Ford Edge

FINAL REPORT SUV has undeniable appeal, but struggles to disguise its American roots

SOME things make more sense in America. That’s the overriding impression left by the Ford Edge as we bid it farewell after a year on our fleet.

As the US political scene has shown over the past two years, some of our American friends have very different tastes and needs to us – and in many respects the big SUV reflects this.

And while the Edge may not be quite as polarising as President Trump, there’s no denying it’s a car that’s more at home across the pond, as you would expect given that it was developed there.

Take the styling, for starters. There’s a chromey brashness about it that those of us who prefer to fly under the radar find a tad unappealing.

The dimensions, too, are clearly more suited to a country where there is a vast amount of space, rather than our congested island.

And on the move, it’s clear that the Edge was designed to be in its element cruising in straight lines, on the freeways of Idaho or Iowa. This has its benefits on long motorway trips, as I discovered on a couple of excursions to the north-east of Scotland.

Ploughing up the M6 and M74, it proved perfectly good family transport, with loads of space for my daughters to relax in the back, and the 207bhp four-cylinder diesel engine more than capable of propelling the hefty 1,949kg Edge along at an adequate pace.

On tight B-roads, though, it feels leaden-footed, offering little in the way of fun, and in town it’s hampered by those vast dimensions. The picture on the opposite page highlights an all-toocommon occurrence – manoeuvring into tight car park bays is possible, but getting out of the car, due to its 1,928mm width, is extremely difficult.

At £42,020 (with options fitted), our car isn’t cheap, either, although the Titanium model comes generously equipped. Some of the kit is really worthwhile; other bits less so. I was impressed with the Sony DAB Premium Audio with Navigation (£450) – it was intuitive to use, sounded excellent and provided sensible routing.

Specify this, and you also have the option of choosing the Lux Pack (£2,000), which we did. This offers some real pampering by way of variable climate leather seats, a panoramic roof – which gives the cabin an airy feel – and heated rear seats. This is a box worth ticking, if you have the cash.

I’d also be tempted to part with the £675 required for the Exclusive Ruby Red paint. It helps the Edge stand out well from the hordes of silver and white cars on the road. I’d be less inclined to pay £175 for the Inflatable Rear Seatbelts, though. They’re designed to offer extra protection in a crash, which is fine in theory, but they’re chunky items which are harder to fit into place, which means using them becomes quite tiresome.

I wasn’t a fan of the Lane Keeping Aid, which is also standard on Titanium trim, either. Switch lanes too quickly and it seems to assume that you are tired and flashes a driver fatigue alert.

This became so intrusive that I eventually disabled it, which defeats the purpose of having it in the first place.

We had one or two reservations about the quality, as well. You don’t need to look too far to find some hard plastics – on the door panels for example – while by the end of the Edge’s 12 months with us there were one or two unexplained noises.

So all in all, a bit of a mixed bag. The Edge has its strong points, but as with President Trump, I suspect some of its appeal is simply lost in translation.

“It’s clear Edge is in its element cruising along in straight lines”