Ford Flex debuts with SYNC at Gitex Dubai
Ford chose Dubai’s GITEX 2008 tech-trade show as the venue to launch their 2009 Ford Flex crossover, equipped with their much-hyped Sync entertainment system.
The boxy Flex is powered by a 262 hp 3.5-litre V6, with optional all-wheel-drive, a 6-speed gearbox, two big sunroofs, six or seven seats, and a fridge. More interesting is the Ford-exclusive Sync technology based on Microsoft Auto software.
Sync seamlessly integrates the vehicle with electronic devices such as the popular Apple iPod, the unknown Microsoft Zune or any other USB-based MP3 player, and new features can be added to Sync by simply upgrading the software.
Sync can use Bluetooth for wirelessly connecting to phones and phones that play music, or it can use a USB 2.0 port for controlling and charging digital media players, all operated through voice commands or steering wheel controls. Supported file formats include MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV and PCM, with future upgrades possible.
The ability to control all portable electronic devices via voice commands, with a USB port to connect storage devices and recharge electronics, makes Sync the most advanced system of its kind.
In the Middle East, Sync will debut on the 2009 Ford Flex and the 2009 Lincoln MKS, followed closely by the 2009 Ford Edge, Expedition, F-Series trucks, Escape, Explorer, Explorer Sport Trac, Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Mariner, Mountaineer, Montego, Lincoln MKX and Navigator.
Sync has already been available in America for a while now, including in cars as cheap as the American Focus, making it a must-have option among a large percentage of American Ford buyers. It is not available in Ford’s European models.
Comments
Boris(K-sport)
hmm pretty impressive. but why is flex called a 7-seater?
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
I fixed the article. I guess you can order it with a second-row bench.
Boris(K-sport)
Ok, ANd I just want to mention I have no probs at the mo after using Explorer 8 with your site. 🙂
Dave
They have had a flex on display at Al Ain Mall for the last 2 months so I don’t know how much of a “launch” this is.
It’s a 7 seater because you have the option of having the middle row ordered as a 3 seats or as 2 seats with a cooler in between.
assassin
it looks like the range rover sport a bit.
doesnt it?
Boris(K-sport)
yeah, I’ve noticed tha’ too.
Scott Monty
That’s not a cooler. It’s a refridgerator, which also comes with a freezer setting as well.
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company
spyke
Ok, just wanting to confirm, what category does the Flex fall into?? Isnt it a minivan?? If it is, never have i seen such hype for a minivan!! 😆
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
It is a minivan, but Ford will make you disappear if you mention “Flex” and “minivan” in the same sentence.
spyke
Lol,, i’ll remember that!! 😎
Murf
The front maybe range rover sport but the back looks like a tata 😆
vivek
cant exactly call it a minivan!!…mebbe itz the start of a new category :P..
Boris(K-sport)
NO it is a minivan. but ford has accomplished the impossible! They made the minivan Cool!!! no sarcasm here… 😎
vivek
i nevr realized tat it was a minivan!! 😯 nice job Ford!!..i guess all their latest models have been coming out well in terms of looks
Boris(K-sport)
I’d exclude the focus from the ‘all’.
7mood
yeah it does look like a range rover sport
syed
anyone, who has owned a lincoln mkx in the uae. please let me know if it has a good resale value. 2nd, are there any reliability issues with lincoln mkx?
vivek
but Boris, the new focus looks much better than the old one!
Boris(K-sport)
yeah it does but I dont think I like the back.
Farid
who won the gitex 2008 grand price?
rajnikanth
i did
Murf
😆
abu Mohameed
yah like we NEED more large bulky 4×4’s to roam our clogged roads and streets!! save the planet
Boris(K-sport)
this is a minivan! and as long as oil prices are low in UAE, no one’s gonna bother to look at why/how they must save the planet. If RTA cared avout pollution they’d at least introduce a tax system in which the buyer has to pay more tax, the more CO2 the car produces. I hope Kia brings ISG engines to DUbai as well, not just europe. even mazda’s got those engines.
P. Shibu
its hardly a minivan……. i dont think its categoriesed with the honda odessy, toyota previa, nissan quest.etc.. its different… its cooler…