SAFETY’S EDGE
Refreshed mid-size SUV is more family friendly than ever
WPARK CITY, UTAH hen you buy a vehicle, especially an SUV that’s most likely to take on some family chores, you expect it to do its job well.
It has to be spacious and comfy, convenient, fuel efficient and safe. The Ford Edge does all that well. After a second-generation redesign in 2015, it was ripe for a mid-cycle refresh. It gets that for 2019, with some important upgrades and added technology that make it even more family friendly.
The exterior changes are subtle, with a new fascia and hood, a wider grille, new lift gate, and dual tailpipes. LED lighting is now standard, front and rear.
Other, bigger changes are made where it counts. The same 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four returns, though it has a five-horsepower boost to 250, with the same 275 pound-feet of torque as before. The engine now mates to an eight-speed automatic, gaining two gear ratios on the outgoing model. Like before, front- and allwheel-drive versions are available. All-wheel-drive disconnect is standard on AWD models, and automatically senses when four wheels are needed for increased traction, or when only the front wheels are needed for fuel efficiency; it switches seamlessly between FWD and AWD in 10 milliseconds.
A start-stop function is also standard, and when combined with the new transmission, claimed combined fuel consumption has improved from 9.9 L/100 km for FWD and 10.5 L for AWD models, to 9.6 L and 10 L respectively. Premium fuel is recommended, though you can use regular fuel if you’re willing to live with a slight loss of power.
Not much has changed inside; it seats five, is very comfy front and rear for fullsized adults, and is easy to get into and out of, front or rear. The interior is very roomy; cargo volume with the second-row seats up is 1,110 litres, which expands to 2,078 litres with the seatbacks folded flat. Trailer towing capacity is unchanged at 3,500 lbs.
The biggest change is a new centre console, which now has a rotary shift knob that will likely be a polarizing change from the conventional, lever-type shifter of the outgoing Edge. That gearshift lever gave you absolute confirmation as to which gear was selected by its easily distinguishable position. With the dial, it’s less obvious which gear is selected, even though a little light indicates so. My driving partner continuously double-checked every time he shifted from drive to reverse to park, never really certain if he’d selected the correct gear. He wasn’t a fan and neither am I.
Standard for 2019 is FordPass Connect (formerly SYNC Connect), with a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot that allows connectivity for up to 10 devices. It also allows you to lock, unlock and locate your Edge remotely by using the FordPass app. A one-year FordPass subscription is included. A wireless charging pad is available.
The Edge is the first Ford SUV to come standard with Co-Pilot360, a comprehensive suite of driver assists. They include pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection and auto braking, forward collision warning and dynamic braking support, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert, active lane-departure assist, automatic high beams, and a rear camera that comes with a lens washer.
Other standard assist features include post-collision braking, which reduces the force of a secondary impact after an initial impact is detected, and hill-start assist. Ford’s inclusion of these driver assists as standard is a welcome addition.
Optional driver assists include evasive-steering assist, which helps avoid a collision by enhancing steering when evasive manoeuvres are taken, and stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, which is combined with active lane centring.
The Oakville, Ontario-built Ford Edge has a refined, quiet ride, that’s perhaps a bit subdued if you’re looking for an engaging experience behind the wheel. But Ford has the new Edge ST if carving corners while getting groceries is a necessity. The electric rackand-pinion power steering in my Edge Titanium AWD test vehicle is well weighed for an everyday driver, but it feels vague and lacks feedback when centred. It does have very strong brakes, though.
Power from the 2.0-L engine is more than adequate for anything you’d require of the Edge, short of hauling a big trailer. The new eightspeed transmission shifts almost seamlessly, and there’s a Sport mode that holds gears longer and sharpens engine response if you want to expedite your arrival.
A brief drive in a front-drive version reveals some moderate torque steer when accelerating hard, but nothing that isn’t easily manageable.
With the Edge’s mid-cycle refresh, Ford has also reset the trim choices. Now available are the SE, SEL (starting at $37,999) and Titanium ($43,399). The base SE frontdrive model has been pulled from the line up, replaced by the SE AWD, which has bumped the base price by $3,000, to $35,999. That’s an increase of $1,000 over the 2018 SE AWD, though that includes the new eight-speed automatic, FordPass Connect, and Co-Pilot360 driver assists. The Sport is gone, replaced by the ST, which starts at $49,099. Only the SEL is available with either FWD or AWD; all other models are all-wheel drivers.
The 2019 Ford Edge is at dealers now.