Filed under: Car Buying, Crossovers/CUVs, Ford, Mazda
Consumer Reports rates three-row SUVs, Flex and CX-9 in top five
Click above for high-res gallery of the Ford Flex
The Ford Flex and Mazda CX-9 haven't exactly lit up the sales charts lately, and the Flex even has $2,500 in incentives on its hood to try and move units in this atrocity of an automotive market. Despite slow sales, the two well regarded three-row crossovers have made the Consumer Reports short list. The consumer advocacy magazine ranked the top 17 three row crossovers on the market, and the Flex and CX-9 cracked the top five for the first time. The Flex was lauded for its quality interior, roominess, unique style, and the SYNC system, while the CX-9 was given kudos for driving dynamics, steering, transmission and interior flexibility. The two models teamed up to boot the perennial top five Honda Pilot, which even fell out of the top 10 in spite of a thorough redesign this year.
The big winner in the CR SUV rankings was the Toyota Highlander. The hybrid version finished with the top overall score of 86, and the standard model received a good-for-second-place 81. The Acura MDX came in third with 80 points. GM's Lambda-based crossovers all tied for 6th place with a total score of 75 points each. The Consumer Report SUV rankings will appear in its November issue, which should be hitting store shelves just about now.
[Source: Free Press]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tagbert 10:40AM (10/07/2008)
"Honda Pilot, which even fell out of the top 10 in spite of a thorough redesign this year."
Or... perhaps.... because of the redesign?
Reply
Joe K. 10:48AM (10/07/2008)
+1
And those ads with Nudists in Balloons, Nerds in Cement, or whatever else doesn't make sense...
MemphisNET 11:05AM (10/07/2008)
@Joe K.
They're targetting the pud -- it makes so much sense now! ''If you're an idiot, outcast or generally socially retarded; you deserve a Pilot.''
MemphisNET 10:44AM (10/07/2008)
We NEED vehicles like this, we just don't need them in the volume that the manufacturers want to make.
Great -- both of them. I've been a minivan/wagon holdout for a long long time but I got to see/touch/feel the Flex at the Georgian Autoshow in Barrie, Ontario and I have to say it is stellar. Still kinda pricey for my liking -- say what you will about the Dodge Caravan, but nothing says deal like getting a brand new/not-a-rental for 15-17k when they do their yearly clearouts.
Reply
akboss 1:10PM (10/07/2008)
The Caravan is definitely cheap - kind of like those toys that came over from China with lead paint. "Wow, what a deal!"
Ayatollah Rodriguez 10:57AM (10/07/2008)
"The two models teamed up to boot the perennial top five Honda Pilot, which even fell out of the top 10 in spite of a thorough redesign this year."-----------Car and Driver compared top 6 SUVs, and Pilot came on top of CX-9 and Flex.
Reply
kaslings 11:06AM (10/07/2008)
Car and Driver is so heavily Honda biased. They could make a turd, put wheels and a Honda Badge on it, and C&D would put it on their 10 best list for infinity.
C.W. 11:13AM (10/07/2008)
+1
thats why you dont look to C&D for comparison rankings like these. they have never in the history of the magazine given a fair and honest review of ANYTHING. they love Honda, they love Toyota and thats why consumers read CONSUMER REPORTS, not car and driver.
cs 3:48PM (10/07/2008)
C.W. - "they love Honda, they love Toyota and thats why consumers read CONSUMER REPORTS, not car and driver."
I'll give you Honda it's hard to argue that one but Toyota?
The last three midsize comparisons they've had with Camrys in them, the Camrys have finished in the back half, usually behind a Hyundai or Kia. (In its defense one of those comparisons was in the Camry's last model year, but the next two weren't.)
I think it's been a while since a Toyota placed first in a C/D comparison...maybe even second place too. Can't remember about Lexus on that front.
Stephen 11:00AM (10/07/2008)
not really my type of car, but it does seem kinda nice and it certainly doesn't look like every other thing on the road and that I suppose is a positive.
Reply
hidden_hunter 11:09AM (10/07/2008)
Shame it took ford so long to come to market with this when they had the territory years ago in Australia which could of filled a similar role.
Reply
Sheepszies 11:15AM (10/07/2008)
Too bad the flex is fugly
Reply
Avinash machado 11:17AM (10/07/2008)
I think Crossovers and SUV's should not be ranked in the same category. SUV's are generally truck based while Crossovers are mainly car based.
Reply
Sean Flanagan 11:21AM (10/07/2008)
I didn't know the Flex wasn't selling. I see more of those than I do any of the other vehicles on the list. Then again, I see just about as many smart forTwos and Volvo C30s as I do Chevy Cobalts, so maybe it's my area.
Reply
HAWC1506 9:34PM (10/07/2008)
You're definitely not the only one seeing unusual trends. Volvo may be doing badly, but here in Bellevue, Washington state, the XC90 is one of the most popular cars I've seen. To top that, Audi Q7s and A4s are everywhere and same with BMW 3s. Passats completely dominate the new Accord, and Acadias are everywhere. Mazda CX9 is multiplying, and the cars that you don't see very often are the Yaris, Corolla, any Saturn, Cobalts, and Fits.
David 11:25AM (10/08/2008)
I have only seen two Flexes EVER. I think it's not selling well at all (at least not in Philadelphia).
The most popular cars here are the usual suspects, plus lots of MINI Coopers, Yaris, Fit, Civics, Accords, etc... Imports are by far the most common, probably 70% of every car on the road around here.
I was in Indiana recently, and it was very noticeable how many more domestics they drive there.
Commuter 11:25AM (10/07/2008)
You mean they realized that all the Lambdas were the same machine? Maybe CR actually started testing the vehicles for its report.
Reply
Bluestreak 11:45AM (10/07/2008)
Both of these are on my short list for next car purchase. Though I really long for an RX-8, with two kids and another on the way I'm shopping 3-rowers exclusively. I'm a longtime wagon fan and because of that the Flex styling really appeals to me, but the driving dynamics of the CX-9 will likely win out (substance over style). The Honda Pilot is definitely out because it is hideous, and the Highlander is out for just being plain dull.
Ideally, I'd take a Flex with the CX-9 chassis and the Ecoboost 4-cylinder that will (hopefully) be offered in both of these cars in the near future.
Reply
Joe 11:50AM (10/07/2008)
The Flex and CX-9 share a chassis...Ford's CD3 platform.
I think you want the suspension goodies...
TJ 12:00PM (10/07/2008)
Joe... are you saying that the suspension pieces *should* in theory be swappable between the two?