Ford Flex is new in Ford's expanding line of crossovers, which now includes the Taurus X (formerly known as the Freestyle) and the Edge, a crossover nearly as big as the Explorer.

The family oriented Flex is a big vehicle, measuring more than 202 inches long on a 117.9-inch wheelbase. That makes it longer than a full-size, truck-based sport-utility vehicle like the Chevrolet Tahoe, and longer than some of the biggest minivans ever.

Measured by features, seating and passenger/cargo options, the Flex will function very much like a good minivan, and it is available with front-wheel drive (like the typical minivan). The key difference? Like many crossovers, the Flex is supposed to serve a family's needs with more sex appeal than a minivan, and without branding its driver as a soccer mom or dad.

2009 Ford Flex

Styling is a key part of the Flex equation. The production Flex is based on the Fairlane concept vehicle, and it's a close copy, right down to the strakes along its flat sides. There's a hint of Range Rover in the Flex, but also a hint of panel wagons from another era. Its roof pillars are blacked out and its side windows are dark, and it will be available with a white or silver roof.

Unique interior features include programmable lighting that allows the owner to decide which interior LED lights illuminate, and when. The Flex offers Ford Sync, a voice-activated communications and entertainment system developed with Microsoft. It integrates mobile phones and digital media players and can include a hard drive with space for up to 2300 songs. The multi-panel Vista Roof extends a glass skylight over all three rows of seats. Also available is a real refrigerator that can chill drinks rather than simply keep them cold. The cool box will chill seven 12-ounce cans, four half-liter bottles or two 20-ounce bottles from room temperature to 41 degrees in two-and-one-half hours, or 40 percent faster than a conventional home refrigerator.

Safety features in the Flex surpass most minivans. All variants come with front-impact airbags, side-impact airbags for front passengers and curtain-style head-protection airbags for all three rows of seats. The curtain bags will deploy in the event of a rollover, and the Edge will also feature an electronic system available on most higher-priced sport-utilities. Roll Stability Control, or RSC, intervenes to try to prevent a rollover when the electronics sense that one might occur.