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i wanted to buy a Flex......honest


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I quite often get rental minivans at work so i took one home not long ago. We strapped in the car seats and ran it around a few days after work before it had to be returned. After getting back into the Expedition, it was quickly apparent how much easier it is to have kids ride in a minivan. From the rear seat access, to the sliding doors when parked beside other cars; cargo room and more, It was superior in all things functionally. It was time to replace my Expedition with another baby mover. We went and drove the Flex and really fell in love with it. It is by far the nicest inside-out Ford product i have ever seen. I encourage everyone to go visit one at a dealer. I sat down at a dealer and worked out a model i could afford and left it at that. After talking with my wife, we both agreed that it would functionally be the same as our Expy. There is just no way around the convenience of a minivan for access. I could have lived without the extra room behhind the third seat. The rear seat access is comparable if you get the buckets in the middle row. The one thing that was the hangup was the sliding doors. We ended up getting a used minivan and I am not sorry. After going to the store and getting the kids and a carseat out of the vehicle I reallized how great the sliders are.

 

I realize Ford claims that the Flex was not targeted at minivan people, however it is a people mover. I really wish this thing had sliders, no matter how small they would be, it would be easier for everyone to access the vehicle. If it did I would be driving around in a cool baby mover.........

 

Are there still plans of a Lincoln version? Initially it was leaked that the lincoln version would have different access, though i doubt it would be sliders.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

 

-Matt

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good thoughts which I have a tendency to agree with, sliders would have been a coo....don't rightfully know why they were avoided, perhaps in the response to Minivan trends and trying to avoid the "stigma" or perhaps rigiditty...who knows....sure does drive nice though....perhaps after your kids grow up and are no longer in need of Osh Kosh

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One reason stated in the earlier quotes from Ford was cost. Sliders would have cost a lot more and they decided to invest in the interior instead of in the sliders.

 

Pretty lame excuse really. I would have liked to see sliders on the Flex as well. Maybe it's something they could retrofit in a mid-cycle refresh?

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Pretty lame excuse really. I would have liked to see sliders on the Flex as well. Maybe it's something they could retrofit in a mid-cycle refresh?

 

I would have loved to have seen these...:

 

YouTube

 

...but would imagine those would have made sliders seem extremely cheap (as in inexpensive)...

Edited by P71_CrownVic
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Pretty lame excuse really.

 

 

Really, its not though. The vehicle already costs enough that many people are complaining. If they were to add sliders, it probably would have pushed the sticker pirce up higher, and I don't think it could go much higher without being too much.

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Really, its not though. The vehicle already costs enough that many people are complaining. If they were to add sliders, it probably would have pushed the sticker pirce up higher, and I don't think it could go much higher without being too much.

 

But it would have made the product much easier to use.

 

The car still would have been a station wagon...just a station wagon with sliding doors, and how many station wagons do you know of that have sliding doors?

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But it would have made the product much easier to use.

 

The car still would have been a station wagon...just a station wagon with sliding doors, and how many station wagons do you know of that have sliding doors?

 

 

Mazda 5 I would say is about it. Many people really don't care how easy it is to use and they in fact do care about having a nice interior. I know you wouldn't understand that as made obvious by what you drive, but many people don't think like you.

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I would have loved to have seen these...:

 

YouTube

 

...but would imagine those would have made sliders seem extremely cheap (as in inexpensive)...

 

Yeah, those are definitely cool. I don't think they're quite ready for primetime though. It would likely be much trickier to come up with a way to stow doors with framed windows.

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I still cant understand why it doesnt have sliders as at least an option

 

What other vehicles have ever had a slider OR flip-out door option? The only ones I can think of are fullsize vans with completely rectangular door openings that are pretty easy to fit with either one. I don't think there's really a viable either/or solution for a vehicle laid out like the Flex. Would be pretty cool if they could find a way though.

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Really, its not though. The vehicle already costs enough that many people are complaining. If they were to add sliders, it probably would have pushed the sticker pirce up higher, and I don't think it could go much higher without being too much.

 

Do you have kids?

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Do you have kids?

my question....how did people handle the situation prior to the developement of sliding doors.........people must have been tougher way back when....I also see baby seat GALORE in Suburbans, Tahoes, Expeditions etc etc etc.....missed opportunity perhaps.....perhaps....

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It's my issue with some second guessers--I'm pretty sure Ford focus-grouped the sliding door issue, and I'm pretty sure they acted accordingly.

 

If the Flex came out with sliding doors IMO it would be a minivan.

Edited by MarkFive
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my question....how did people handle the situation prior to the developement of sliding doors.........people must have been tougher way back when....I also see baby seat GALORE in Suburbans, Tahoes, Expeditions etc etc etc.....missed opportunity perhaps.....perhaps....

Yeah, and people used to ride horse n buggy before cars were invented; i concede they were tougher.

My point is that the sliders are so much better that i gave up buying the coolest baby mover on the road for the convenience of this one feature. I am driving a Dodge for goodness sakes.........Thats how much i like the sliders.

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Yeah, and people used to ride horse n buggy before cars were invented; i concede they were tougher.

My point is that the sliders are so much better that i gave up buying the coolest baby mover on the road for the convenience of this one feature. I am driving a Dodge for goodness sakes.........Thats how much i like the sliders.

whilst I do see their benefits, I also see baby seats strapped to plenty of cars w regular doors, cas of priorities I guess, and they must work out....LOL!

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Oh joy, it's that lame "But sliders would make it a minivan" argument again. WHO THE HELL CARES? Regardless of what it is called, "IT" still IS what it IS. People who would shun a vehicle because of perceived stigma need to get over themselves.

 

 

Count me in the slider camp. As much as I love our Freestyle for doing what it does, I have to admit there are times, when parked in tight areas, that a slider would be so much more convenient.

 

Also, a slider would be more "FLEX"ible. For when you are trying to shoehorn some random piece of furniture or what have you in there, and by god it really would fit if only the blasted doors swung open *just* a little further...

 

 

But this is an old debate. Function was sacrificed for Form. Both camps have compelling arguments and we'll never really know which would have been more successful. I will likely still consider a Flex when the time comes to replace the Freestyle.

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