Crossover vehicles are so cool because they don’t feel like a lumbering truck when running errands, but you get the benefits and functionality of an SUV. For the busy family in perpetual motion from swim lessons, to baseball practice and to Cub Scout meetings, the Ford Edge offers plenty of room for 5 passengers plus the cargo space to carry everyone’s gear. Add a strong V6 engine to the equation and the result is a well-rounded vehicle that works well for a variety of different situations. For the family guy that doesn’t want to give up his “cool” image by driving a minivan, a crossover SUV could be the right solution.

Pros and Cons

• A fair amount of amenities for the price
• Nimble feeling when driving around town and parking
• Powerful engine and torque for its size
• Spacious rear seat room big enough for tall passengers

• Fold flat front seat not available in SE model
• Minor niggles with fit and finish

Driving Impressions

Settling into the driver’s seat the seating position feels high and is above most passenger vehicles. And that is a good thing when trying to peer over traffic or reaching to pull that parking ticket from the dispensing machine. Finding that perfect driving position is easy with the tilt/telescoping steering wheel and 6-way adjustable seats. The SE model has the cloth seats, but padding was comfortable and I wasn’t going to burn my tush on a hot summer day. I spent four hours driving the new Edge and had no problems with driver fatigue or a sore bum from sitting too long. Sitting in traffic is actually bearable with the comfortable seating and my iPod plugged into the stereo.

After escaping San Francisco bay area commuter traffic I found some open road driving along California’s scenic coastline. The 265 horsepower 3.5L V6 has more than adequate power to move the Edge up the hills or make the jump past slower traffic. The Duratec engine and 6-speed transmission engage smoothly and without any drama. I can easily see the Ford Edge being a comfortable vehicle for long road trips. Fuel economy is respectable considering the power output of the engine. EPA estimates are 18 city/25 highway. Observed gas mileage was 18 MPG during the test period with my lead-filled boots.

Build

Overall, the build quality is noticeably better than past Ford SUVs such as the Explorer or Expedition. The cabin interior is laid out logically and neatly trimmed with aluminum and shiny plastic in the right places. My test vehicle had only 5,000 miles but I did notice a couple of minor annoyances. The air vent in the door panel near the outside view mirror would not snap into place. I tried several times to push the plastic vent into position, but the clips could not hold the vent securely. The interior is nicely insulated and road noise is kept at a low level. With such a quiet cabin, I sometimes detected a rattle (sounded like glass against metal) which was a mystery to locate. Somewhere in the rear cargo area I would hear that rattle when traipsing over rough pavement. If I wasn’t traveling alone, maybe I wouldn’t have noticed such a small distraction.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics

The Ford Edge offers lots of stowage space for people with an active lifestyle. For the crowd that visits Starbucks way too much and judges a car by the number of available cupholders, the Edge should score pretty high. 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 I could imagine.

For the person who goes out shopping for two things and usually finds deals on five other things that were just too good to pass, the Edge offers almost 70 cubic feet of cargo space. For the home improvement project that requires a long bed, the front passenger seat will fold flat (available in SEL and SEL Plus models) and allow you to accommodate items up to 8 feet long.
Unfortunately, the front passenger fold-flat seat is not available as an option for the SE model.

Handling & Safety

What I really like about the new class of crossover vehicles is the feeling that I’m driving a sedan as opposed to a truck. The Edge features unibody construction rather than a traditional SUV’s body-on-frame arrangement, which endows it with a more rigid structure and theoretically give it better handling and ride characteristics. Essentially, the Edge is based on the 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.

The steering is not heavy feeling which makes the Edge easy to maneuver around traffic or squeezing into a parking space at the mall. The Edge isn’t going to win any trophies zipping through cones on an autocross course, but the scary feeling of rolling over the vehicle isn’t there either. I’ve spent many hours driving Ford Explorers, Expeditions and other mid-to-full-size SUVs. Those are vehicles in which I diligently follow those yellow caution signs with the recommended speed for entering the turns. If the unexpected arises and the situation becomes dicey, Ford’s AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control) is in effect to keep the tires firmly planted on the asphalt. Additional safety features include the dual-stage driver and passenger front airbags, seat-mounted front side airbags, and side curtain airbags that have rollover detection.

Value

There are three Edge models. The base SE starts at a highly competitive $25,320 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 $27,315.

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 $29,070.

You can go for the whole shebang and select all the available options such as Sirius Satellite radio ($195), a DVD rear entertainment center ($1295), a reverse sensing system ($245), navigation bundled with the premium sound system ($2380), and the mammoth moonroof which for Ford calls the Panoramic Vista Roof™ ($1395).

Conclusion

Ford claims that the Edge drives just like a car, which is a bit like saying I scored 1600 on my SATs. 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 showing the grace that Muhammad Ali displayed in the boxing ring. The highway ride, however, is terrific, an attribute most soccer moms will value over its ability to carve up the curves. The Edge steering is accurate but overly light, while the brakes are just okay—all that weight can be a burden when you are trying to slow a vehicle down.

All around, the Edge is a good vehicle that’s worth serious consideration. Unfortunately 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. 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.

Who should buy it?

If you want a pleasing, well-rounded tall station wagon—which is what a crossover SUV actually is—then the Edge is a good contender. The new 3.5-liter V-6 engine makes good power and is reasonably refined. The vehicle is zippy, recording a 0-to-60-mph time in the mid-seven-second range despite its porky 4500-pound weight. The six-speed automatic transmission provides sweet, fast shifts and transitions between gears smooth as warm Cheez Wiz.

The Ford Edge is versatile enough to support the active lifestyle and family endeavors without losing its “cool” factor. Bring on the kids and home improvement projects. Daddy has a new car and it isn’t a minivan.

(http://reviews.carreview.com/blog/driving-impressions-2007-ford-edge-se-review/)