I couldn’t exactly resist this shot. And I’ve often wondered just how much Ford was looking at the Xb when it designed the Flex. The Fairlane Concept that led to the Flex was shown in 2005, two years after the Xb arrived here. It’s just too obvious.
If the Flex had been around back when the kids were around, I could well see us all in one. As it is, when they are here and we all need to go somewhere together, it’s the car car we use, as the back seat is huge, every bit as big as the Flex’. But thankfully I don’t need all that extra length in the back and front.
Nice “variation on a theme” – I like it.
What happened to the purple wheels? Or is that someone else’s box?
Those became the winter wheels, when I bought snow tires last winter. Of course, I only really needed them once. 🙂
These are the summer wheels now.
Would you consider a Flex when the time comes to replace the xb (I remember you saying how much you disliked the replacement)? Other than the Skoda Yeti (the much smaller KIA Soul is not really in that class, VW’s Caddy is really a commercial vehicle) there is nothing like this here but the Yeti’s success proves that the concept is sound. Were I in the US, a Flex would have been on top of my list – I like the no-nonsense approach and it’s the nearest you can get these days to a trad American station wagon.
No way! It’s huge! What do I need all that extra length and room for? I love having a short but roomy car. I don’t know what I’d replace m xB with. My plan now is to keep it indefinitely, because there is no good replacement for it.
It is big… And the xb being a Toyota, I can see your point on “indefinitely”!
Width is important for roominess of the interior too, and too often it’s not there on most smaller imports. But the Japanese tax regulation should take the major blame for the shape of JDM products though. Japanese premium products are either wide, or appearing wide.
The Flex just looks so much better proportioned due to the extra length, even though the design decreases the space efficiency. Higher efficiency isn’t good all the time, especially coming to transportation design.
The curb weight of a Flex is 4300 lbs. The curb weight of an xB is 3000lbs. They are at least two size classes apart—any comparison of dimensions is pretty irrelevant don’t you think?
3000 lbs?! More like 2395, for the gen 1 anyway.
I did a quick internet search and that 3k lbs seemed pretty high for the og xbox. That is positively flyweight. My 2nd gen Miata is the same weight…
Given that it only as a 103hp 1.5 L four, it better not weigh 3000 lbs.
It’s essentially a Yaris with a big box for a body, and a couple of inches more wheelbase.
Yes, they are totally irrelevant.
“As it is, when they are here and we all need to go somewhere together, it’s the car car we use, as the back seat is huge, every bit as big as the Flex’. But thankfully I don’t need all that extra length in the back and front.”
And Flex is just far roomier than Xb in every dimension.
I hated it when Toyota decided to “upgrade” the xB by adding more metal, losing too much glass, making the whole thing bigger and sticking that dull 2-liter in it. Why does this happen so often? A company gets a car close to perfect right out of the box and then screws it all up with “improvements.”
That white xB is exactly the one I’d like to have, and did from the get-go, although I’m about 55 years older than their target demographic … but then the first one of those I saw on the road was being driven by an elderly woman! And it made perfect sense to me: easy to get in and out of, easy to drive, cheap to buy and run, easy to park, great sight-lines in every direction … it was like a latter-day Baker Electric, the perfect little-old-lady (or man) car. And I did get to drive one once, just borrowed for a short errand, and it was as pleasant as I’d expected.
Yeah, the second gen xB is generally despised as much as the first gen is loved. It really showed the limitations of a seriously simple, two-box design when trying to change/improve that design as the years go by.
It’s quite an irony, given Toyota’s extreme conservative approach regarding changes to many of their models. I suspect that, if they had just left the original with very minor, subsequent changes, i.e., just enough to differentiate model years, the xB might still be with us.
In fact, I might go so far as to say that Ford’s pattern of keeping the Flex’s basic shape intact throughout its model run may be exactly why it’s still around.
I thought it had the 2.4liter from the Camry in it. I looked at one once and didn’t think it was that bad at all. They make great cabs…
I wonder if the disappointment came more from people used to the first generation, viewed from that context I’d understand it. But if you aren’t that familiar with the first one, the second seems alright to me…
” the back seat is huge, every bit as big as the Flex’”
Actually Flex has a “huge-er” second row. Legroom specs say:
xB: 38.0″
Flex: 44.3″
We seriously looked at buying a Flex, they drive very solid and are roomy for a CUV. But they lacked cargo space compared to a minivan and were a bit on the spendy side.
Same here. While the Flex was certainly an interesting option, the greater cargo room in a minivan finally won out when we chose our last car.
I think Ford announced this week they will stop selling the Flex due to slow sales. This is a shame because its an attractive rework of the minivan. Its more space efficient and morr unique than the herd of crossovers we get these days. But the decline of the minivans shows how susceptible average buyers are to fashion over substance.
Frankly I think its cool, including the hearse-vibe it has.
That’s a shame. For all intents and purposes, the Flex is a modern day, large station wagon, the likes of which were wiped-out during the minivan boom (at least in the domestic market). The reason it sold well (at least for a while) was that it didn’t ‘look’ like a traditional station wagon. In fact, it didn’t really look like anything else (except maybe that xB it’s parked next to in this particular CC feature).
I took note of that announcement, and my impression is that they’re not actually going to stop selling the Flex until 2020. It almost seems as though the press release itself is an effort to drum up interest in the vehicle, as there were several references to its uniqueness in the couple of blurbs I read about its demise. I have no need of this type of vehicle, but I do like the Flex. Sales figures may be relatively low, but the price point on the Flex is quite high. I kind of see it as the Grand Wagoneer of its era, although I have no idea whether the small demographic it appeals to is quite the same as the GW’s was during its heyday.
Yes the price point is high, and so is the fuel consumption at 16/23.
I don’t know if Ford ever really took it seriously. They haven’t kept it all that competitive since its release and I don’t recall much marketing effort either. It’s by no means a bad vehicle though and almost has a cult following.
Probably the Flex is occupying the market once taken by larger Mercury wagons.
I’ve always been a fan of the Flex, and it’s on the list of possibilities should I find myself needing a larger vehicle a bit down the road. As they’re winding up production, I suppose it’d be a used one in that case. But I like the attitude of the car, and that it seems more “oversized wagon” than SUV, CUV, or minivan-like.
The xB they got right on the first try, and oh so wrong on the second. And I do think that it definitely influenced the Flex. The closest modern day equivalent would have to be the Kia Soul, though it doesn’t match the pure space efficiency of the xB. Never having driven either I can’t comment on any similarities there.
Re: ” And I’ve often wondered just how much Ford was looking at the Xb when it designed the Flex?” That is a stretch, at best.
Yes, a stretch, literally. 🙂
I think they also looked at the Range Rover (not a bad thing).
A Flex has always been on my short list of used cars if I were ever in the market for something of that size. My minivan is probably more utilitarian, but the Flex would make a more comfy highway cruiser.
As for the Xbox, I already have a Honda Fit, so that base is covered.
Funny, I never saw any resemblance to an Xb. I always figured they were piggybacking off of the Mini’s popularity. Sure, the Flex is much bigger (though the Mini seems to be trying to catch up with each new generation), but the blacked-out pillars and the availability of a “floating” white roof is common to both.
I have liked the Flex since I first sat in one at the Portland Auto Show. Would love to find one for myself.
I’ve never found either car very attractive, but looking at the two together, I find the Scion Xb less hideous than the Ford Flex
The Flex is better because you can get wood trim and steering wheel, or at least you could.
I like both of these. The Flex seems to be popular only in certain regions: California and the Detroit area, according to Ford.
http://fortune.com/2015/04/16/ford-flex/
Note that this article from 2015 claims that the Flex will go away by 2017, but others claim it might stick around longer:
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/11/02/ford-flex-2020-production-end-unifor/
The Flex also garnered good CR reliability marks, perhaps because of its older tech complained about by Edmunds.
The Xb1 is a great car and rapidly becoming a great used car value. I see these with roughly 150K miles going for less than $4000. Considering my 2006 is at 233,000 miles trouble-free miles with the original clutch, I’m seriously considering picking up another one. I like the Flex too but its never going to generate the love the Xb1 instills
I like both of these cars. The logical old-guy engineer in me says that depending on one’s needs for space and/or optional AWD, one or the other would be all I ever need, for the rest of my life. But neither really appeals emotionally, certainly not the Flex which is just a bit too much like an upgraded ’68 Country Squire. However, if sco is correct about xB resale, I may suggest one to my daughter who’s looking for her first car soon. She insists on a stick-shift, and I am encouraging her to lean towards newer Toyota reliability rather than 1st gen VW Rabbit coolness (let alone Subaru Justy coolness)
The Flex is the better station wagon alternative to the Journey.
Flex is a different class, it costs $10K more than the Journey and is much larger.
My local Limo Service has worn out their Tahoe Limo (Its an independent Taxicab company on the Gulf Beaches they can’t afford New $100k Escalades) They Buy used Police cars for Taxis. The Tahoe was replacedwith a Flex, It is actually quite nice. Mrs Safari and I take it to the airport when go on our business trips. Our Driver tells us it gets better mileage than the Tahoe but it’s drawback is there is not enough luggage space with the third row seats up so it limits the amount of people in a party they can pick up. I get the point about it being a station wagon and I always wanted to get one and give it the Ranch Wagon Treatment.