Finally, a new V-6.
The big news is that the Edge is one of the first recipients—along with the Lincoln MKZ—of the new corporate 3.5-liter V-6 engine. Although this shares its basic, dual-overhead-camshaft V-6 layout with the anemic 3.0-liter fitted to the Fusion, Freestyle, and Five Hundred, this is effectively a new engine, with the potential for capacity increases in the future. Displacing 3496cc, the V-6 makes 265 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. It is mated to a new six-speed automatic transmission that’s a joint design between General Motors and Ford. Strangely, this transmission doesn’t feature manumatic shifting. Edges can be ordered in two- and all-wheel-drive form.
Underpinnings of a car, not a truck.
The Edge features unibody construction rather than a traditional SUV’s body-on-frame arrangement, which should endow it with a more rigid structure and theoretically give it better handling and ride. Essentially, the Edge is based on Mazda 6 architecture. Up front, it uses a MacPherson strut suspension, with lower control arms each side and an anti-roll bar. At the back, there is a multi-link arrangement with coil springs and an anti-roll bar. The Edge has power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering and all-around anti-lock disc brakes. All models come with seventeen-inch aluminum wheels, but SEL and SEL Plus variants are available with two types of eighteen-inch wheels, one of them in a garish chrome finish.
Standard stability control should help keep Edges right-side up.
Ford is making great play about all the Edge’s standard safety features. Stability control is standard (Ford calls it AdvanceTrac), as are dual-stage driver and passenger front airbags; seat-mounted front side airbags; and side curtain airbags that have rollover detection.
It’s a five-seater only.
The Edge is only available with five seats. Ford says this isn’t a problem because its Explorer and Freestyle, as well as the upcoming Fairlane, have three rows with seven-passenger capability. We’ll see: the Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot, two of the Edges’s closest rivals, are available with three rows of seating. The Edge interior is certainly spacious, with 40.7 inches of front legroom and 38.1 inches in back. Without the enormous optional moonroof that Ford insiders call the BAMer (for Big Ass Moonroof), there is 40.0 inches of front and 39.3 inches of rear headroom. The front seats are perfectly adapted to oversize adults, but the rear pews suffer from cushions that are low to the ground—fine for little ‘uns who will normally occupy this row, but not so good for grown ups. The rear seat backs recline, however, which is a nice touch.
0610_foredg_245_3The materials and fit-and-finish are pretty nice, and there is a ton of stowage space for those buyers who have an active lifestyle. Either that, or they swig a lot of coffee and soda. There are no fewer than six cupholders dotted around the cabin, including juice box holders in the rear door pockets, and a monstrous center console that will easily swallow a laptop or the largest handbag we could imagine. For families who need auxiliary power, there are four power points and an MP3 audio jack.When it comes to real utility, the Edge has commodious cargo space, with 32 cubic feet available behind the rear seats. With the 60/40 rear bench folded flat—and, thanks to cushions that slide forward, it provides a truly horizontal load surface—there are 69 cubic feet of room. The seats can be folded manually or via an available power mechanism. An optional folding front passenger seat enables the Edge to carry items up to eight feet long.
The price starts reasonable, gets high.
There are three Edge models. The base SE starts at a highly competitive $25,995 and comes pretty well equipped, with power windows, mirrors, and locks, remote keyless entry, and a tilt/telescoping steering wheel. But the seats are trimmed in cloth. All-wheel drive costs an additional $1650.
The SEL adds, among other things, dual chrome-tipped exhausts; a leather steering wheel and shifter, a six-disc in-dash audio system with MP3 and steering wheel controls, and automatic headlamps. A front-drive SEL stickers at $27,990.
The top-level Edge is the SEL Plus, which has leather-trimmed and heated seats, dual-zone electronic climate control, steering-wheel climate controls, the fold-flat front seat, and the second-row remote release. SEL Pluses start at $29,745.You can, of course, gussy up an Edge even further. The one we drove came in at a crazy $36,465. Sirius Satellite radio ($195), a DVD rear entertainment center ($1295), a reverse sensing system ($245), navigation (above right), which is bundled with the premium sound system ($2380), and the monster moonroof ($1395, below left) all add up.
Throwing it around.
If you want a pleasing, well-rounded tall station wagon—which is what a crossover SUV actually is—then the Edge makes a good case for itself. The new 3.5-liter V-6 engine makes good power and is reasonably refined, although it lacks the quiet smoothness of the Highlander’s V-6. The vehicle goes well, however, recording a 0-to-60-mph time in the mid-seven-second range despite its porcine 4500-pound weight. The six-speed automatic transmission provides sweet, fast shifts, although the lack of a manual override for swapping ratios is really annoying.
Ford, of course, claims that the Edge drives just like a car, which is a bit like saying the girl next door is Heidi Klum. The Edge is a big, heavy, tall vehicle, so it tackles twisty roads in the kind of manner you would expect: competent and reasonably fast, but hardly a sparkling dance partner. The highway ride, however, is terrific, an attribute most soccer moms will value over its ability to tear up twisties. The Edge steering is accurate but overly light, while the brakes are just okay—all that weight exacts its revenge when you are trying to slow a vehicle down.
All around, the Edge is a good vehicle that’s worth looking at—and a fine-looking one, too. But it isn’t as well rounded as the Honda Pilot, not as refined as the ageing Highlander, and isn’t as practical as Ford’s own Freestyle, which is hampered only by its is-it-a-wagon-or-isn’t-it styling and the older, power-starved 3.0-liter V-6. If you are an enthusiast who needs to have a crossover vehicle, then the Mazda CX-7 is much more sporting, with steering and handling that are much closer to a passenger car’s, although it isn’t as spacious as the Edge.
