All posts tagged with: Ford

Getting around town or going on a long road trip, you want a ride that is safe, good on gas, and fun to drive. If you’re looking for your next vehicle, check out the 2013 Ford Escape SE.

The interior is extremely comfortable and built for driver comfort and safety. The steering wheel is equipped with controls for Bluetooth and radio/music, to cruise control and dashboard navigation, meaning the hands never have to leave the wheel. The driver also has audio control for hand-free activation of smartphones synced with the Microsoft MyFord navigation system.

The seats are particularly well designed. The 2013 Ford Escape is one of the few vehicles on the market today with an appropriately positioned headrest. The heated black leather driver seat is adjustable from almost every direction, including lumbar support.

The interior cabin is spacious and has seating for five. The entire roof seems to open up entirely when the giant panoramic power sun/moon roof is completely open. There is even a large stow area at the back, which can be opened and closed from the remote fob.

It’s pretty good on gas too, thanks to the 1.6L eco-boost engine. In the city, it’s relatively good on gas, while on the highway it is as efficient as possible. And just because it’s “eco”, doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with power. This SUV has all the get-up-and-go power you’d expect from a traditional six cylinder engine, only this one gets way better gas millage.

It’s an easy drive too, with the six speed, select-shift automatic transmission. Choose to drive as a regular automatic, or take control on winter roads or pulling heavy loads by shifting into manual transmission mode with just the flick of a switch.

The exterior is very sporty, with roof rails, heated mirrors and sporty 17” wheels. The tinted windows offer both privacy and temperature control from the hot sun. The SE edition comes with a tonneau cover and perimeter alarm.

The 2013 Ford Escape SE is currently retail priced at $35,949. Stop in to your local Ford dealer to take one for a test drive. Check out the Titanium Edition for even more features including park assist and safety cruise control.

When it comes to the small car category, the 2012 Ford Focus Titanium is at the top of its class. With eye-catching design, incredible fuel economy, and an enjoyable driving experience, the Ford Focus Titanium will keep any tech geek happy, and an affordable price.

The 2012 edition comes in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback. The Titanium edition is the top range of Ford’s line-up and the Focus doesn’t disappoint.

The exterior has clean lines and a great aerodynamic shape. The 18” aluminum wheels and tinted windows make the car scream sporty. Under the hood is the all-new 2.0 litre, direct injection four-cylinder engine with Ti-VCT, making it the equivalent of a six-speed power-shift (that means it has some get-up-and-go). An exterior sport packaged can also be added on the 2012 model.

Heated leather-trimmed seats and a power moon roof are just the start of the interior features. There’s no more need to mess around with finding the keys in the dark; the push-button start is a fun and faster way to get in and go.

The navigation and technology is what sets the Titanium edition apart from any other small car on the market. The hands-free MyFord Touch system connects the driver with text-to-voice, HD radio, iTunes tagging, voice-activated navitation and Wi-Fi capability. Contrary to belief, the system does not need to download and sync to your smartphone – it connects wirelessly through Bluetooth connection every time you get into the car. Although it’s not perfect, the Sync system usually reconnects back and automatically picks up where you left off.  The stereo is by Sony and it’s pretty decent for a small-car – they even throw in a sub-woofer in the back!

Another great driving feature is the active parking assist. Most people aren’t great at parallel parking to start with. Using the parking assist, the system calculates and automatically stears the car automatically. All the driver needs to do is control the accelerator and brake pedals, for a perfect parallel park every time.

Some tips for car buyers, if you like the surfer / wind-blown hair look, drive with the windows down; this car has serious air flow with the windows down driving over 50km/h; alternatively, just turn on the air conditioner to cool down. Also, the drivers seat doesn’t tilt back to give a true feeling of driving  a sports car, and there is also no lumbar support.

If you really want to see if you are an eco-friendly driver, navigate to the EcoMode on the dashboard. The more eco-friendly you drive, the more leaves you will earn. Poor driving habits including fast acceleration, heavy braking, and poor anticipation will quickly reduce your score.

It’s a fun, speedy and cute car to drive, especially if you’re into gadgets and want to look cool on a budget.

Photo Credit: Ford Canada

From the sleek exterior lines and eco-boost engine, to the air conditioned leather seats and four moon roofs, the Ford Flex is the hottest and most comfortable seven-passenger crossover vehicles in 2013. It’s fun to drive, full of safety features and most importantly, fuel-efficient.

“Flex appeals to people who want to stand out from the crowd,” said Mark Fields, President of The America’s. “With technologies not found in other full-size utilities, even better fuel economy and a more modern, sophisticated look, we’re offering people even more reasons to choose Flex with the new model.”

Photo credit: Ford Canada

On the outside, the 20” aluminum wheels make a bold statement and the new front end rounds out the edges. “Flex” is the only name you’ll find on the front end, and on the back a standard dual exhaust. Standard colours are ruby red, deep blue or brown – or customize it with tow-tone with white, gray or black body-colour roofs.

Great for long trips!

Inside the three-row crossover is nothing but space, even in the back bench seating for three. The mid-cabin console has a cooler/freezer compartment, ideal for keeping things cold on long-trips. Each row of seating has their own moon roof and the middle row has their own climate control.

The 2013 Ford Flex has every feature a driver needs. Front row leather seats are heated and air conditioned, there are rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry, power-fold mirrors and a mountain of safety features like blind-spot sensors.

The cruise control is radar-enabled. It detects the relative position to other vehicles. When the cruise control is on, it functions normally, however, when there is a slower vehicle ahead the sensors automatically slow down until the vehicle has cleared, then it resumes to the set speed. Very cool!

The 2013 Ford Flex overlooking Kalamalka Lake in Vernon, BC

The MyFord Touch control system has been overhauled for 2013. The 4.2 inch screen controls everything from music and interior lighting, to GPS mapping and temperature control. When synced with Bluetooth or USB, the hands-free voice-activated calling features and stored device music are all available. Unfortunately there are still bugs in the system because the connectivity with smart phones doesn’t always work, or work consistently.

Who's got the better Flex? Photo Credit: McKenzie McMillan

Powering this baby is a 3.5-litre V6 eco-boost engine that delivers outstanding fuel-efficiency for its size. Essentially you get the all-wheel-drive capability and power of a V8, but in a precisely designed high-output, engine. It delivers exception fuel economy and horsepower. The automatic transmission also has a manual control, powered by paddle shifters on the steering wheel – standard on all models. It easily powers up steep hills, handles fast corners well, and is easy to drive through the city.

Photo Credit: Ford Canada

For a mid-size vehicle it’s really fun to drive, has many great features for both driver and passenger enjoyment and is extremely comfortable on long-trips.

The 2013 Ford Flex is built in Oakville, Ontario.

The 2011 Ford F-150 is one fabulous ride. I had the pleasure to test-drive the Platinum series truck during the Mr. Gay Canada competition. Myself and the other delegates all agreed – it was a very nice vehicle.

From the outside, the candy-apple red, quad-cab with its short box is both urban and sporty. The chrome bumpers, tinted windows, and sleek lines give the exterior a confident and bold appearance. When the doors open, the sideboards quickly come down, making it easy to get in and out of the vehicle.

It’s not just stylish on the outside, but on the inside too. Heated leather captains seats, touch-screen navigation controls, multi-colour mood-lighting, moon-roof, and a Sony sound-system. The back seat on it’s own is like a giant leather couch, with leg-room to spare.

The instrument panel was well equipped with standard gauges and a variety of other options including fuel consumption, towing performance and off-roading – all controlled from the steering wheel.

Internet and wireless accessories including mouse and printer are available to quickly adapt into work-mode while out on the road. This is available through the Ford Work Solutions bundle.

The six-speed automatic transmission is standard and comes with SelectShift manual override. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost engine, giving it the best-in-class torque and efficiency (yes, this truck has some get-up and go!). It gets on average 12.9 city / 9.0 hwy L / 100km, which is pretty decent for a full-size 4X4 truck, especially with the price of gas on the rise.

The 20” mag-mounted, all-terrain tires hugged the road around the corners on the Sea-to-Sky highway. The truck was very comfortable to drive both on the open highway and downtown. A rear-mounted camera displayed on the dash when revering, making parallel parking almost effortless.

“For the past 33 years, the Ford F-150 has stood alone as the truck more people rely on,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.

Overall, the 2011 Ford F-150 provided a safe, smooth, comfortable and most importantly a fun trip up to Whistler for the Mr. Gay Canada competition.

*Ford Canada provided the 2011 Ford F-150 Platinum truck as a complimentary two-week test-drive during the M. Gay Canada competition. There was no agreement or expectation to receive promotional coverage as part of the offer.