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Déjà vu all over again.

The 2009 Ford Flex is a long, boxy crossover that looks somewhat like a Scion xB stretched to hold seven people in three rows.

It also bears a resemblance to a ’70s Travelall from International Harvester, a box-car sized sport-ute that at the time was called a multi-purpose vehicle.

Flex was unveiled at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show as the concept Fairlane. The prototype, renamed Flex, bowed at the 2007 New York Auto Show. The 2009 model is now in showrooms.

“It shatters today’s image of people movers,” says Peter Horbury, Ford’s executive director of design for the Americas. That means you love it or hate it-and you’ll love it if you’re hauling the Three Stooges.

It sports the three-bar chrome grille common to Ford-division vehicles. Nice. But door panels have horizontal creases called “signature grooves” that resemble parking-lot blemishes inflicted by the close and the careless. For $395 you can have the roof covered with a silver or white cap (think Toyota FJ Cruiser), which at least takes the focus away from the door dents.

Flex is derived from a 5 -inch stretch of the Taurus X crossover, though Taurus hales from Chicago, Flex Oakville, Ontario.

Though it’s long, parking Flex is no chore. Slip into a space easily. And since it’s about the same height as a family sedan, it slips easily into the garage as well as quietly along the highway-little irritating wind noise. The low stance means you don’t wobble in corners like some SUVs with a high center of gravity. But those slab-sided body panels get slapped by the wind on the interstate.

Flex is offered in SE, SEL or Limited trim with front- or all-wheel-drive. We tested the SEL with FWD.

It comes with a 3.5-liter, 24-valve, 260-horsepower V-6 with a 6-speed automatic rated at 17 m.p.g. city/24 m.p.g. highway with FWD, 16/22 with AWD. Around town the V-6 does whatever asked. On the open highway, it could use a little more muscle to climb without dallying or pass those wanting to obey the speed limit with 20 m.p.h. to spare.

Flex will get EcoBoost next year after the system bows in the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan next spring (Transportation, July 13). With EcoBoost, the 3.5-liter V-6 in MKS will generate 340 h.p., up from 260 h.p., thanks to twin turbos. Acceleration is r quicker and agility greater without loss in mileage. Ford won’t talk specific effects with Flex.

Thanks to standard stability control with traction control and a suspension designed to smooth road blemishes, ride is pleasant. By sitting low, handling is more like a sedan than a stretched crossover, or dare we say, a station wagon.

Front seat bottom cushions are ample for long-distance thigh support, but second-row cushions shrink and the leather covers are too slippery. Odd because second-row legroom is spacious. Third-row cushions are like granite and leg and knee room scant.

Second-row seats fold flat and flip forward to create an aisle to the third row. Cargo room behind Row 3 suffers when the seats are filled with kids, but third row seats fold flat to expand carrying capacity. A power hatch lid is optional, but power flip/folding second/third row seats aren’t offered. Perhaps power seats are waiting for the Lincoln version of Flex that Ford won’t talk about, even after showing the MKT concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January with a 415-h.p. EcoBoost V-6. Goodbye Navigator, hello MKT?

Flex also is fun for those who like to play hide-and-seek-with the controls. Power adjustable gas/brake pedal and heated seat buttons are hidden along the driver’s door, and a coin holder is buried in the center armrest. Flex offers a choice of seven mood lighting colors ($895) for the front cupholders and front floor, but good luck trying to find the button that activates them. Hint: It’s near the coinholder.

Kudos, however, for the neat Vista roof ($1,495) with a power sunroof over the front seat and skylights over second and third rows, and the capless fuel filler. No fiddling at the gas station in subzero weather.

The Flex SE starts at $28,295, SEL at $32,070, Limited at $34,705. Add $1,850 for AWD (SEL/Limited). Power windows/seats/locks, climate control, AM/FM radio with CD player and MP3 capability and side-curtain air bags are standard. A convenience package at $985 adds a 110-volt power adapter, 150-watt inverter and power pedals and liftgate; and SYNC, the voice activated hands-free, communications and entertainment system adds $395.

Missing was an optional fridge between second-row seats ($760) to cool seven 12-ounce cans, four half-liter bottles or two 20 ounce bottles-unless Ford hid it, too.

Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation. Contact him at transportation@tribune.com.