2013 Ford Flex Gets Funkier With New Nose, Updated Power And Tech

Set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week, the 2013 Flex features a restyled front fascia that strikes us as flashier and somehow more robotic than the current model. We've seen it in person, and if we're honest, we're not sure we love it.

Ford understands the fact that not all shoppers love the Flex's exterior as a whole, but the automaker maintains that prospective buyers will like the sort of retro-modern look to the new front end. As for the rest of the Flex's design, things haven't changed too much, save the addition of some new paint colors and wheel choices, as well as the now-standard Flex badging above the grille – something previously reserved exclusively for the Titanium trim. We'll have to see what future sales numbers look like before deciding if this new schnoz is a hit or a miss, though.

Behind that new front end, the Flex receives a powertrain update: the base 3.5-liter V6 now packs 20 more horsepower – 285 versus 265 – and even with that extra grunt, fine-tuning to the powerplant has yielded one extra mile per gallon in both city and highway driving modes (13/9,4 L/100km). Of course, customers will still be able to outfit the Flex with Ford's 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6, which carries over unchanged.

Inside, the 2013 Flex receives a refreshed dashboard and instrument cluster that incorporates the latest version of MyFord Touch. Other interior enhancements include pushbutton start, rain sensing wipers and the addition of more safety features including optional rear inflatable seatbelts and a host of collision-avoidance technologies.