Suburban Dad: 2011 Chevy Traverse vs. 2010 Ford Flex

If you’re a family on a budget (and mine certainly is), you might think a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Ford Flex is too much three-row crossover for you. As you might have read, I drove a fully loaded Flex Limited from Los Angeles to Chicago earlier this summer, but I recently got the chance to take the Traverse for a long drive to Lansing, Mich., and back (passing the plant where the Traverse was built as well). Turns out the EcoBoost Flex may not cost much of a premium at all.

It’s always tricky to compare apples to apples with cars we test, as the trim levels often vary, as is the case here. But if you were out on dealer lots cross-shopping the two models, the Ford turbo is only a few hundred dollars more than a comparably equipped Traverse. And in my road-trip testing, an all-wheel-drive Flex returned better mileage than a front-wheel-drive Traverse. Below is what I thought of the two trims I took on the road. To see how the comparably equipped models stack up, you can check out their specs head-to-head here.

2011 Kia Sorento: Suburban Dad

Compared with the previous generation, I fell in love with the redesigned 2011 Kia Sorento. I thought its predecessor looked great — very trucklike — but it was kind of gutless. The new model doesn’t suffer from that, and with lots of goodies onboard and a decent price tag (around $32,000 as-tested and the base model starts at $19,995), this crossover/SUV could well be on the short list when I need to buy my next family car.

Suburban Dad: 2010 Ford Flex EcoBoost Gas Mileage

The Flex performed pretty well on our cross country move, given that we had two adults and a car full of cargo. Its EPA rating is 16/22 mpg city/highway. The 2011 Flex EcoBoost is rated at 16/21 mpg for some reason. We traveled a total of 2,024 miles over four days. Here’s how each day broke down:

Day 1

• Distance: 550.7 miles
• Travel time: 10 hours
• Terrain: Combination of flat desert roads and crossing the San Bernardino Mountains, and beginning to climb into the Rockies in Utah.
• MPG: 22.8
• Notes: Our mileage was likely affected to some extent by trying to keep two cars together on the journey. Still, the Flex’s cruise control worked terrifically, and the steering-wheel controls made slowing down and speeding up easy, not nerve-wracking.

Suburban Dad: 2010 Ford Flex vs. 2008 Ford Flex

The biggest difference between the Flex I drove cross-country in 2008 and the one in 2010 is the optional EcoBoost engine. While I didn’t find the Flex to be a laggard in ’08, the added power from the EcoBoost engine was a welcome addition on this lengthy haul. While in 2008 the trip was largely flat, with little in the way of topography, this time around we scaled the Rockies, both up and down, and the Flex handled those daunting tasks admirably.

Hitting steep uphill slopes, the EcoBoost kicked when needed, although there is one thing drivers should be aware of: When trying to pass, if you step hard on the accelerator, there will definitely be some torque steer as the Flex explodes in response. It’s not overwhelming, but you definitely have to be ready for it.

Suburban Dad: The Great Drive Midwest

This summer I didn’t pack up the family for a cross-country, multiple test-car excursion. If you don’t recall my past summer cross-country excursions with family in tow — I’m still trying to forget myself — you can check them out here and here.

Instead, this year’s endeavor has more of a focus: My father is moving back to Chicago to be closer to us, and this trip entails packing up all of his stuff and leaving Los Angeles, his home for virtually all of the last 50 years. My elder son is coming along to help pack and move. My nephew is coming along as well.

We’ll be making the trip this time in a Ford Flex Limited, complete with the EcoBoost engine and the Sync entertainment system. What else is in it?

• Leather (heated) seats; we didn’t need the heated portions, of course
• Sirius satellite radio and Sync-connected weather info, movie times and gas prices
• All-wheel drive
• Panoramic roof (not much use to us since we were carrying cargo, not people, in the back)
• Sticker price without destination charges: $45,245

Suburban Dad: 2010 Mazda3 vs. 2002 Mazda Protege

While the new Mazda3 has lots of advantages over my own ’02 Protegé, there are just enough changes for the worse that I wouldn’t pick that car today if I were looking for a second car for my family.

Back in 2002, I needed a car that I could commute solo 90 miles a day, five days a week, but I also needed a car that could carry all three kids and my wife if need be. The backseat offered plenty of room, or at least enough room that the kids wouldn’t kill each other.

Fast-forward to last week, and the Mazda3, which certainly is way more contemporary — and decked out to the nines — had a backseat that wasn’t comfortable for my three teens, or even the three smaller kids I had back in ’02. And yes, we know the 2010 actually has larger interior dimensions, sometimes those numbers don’t equal real-world testing with real-live bodies that don’t like being next to each other.

Does Today's Dad Need More Power?

Over the last few weeks, I was able to get into two crossovers with upgraded engines. While both offered more horsepower, I wasn’t completely floored by either, and it begs the question of whether they’re worth the additional cost compared to their basic offerings.

Suburban Dad Vacation: Subaru, Vermont

If they want to reflect reality, Subaru execs should really rename the Outback the Vermonter. I swear, virtually every fifth car I passed from Burlington to Brattleboro to Bennington was a Subaru of some sort, and the vast majority were Outbacks.

It’s not hard to understand: Vermonters are outdoorsy people, and they need the space that Outbacks offer to carry their stuff. In the summer, they’re carrying their bikes (I saw almost as many of those as I saw Outbacks). In the winter, they’re carrying skis and snowboards. Despite the harsh winter, Vermonters are dedicated to getting out.

Suburban Dad Vacation: Mileage

Perhaps the best aspect of the Sprinter is its mileage. It’s a big, hulking van that seats 12, yet I averaged nearly 20 mpg over more than 1,600 miles over the course of nine days. While it’s not Prius-like, there are millions of Americans out there who need to haul around that close to a dozen people at a time, and this is far better than driving in a gas-powered van that gets only 10-12 mpg. Here’s how each leg broke down in driving:

Leg 1: 405 miles, 8 hours on road, 20.6 mpg; Aurora, Ill., to outside Akron, Ohio.
I think we benefited from heading east; while winds were largely calm, they were blowing behind us. We got bogged down in heavy traffic leaving Chicago, which I’m sure cost us, and ran into some road work in Indiana. Still, it wasn’t too bad, although our youngest riders weren’t very happy at how long it took.

Suburban Dad Vacation: Hidden Gems, Nasty Surprises

Not every feature was readily apparent on the Sprinter. Here are some gems and surprises we uncovered on our trip.

Hidden gem: For this trip, we bought a converter to plug into a 12-volt outlet that gave us a household outlet, and another with a couple of USB outlets. When we loaded up the van, the cupholder on the center stack was pulled out and it had a 12-volt outlet in it. Unfortunately, the lip of the cupholder blocked us from plugging in our converter. We shrugged and lamented the fact that we’d bought converters we couldn’t use.