2011 Ford Ranger Supercab 4.0l V6 Automatic Only 28k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

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Daily Driver: 2015 Ford Flex

The Ford Flex has been around. It's not T-Rex or even Model T old, but still; it's been hauling people and stuff since 2008 without a major redesign. That's quite a long time in the car world. Sales have been sliding the last couple of years, and the Flex is now considered a niche player in the crossover-centric US auto market. But that doesn't mean it's still not a pretty good vehicle for its purpose: If you need to haul people and stuff, there are few better choices. Some even think it's a guilty pleasure. I spent a winter afternoon tooling around suburban Detroit in a handsomely equipped Flex Limited. We're talking the 3.5-liter EcoBoosted V6 with 365 horsepower and all-wheel drive. Inside, there were big comfy seats, lots of leather, acres of storage space and even a built-in refrigerator. The drive ended up being surprisingly fun. If there's such a thing as a hot-rod minivan, this is it. I also got noticed. The Flex's boxy design has aged well. It's still polarizing, but there aren't many contemporary vehicles that look like a Flex. So if you've ever seen a Flex on the road, and thought: "Man, that thing is big. I wonder what it's like to drive that?" Now's your chance to find out.

We compare 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport specifications to their ritzy Land Rover competiton

The 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport are the spearheads for Ford's new 4x4 sub-brand, with the former taking the fight directly to the Jeep Wrangler and the latter providing Ford with a more rugged alternative to the Escape. We've already looked at how the new Bronco and Bronco Sport compare to their mainstream competition, but we'd like to see how the Bronco stacks up to another hotly anticipated returning nameplate: the Land Rover Defender.  Not to leave its little sibling in the cold, I decided to browse Land Rover's lineup and see what might be a suitable counterpoint to the Bronco Sport. For better or worse, I found an almost-perfect fit in the Range Rover Evoque. So, how do these new American 4x4s compare to the Old Country's more-expensive alternatives? Let's dig in, starting with the big boys.  As you might expect from the Bronco's robust credentials, it holds its own here against the more-expensive Brit. The Defender's higher price point brings along a good bit of power advantage with both engines, but that's to be expected. The Defender also has that trick adjustable-height suspension that the Bronco lacks, giving it an edge in practicality, and it can also tow quite a bit more.  On the flip side, there are quite a few advantages to going with the Ford, including a greater number of choices in terms of powertrain. The available manual transmission on four-cylinder Broncos is a nice bonus, for instance, as is the option of getting either the base 2.3-liter or the optional 2.7-liter engine with either wheelbase. The Defender is a bit more restrictive in this regard offering only the inline-six on the short-wheelbase model. As an added bonus, the Bronco is a convertible. That may not necessarily be a "plus" for all shoppers, but it's certainly an added bit of versatility (and potential appeal) the Defender lacks. And of course, the Bronco can be had for as little as $30,000, whereas the Land Rover starts at $50,000. Now, on to the less-rugged siblings. The specs here are actually a little tighter in most respects, but the powertrain story is almost identical. The Evoque checks in where the Bronco Sport tops out, and the Range Rover gets an optional high-output variant of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four.

Goodbye, Shelby GT350; hello, new Honda Ridgeline and Subaru BRZ | Autoblog Podcast #648

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week's news includes Subaru teasing the next-generation Subaru BRZ, the Jaguar XE departing and the XF getting an update, Honda unveiling the new Ridgeline pickup and the Acura NSX suffering from slow sales. This week they talk about driving two vehicles on opposite ends of the spectrum: the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Volkswagen Atlas. Autoblog Podcast #648 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Subaru previews next-generation BRZ, announces fall 2020 unveiling date Jaguar XE axed from U.S. market: And then there was one sedan 2021 Jaguar XF gets new interior, down to four-cylinder engines and sedan body style 2021 Honda Ridgeline debuts, and it finally looks like a truck Acura NSX sales lagging Cars we're driving: 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Heritage Edition 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: