Ford Flex review: the wagon-shaped SUV Bahrain never quite noticed
3.1/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The Flex rewards anyone who actually drives one — a genuinely different, well-resolved take on the three-row family hauler with car-like handling most SUVs of its era could not match. The problem is entirely commercial: it sold in tiny numbers here, Ford discontinued it in 2019 with no replacement, and both facts show up directly in resale value and how quickly a specialist can source a part. Buy one because you want exactly what it offers, not as a value play against a Explorer or Highlander.
Pros
- Low, wide stance gives car-like handling most SUVs of its era could not match
- Genuinely usable three-row, seven-seat interior
- 3.5L V6 is smooth, unstressed and comparatively easy to service
- Distinctive styling nobody else in the segment offered
Cons
- Sold in tiny numbers in the Gulf; independent workshops rarely see one
- Ford discontinued the Flex in 2019 with no replacement
- Weaker resale value than an equivalent Explorer purely due to rarity
- Parts sourcing takes longer even though mechanicals are shared with Taurus/Explorer
Nothing else in the Gulf looked like the Flex when it was new, and nothing does now. Its low, wide, wagon-like proportions were a deliberate departure from the tall-SUV norm, and the payoff is real: a lower centre of gravity gives it more car-like handling and less body roll than the SUVs it was cross-shopped against, without sacrificing genuine three-row, seven-seat practicality.
The 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 is the volume GCC engine — smooth, unstressed, and easy to service compared with the twin-turbo EcoBoost offered on higher grades. It is not a quick car by modern standards, but it moves the Flex's substantial size with no drama, and the six-speed automatic is a conventional unit that ages predictably.
Living with rarity
The honest catch is how few of these Ford actually sold in the Gulf. Where a Explorer or Expedition owner in Bahrain can walk into almost any independent American-car specialist and find a technician who has seen dozens, a Flex owner is often the first one that workshop has serviced this year. Mechanically it shares enough with the Taurus and Explorer of the same era that most parts are findable, but the process takes longer and costs more in labour time spent identifying the right component.
Resale reflects all of this. A Flex in excellent condition will still sell for meaningfully less than an equivalent Explorer, purely because the pool of interested buyers is smaller and the discontinuation removes any expectation of future value support from Ford.
Who should buy one
Buy a Flex if the driving position, the styling and the genuinely usable third row are things you specifically want, and you are comfortable being a rare-car owner who plans routine maintenance with a specialist rather than a walk-in dealer visit. If you simply need a practical seven-seater at the best resale value, an Explorer or a Toyota Highlander is the safer choice.