Out in San Francisco for an evening with four passengers in the 2015 Ford Edge, I took the opportunity to see how this crossover's turbocharged four cylinder engine would handle one of our notoriously steep hills. While driving past multimillion-dollar mansions, blazing a trail into Pacific Heights, I had to work the throttle a bit, but the Edge pulled admirably, even handling a start from stop while its snout faced the stars, obscured by the fog, of course.
My passengers, nonplussed by the hill, marveled at the panoramic sunroof extending over the back seats and giving them all a few of the foggy night sky. The Edge coddled us all in its Cognac-colored leather seats, giving the cabin a touch of old-world class. If it had been cold out, all four of us could have enjoyed the heated front and rear seats.
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The Edge is Ford's five-passenger crossover, restyled for the 2015 model year, losing its former slablike look in favor of a clean and light body design. It may seem like it and the Escape occupy a similar spot in the lineup, but the slightly larger Edge goes more upscale. In Titanium trim I felt that its interior appointments competed with cars in the premium segment. It is certainly priced closer to premium models.
A base SE trim 2015 Ford Edge will only run you $28,100, but this Titanium trim model comes in at $35,600. Add the $5,845 302A equipment package, which brought in the panoramic sunroof, heated seats and a host of other goodies, along with the White Platinum paint job, and we hit $42,735 with destination. And that's for the front-wheel-drive model. Pony up about $1,500 to go all-wheel drive.
Ford doesn't offer the Edge in the UK, as the S-Max model serves the same market. Nothing called an Edge is available on Australian Ford dealer lots, either, but folks down under can think of it as an Everest with less off-road capability.
2-liter economy
Enjoying Ford's latest equipment offerings, the Edge can be had with the aforementioned turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder engine, marketed as Ecoboost and good for 245 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, solid numbers for a car that weighs about 4,000 pounds. However, getting that kind of power out of 2-liters requires a sacrifice of linear power delivery. The Edge experiences minor turbo lag, felt in an additional power surge under acceleration.
The seriously power hungry can opt for a 2.7-liter V-6 Ecoboost engine, making 315 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, useful for towing an Airstream or other trailers.
A six-speed automatic is the only transmission available in the Edge, which gave me a Sport mode and paddles for manual gear selection along with the usual PRND modes. With a car like the Edge, sport driving isn't really in the offing, but these transmission modes come in handy for hill country or passing. I found the transmission more than ready to drop down a gear or two when I slammed the gas pedal, even at highway speeds.
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EPA fuel economy comes in at 20 mpg city and 30 mpg highway for the 2-liter engine in the Edge. I came in at 25.9 mpg, the high side of the average, although my driving was biased toward 65 mph freeways. Ford's Ecoboost engine is very efficient, but a few more gears in the transmission and an idle-stop feature would likely raise the overall fuel economy.
The Edge is a bit of a Goldilocks when it comes to ride quality, neither too soft nor too firm. On the freeway the Edge delivered a smooth, easy drive, with good noise damping in the cabin. Driving over rough patches, I was impressed by how ably the Edge handled the bumps, communicating minimal jostling into the cabin. It's a quiet and confident driver, taking some of the road stress out of even longer trips. As for the turns, the Edge behaved about average for a vehicle of its weight and ride height.
360 degree sensors
Longer road trips could be made even more stress-free if Ford's adaptive cruise control system had been optioned on this Edge. I've used this system in other Ford models, and it let me drive for literally hundreds of miles without touching gas or brake pedals. I did have Ford blind spot monitor system, a very useful safety feature even with the Edge's large, airy cabin.
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