Sorry, the Honda minivan is simply the ugliest vehicle I've ever seen. It makes the Pacer look sweet. I don't care if it features a bidet, I wouldn't own one.

Twin turbo 3.5L V6 and AWD

Congrats on the new wheels!! I'm usually not one for the boxy look, but I actually really like the Flex's. They ride like a dream, and even without the EcoBoost are still fairly quick, and with the EcoBoost they haul ass for what they are. I like the 110V AC outlet in the 2nd row seat console too :) The paddle shifters are fun too, heheh

I did a PDI on an EcoBoost Flex not long ago (I work at a Ford dealer), and was very impressed when I went and drove it! Ford is making some nice stuff now-a-days. Our transmission guy at work has the N/A FWD Flex and he absolutely loves it... no problems at all with it

It's a V6 with twin turbos and direct injection. Ford is coming out with an EcoBoost I4 though soon. This car gets basically the same gas mileage as any minivan but with the extra 90 hp or so.

I agree. There's just something missing from the design. Overall I think it's an okay-looking vehicle. A few cheesy bits here and there. But as a complete vehicle it had what I needed right now.

I was seriously considering an Odyssey. But we're still on kid one and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that yet. Plus the Ody is up for a design refresh soon and I didn't want to wait any more. The older ones are known for being a bit loud and they're not as fast as the EcoBoost Flex.

With 355hp, why WOULDN'T it cost as much (or more) as a minivan?

Besides, I'm not sure why one newborn would justify a minivan anyway.

I like it, they seem to be built pretty well. Ford took the Scion XB look and improved on it in every way. Meanwhile, Scion's stylists went backwards (the new XB is horrible).

The new Kia box thing is kinda cute.

Still, if I wanted a box, I'd get an older Astro van, and put in an aluminum small block :)

i forsee thunder having a 2nd......... :lol

and IMO, the flex isn't really any diff then his FX.

fyi, they go up to $40k those flex's as well as ody's

cute kid!

The Flex is very different than the FX. First of all the obvious part is that it seats more people. It also has more room for "stuff." Ingress/egress is much much easier. An FX with a rear-facing baby seat is uncomfortable for everyone except the driver. The front passenger seat is pushed forward so far that only the short family members would even consider riding in it. The rear seat of the FX on its best day is 5x harder to get into and out of than the Flex because in the FX you basically have to climb up onto the rear wheel to sit down.

The Flex has MEGA legroom in the second row. I went to the auto show with a friend of mine who's 6'6". I adjust the driver's seat for myself and he decided to hop in the back. He had just bought an Audi Q7. It was about a week old. He got in the back and said "Oh my God! The legroom back here is ridiculous." It also has a legitimately useful 3rd row. I know it's not a Minivan but I really wanted the higher performance. I thought long and hard about the Ody and even went to the auto show specifically to see the new Sienna. I might end up with a minivan at some point but right now I'm happy with this decision.

The downside of the Flex is that while Ford has improved their interiors and fitment issues, they're still not quite there with the Japanese and Euros. Hard to beat a nice Audi interior. But the Flex's interior is pretty good. The leather and soft-touch plastics are nice. You can find a number of pieces that make you roll your eyes but they're not in-your-face easy to find.

The surprising parts are: The Flex is much faster. The Flex is much quieter. The ride is much better but the handling is comparable. The Flex has much greater outward visibility. The Flex actually has better technology gadgets on it. It's overall more fun to drive but it gives up a little bit in handling because the Flex seems to have more body roll than the FX.

Infiniti has really sacrificed a lot of function for their forms. My wife's G37s' rear window is like a gunslit. Not only is it very small, it's steeply raked and it has no wiper on it. So after a few days of being parked outside the visibility out the backlight is really awful. Despite having more power and goofy stuff like paddle shifters I think I really preferred driving my wife's previous car, and low-spec Mazda3 to the Infiniti. She's really waiting for the lease on the Infiniti to expire so she can buy another Mazda3. :lol:

Also, I bought the SEL with EB so I wouldn't get the sticker price up too far. I have nav on my iPhone now so I don't need a built-in system. And nobody buys domestic cars for sticker or even invoice these days. I got something like $4000 in incentives off of the X-Plan price (which is around invoice). My OOD price was a couple K less than the sticker.

Those are very very well built vehicles. My co-worker has one and I could not find any loose interior panels. I also think it looks good.

Now...why people need to spend 35k just because of one kid is beyond me. A 4door Cobalt would do just fine. Just move the front seat up. lol

Well, my parents just moved here too. So I wanted something to be able to carry all of us together in comfort. My Dad squeezing into the front seat shoved far forward or trying to sit in the back was just making me cringe.

How very 78704 of you! :lol:

:nee: Just kidding... I couldn't resist...