The new Ford Edge: power play

Lift the bonnet of the new Edge and you’ll find the new, 2.0-litre EcoBlue Bi-Turbo diesel engine.

As you’ll have guessed from the name, it has two turbochargers: a small one working at high pressure, and a larger one working at low pressure. At low revs they work together to give you lots of torque when you need it most. At higher revs the larger one takes over to produce the boost needed for peak power. The result? You get the performance of a larger engine, with the fuel-efficiency of a smaller one. Along with sophisticated fuel-injection and low-friction technology, the new diesel engine also meets the latest, most stringent Euro 6 emissions standards.

A brand-new, eight-speed automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted shift paddles also helps to improve efficiency. More ratios mean more options, so the engine can run at the best speed for the job at hand – for example, in eighth gear at a gentle motorway cruise, to keep rpm as low as possible.

The gearbox even gets to know you, with a system called Adaptive Shift Scheduling. It looks at the way you drive then times the shifts to suit your style. It also knows when you’re going uphill, downhill or around a corner, and adjusts the shifts accordingly. Then there’s Adaptive Shift Quality Control, which uses info from sensors in the engine and gearbox – then constantly adapts things such as clutch pressure – to make sure every shift is silky-smooth, time after time.

The final part of the performance process is making sure all of that power and torque reaches the road, which is where Ford’s Intelligent All-Wheel Drive comes in. It keeps an eye on data including steering angle, rate of acceleration, wheel speed and much more, then makes constant, split-second decisions about where to send the power. If it’s dry, it goes to the front wheels. If it’s wet or icy or slippery, power is also sent to the rear wheels to maximise grip and stability.

The new, 2.0-litre EcoBlue Bi-Turbo is available in two versions of the new Ford Edge: 238 PS with an eight-speed automatic and Intelligent All Wheel Drive; and a 150 PS with an eight-speed automatic and front-wheel drive.