Review: the new Ford Edge

What’s that?

It’s Ford’s go at a ‘premium’ crossover to rival the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60, based on the same platform as the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy. People are buying more and more cars like this – posh SUVs –  so the Edge is actually a pretty big deal for FoMoCo.

Ford says that last year the SUV segment was the best-selling in Europe for the first time, with a 24 per cent increase in sales year-on-year. Registrations of vehicles in the Edge’s class supposedly grew 42 per cent year-on-year, too. A substantial pie from which Ford wants a double-helping, then.

Looks familiar...

Well, the Edge has been on sale for a couple of years, just not in Europe. Americans have been able to buy them for some time. Two years, in fact.

I see. Is our Edge the same as the Americans’?

Yes and no. It looks the same, but Ford has understandably had a bit of a fiddle with what’s underneath. For starters, American Edges get big V6s, but ours aren’t even available with a petrol engine (though Ford admits it could easily slot one in). Not even some four-cylinder EcoBoost job. The choices are a 2.0-litre diesel with 178bhp and a six-speed manual transmission, or a 207bhp version of the same engine with a six-speed ‘Powershift’ automatic. Every Edge gets all-wheel drive, whether you want it or not.

We also get suspension tuned for European roads and drivers, some new bits of trim and more tech like LED headlamps and all kinds of active safety systems. But chief among that new tech is Ford’s Adaptive Steering system (groan), which makes its first appearance on the Edge ‘Sport’.

Groan?

Yes, groan. We’re not massive fans of systems like these, that take a predictable, usually linear thing like a steering ratio and mess with it for supposed gains in low-speed manoeuvrability and high-speed stability. Due credit, Ford’s system is quite clever (it’s contained entirely within the steering wheel itself), but it doesn’t do anything for the Edge’s alleged credentials as a driver’s SUV.

The steering is direct, and it makes the Edge feel quite agile, but it doesn’t do much to disguise the substantial size and heft, or for the more enthusiastic driver. It’s a big car, this. Sure footed and thus great on the motorway, but big. Wider than a Land Rover Discovery, minus mirrors, and over two tonnes with passengers & luggage.

Sit in the driver’s seat, and if you’re slight there’s at least a foot between your shoulder and the window frame. And because of the way the bonnet tapers off, it’s tricky to place on the road. Visibility is broadly good, but you simply have no idea where the corners are.

Not a driver’s car, then?

No, not really. The standard steering is better - more predictable, sure, but keen to self-centre and lacking tactility. It’s not bad to drive, the Edge, it just isn’t very enjoyable. And as a Ford, it really should be. But to be fair, you could levy the same criticism at the current Mondeo and S-Max, neither of which are as much fun to drive as their predecessors. We digress.

So you don’t like it?

Incorrect, because here’s the thing: it is brilliantly refined, and truly, marvellously quiet. Probably the quietest Ford we’ve ever driven, in fact. In part, this is thanks to something Ford calls Active Noise Control. Have a pair of noise-cancelling headphones? Imagine that kind of technology, but on a much grander scale. There are three microphones inside the Edge. They pick up unwanted noise from the engine and transmission and instruct the speakers to emit “opposing sound waves” to cancel those noises out. There’s also acoustic laminated glass and special aero. The result is very little wind or tyre roar. It’s a bit eerie.

Allied to the comfy seats, well-appointed interior and smooth, controlled ride – even in cars equipped with (the slightly firmer) sports suspension – and you have a thing that’s thoroughly pleasant to bumble about in, if not drive with any real sense of urgency.

How about the engines?

They’re OK. We’ve seen them before, in Mondeos and S-Maxs. We liked them then, and we like them now. Don’t expect anything even vaguely resembling ‘sprightly’ performance, though. Much as we’d like the big V6 in the UK, Ford wouldn’t sell any, and the diesels are slow but never inconveniently so, and torquey enough for most. Quiet too, unless you load them up.

The 207bhp version does 0-62mph in 9.4seconds, with a maximum speed of 131mph. The lesser-powered 178bhp is half a second tardier to 62mph and 7mph slower top-end. Economy is the same whichever engine you go for: 48.7mpg and 149g/km of CO2 (on 19s).

The automatic gearbox shuffles cogs with a minimum of fuss, and the manual is entirely adequate. We’d pay the extra for the auto’ – it fits better with the Edge’s more laid-back way of going about its business, and the extra 38lb ft (taking the total up to 332lb ft) of torque isn’t to be sniffed at.

And inside?

Forget the inside for a moment, how about the outside? The Edge doesn’t look like most European Fords, and this is a good thing. We quite like it, and it certainly looks a whole lot more interesting than most of its competitors. For some, this will be enough.

Inside is less good. Because the Edge is based on the same platform that underpins the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy, the interior will be instantly familiar to those of you who’ve owned, sat in or seen a big Ford from the last couple of years. Quality is good, though, and the amount of space on offer generous. A 6ft driver can sit with another similarly sized human behind without issue, and if you flip the rear-seats down, the boot is comfortably more capacious than a Q5’s, X3’s or GLC’s.

Is it expensive?

Prices start at a little under £30K for the basic ‘Zetec’. Kit levels are good, but even so Ford expects as little as two per cent of buyers to go for it. Half of sales are expected to come from the top-of-the-line, £34,500 ‘Sport’ (the orange car above), which gets the beefy bodykit and Active Steering as standard. Our pick is either a Sport (and live with the steering) or a mid-range ‘Titanium’ (the maroon car), with the bigger engine (and accompanying auto’ gearbox), softer suspension and a couple of options. Total outlay is mid-thirties.

How does that stack up against the competition?

Quite well. The Q5 starts at just over £32K, the X3 around £34K and the aging XC60 at £31,660. Meanwhile, you can have an entry-level 2WD Jaguar F-Pace for £34K. Or a Disco Sport for a little over £31K. How about that. But then the Ford does come with vast amounts of kit...

So what’s the verdict?

Not bad. The Edge is a brilliant wafter, but doesn’t engender much enthusiasm from its driver. And that’s totally fine by us, because it’s entirely fit for purpose – comfy, spacious, bold(we’d say good, you might not)-looking and not unpleasant to drive. The Blue Oval says it has some 500 orders already, but it remains to be seen whether the Edge can successfully tempt masses of punters away from the German competition, with their more image-friendly badges.