2011 Ford Flex Titanium a stylish minivan alternative

New this year is a top-of-the-line Titanium version that adds some interesting visual cues without changing the three-row Flex's basic formula. It's visually closer to a Land Rover Range Rover luxury SUV (which costs nearly three times as much as a base Flex) than it is to the SE, SEL and Limited trim levels below it. All-wheel drive is optional on all but the SE, as is Ford's turbocharged EcoBoost V-6. We tested a front-wheel-drive Flex Titanium with a standard 3.5-liter V-6.

Titanium cues

Since it arrived in late 2009, the Flex held an incidental resemblance to the Range Rover. With unique 20-inch wheels and a darkened, emblem-free grille with "FLEX" mounted in all caps above it -- similar to Land Rover 's grille-top lettering -- any notion of accidental resemblance will disappear. Applaud the effort or scoff it, this is the Flex doing its best Rover impression.

Changes inside include Alcantara seat inserts and new faux-metal dashboard trim. Still, no one will mistake the Flex Titanium's interior for a luxury SUV. The materials are excellent in some areas and conspicuously low-rent in others; it's not the most consistent job. Major controls are easy to operate -- and far simpler to use than Ford's button-free MyFord Touch panels, which will probably make their way into the Flex not too far down the road. Get one now before it's too late.

Interior space

The Flex's modest height -- at 68 inches, it's shorter than a Toyota Highlander , Honda Pilot , Chevy Traverse or Dodge Durango -- might suggest less headroom or seating that's too low to the ground. But the Ford exhibits neither: the second row has both decent seat height and good headroom, and both the first and second rows are easy to get into. With either a three-position bench seat or two captain's chairs, there's legroom to spare in the second row. For a three-row crossover, the Flex's third row is habitable enough for short trips. Accessing it requires tumbling the second-row seats forward. It's not as easy as some competitors' sliding seats, but the space it leaves to climb in back is big enough.

Unfortunately, the Flex's height does hurt cargo room. Behind the rear seats is an impressive 20 cubic feet of cargo volume, but you may not be able to stand a lot of things upright: The cargo area's height is just 31 inches. I had to dismantle my stand-up grille to get it and other tailgating accoutrements inside. It's little wonder the Flex's maximum cargo volume is just 83.2 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded. That's in the same neighborhood as the Durango and Pilot, but it trails the Highlander's 95.4 cubic feet and the Traverse's 116.4 cubic feet. (Incidentally, this underscores how spacious a minivan is. Most of those have more than 140 cubic feet of maximum volume. If cargo space is your priority, crossovers are no match.

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