Out on the edge, you can see all kinds of things you can’t see from the centre. Big, undreamed-of things – the people on the edge see them first
Ford’s big bruiser is poetry in motion
It’s not often I get poetic about a car but, as I came down the dual carriageway from Airdrie to Cumbernauld, the low winter sun was behind me.
In front of me, it threw the shadow of the car I was driving, the Ford Edge, clearly on to the road.
It raced ahead of me, big and bold like the car itself, the wing mirrors defining the breadth of this good-looking SUV.
The Edge is Ford’s top- of-the-range model, a latecomer to the ongoing feast that is SUV sales in Europe.
This one, in particular in Vignale trim, is very plush-looking too, inside and out.
It has a deep front grille trimmed with chrome 20in polished alloy wheels, chrome roof bars and the kind of presence that, frankly, should be expected of a large car like this.
The headlamps are particularly pretty as well as being very functional, adaptive and automatic.
The rear is handsome and practical with a hands-free powered tailgate.
Inside, it is not a seven-seater like some of its rivals but that means for anyone getting into this car there is going to be loads of room – five adults means five adults.
In the Vignale trim, it has beautiful diamond-patterned perforated leather – black trimmed with cream – and piles of storage space.
For a few quid extra, the heated front seats – and my goodness are they hot – can be supplemented by heated rear seats.
I mention the heated seats because, having done in my back recently, the luxury of that warmth on my lower back was bliss.
The Vignale version of the Edge comes with Sony’s DAB navigation system and 12 speakers for a great sound. There’s also Ford’s SYNC 3 with Bluetooth, voice control, an 8in colour touchscreen and Emergency Assistance.
The Edge is made in Canada and shipped here and it does retain the feel of a big American vehicle, which I quite liked from my vantage point above the rest of the traffic.
The car I was driving was a 2.0-litre automatic and quite the big smoothie. It glided along the motorway, easily keeping pace with other big 4x4s in the same size bracket but twice the price.
To make it more manoeuvrable in the car park, my version was fitted with Active Park Assist for both parallel and perpendicular parking. I was quite surprised to see that this very useful aid only cost £159 extra.
As standard, the Edge in this trim comes with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, Active City Stop with pedestrian detection, lane keeping, traffic sign recognition and Ford’s incredibly useful misfuel inhibitor. I bet a few of us would have given thanks for that at one time.
The Edge is a big bruiser of a car but a rather beautiful bruiser – the kind of car you want on your side.