can't do in one. Outside of towing and off-roading, more practical than most trucks and SUVs

 

[S. fisher]

The ones sold to LE had a turbo 5.0 in them. Us peasants weren’t allowed to order them with those in it though.

 

[BoxxerDad@50]

I test drove and ordered a Maverick while my wife was out of town. She finally got to test drive one last weekend, and said it was like her Flex she used to have. I first thought “No, it’s not.” But it pretty much is a Flex with a bed.

Ford Flex Dimensions 202″ L x 76″ W x 68″ H

Ford Maverick Dimensions 200″ L x 73″ W x 69″ H

Crazy you say that but I too have been thinking the same thing!!

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Flex was built on the larger Explorer/Edge unibody platform.
Maverick is built on the smaller Escape/Focus unibody platform.

But man, I agree.. when you see a cab height topper put on a Maverick it looks like a skinnier Flex...

Flex to me seemed like the replacement for the Taurus X, which suffered premature failures of it's CVT. I knew it was a different vehicle, but I couldn't help but feel it was going to wear more like the Taurus X (or FreeStyle... that was a name too?) rather than an Edge/Explorer. Silly preconceived notion on my part.

 

[mdsalemi]

What was the flex all about? I could never figure out why it even existed.

The Flex was a "station wagon" pure and simple. However those two words--"station wagon" were anathema to the auto industry. I had a new Flex nearly every year it was manufactured, except one year when they would not let us order one.

Without a doubt, it was THE MOST COMFORTABLE AND USEFUL car for "road tripping" that I ever had. Much more useful than an Explorer or other pure SUV. Much more comfortable with wider seats. As we had two homes and were going back and forth on weekends we absolutely loved it.

Unfortunately Ford never understood what they had created, and put ZERO marketing towards the Flex and its much uglier sibling the MKT. The first year of introduction, they had TV commercials for it with these urban type young folks going "clubbing" in it...as if. Boy did they miss the mark on that one.

Most people who had them, loved them. My 2019 was one of the last off the line and will be replaced by the Maverick if it ever shows up. FMCC is getting antsy as we are on our 5th lease extension, just waiting on its replacement to show up. They sold well in Michigan and in California, but not much anywhere else.

The downfall? MPG. I get about 14-16 around town driving, with close to 24 on the highway.

Yes it had a polarizing design but that was for those on the outside looking in. I was on the inside looking out!

 

[homerdog]

Ford's inspiration in designing the Flex:

 

[Superdog3657]

If you can get past the looks, vehicles of that style and minivans might be the most practical consumer vehicles on the road. There's not much you can't do in one. Outside of towing and off-roading, more practical than most trucks and SUVs

My brother owned one and liked it for it's usefulness but he always called it the fridge.

 

[mikellmikell]

Flex = 79 Volvo. But actually a very good car. Well to do soccer moms couldn't get enough of them. They seemed to infest Travers City MI a few years ago .

 

[Darnon]

The ones sold to LE had a turbo 5.0 in them. Us peasants weren’t allowed to order them with those in it though.

Sure, just like CVPIs were finished in a secretive part of the factory requiring special badged security and have the superchargers removed before they could be liquidated to civilians.

 

[Maverickman74]

I never saw them as station wagons but then again I never sat in one either. They always seemed like another take on the mid sized SUV. Station wagons used to fill the niche now occupied by SUVs -having a lot of internal volume has always been desirable.
Didn't know they had twin turbos either. Maybe they were trying to capture the magic of that muscle wagon chrysler used to make - what was that thing called, the magnum?

Well they were built on the Taurus chassis. And they had 4 doors and a seat that folded down in the back for a 3rd row. They were also low to the ground making no intention of being a SUVish utility vehicle like crossovers and such. Also long flat low body lines. That screams station wagon to me.

The upscale option had AWD and the 365hp(or round abouts) 3.5TT from the Taurus. It was these cars that actually popularized that motor. There have been a couple built for performance over the years and yes the guys that did it are as big a nutjobs as the 455 Vista Cruiser, CobraJet, and Chevelle Wagon builders back in the day. Cool though.

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