Ford Edge SEL Plus AWD

Like many companies, Ford is no stranger to dire economic straits or looking for signs of hope in a bleak future. But it will take more than hope to keep the corporate ship off the rocks. It will take cost-cutting, belt-tightening, and other measures that you could predict. But more important, it will take vehicles that capture the eyes, imagination, and disposable income of folks out there in consumerdom. Ford simply can't afford any more losers - or even ho-hums like the Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle SUV.

Against this ominous backdrop, here's the Ford Edge, a new crossover utility vehicle (CUV). Does it have the right stuff to help Ford steer clear of the shoals? Or is it just another face in a fast-growing crowd?

CarAndDriver.comThe facial issue is pertinent, because it's an element that gives the Edge some edge. The front fascia, with its Fusion-esque bright three-bar grille, may not be quite as eye grabbing as the jack-o'-lantern grin on the Nissan Murano, but it's distinctive, as well as more attractive. And it makes the Toyota Highlander look like a wallflower.

The Murano and the Highlander are not chance comparators here. They're the vehicles the Edge development team seeks to compete with. The Fusion allusion isn't random, either. Elements of the sedan's architecture were baked into the CUV's unibody, although of course the Edge is taller, wider, and substantially heavier: our loaded SEL Plus test vehicle scaled in at 4528 pounds. Whoa, Nellie!

As noted, the Edge is a unibody design, universal among today's passenger cars and de rigueur for crossovers. Unibodies - the car's body, floor pan, and chassis form a single structure - can provide higher structural rigidity, lower curb weights, and dynamics that are more like passenger cars than the trucklike responses of body-on-frame SUVs. Does this sound familiar? Sure. We've been hearing the same carlike drivability mantra since Chrysler's first minivan back in 1984.

CarAndDriver.comPlease. The idea that a vehicle weighing more than two tons, with eight inches of ground clearance and a 67.2-inch roofline, can prance around like a mid-size sedan is like expecting a bear to learn tap dance. But if you modify your dynamic expectations, the Edge delivers responses that are quite respectable for a vehicle in this size class.

Hardware: As noted, there's front-wheel-drive Mazda 6/Ford Fusion skeletal heritage in this vehicle's foundation, albeit expanded for a much different task. The wheelbase, for example, measures 111.2 inches, although overall length - 185.7 inches - is shorter than the Fusion by 4.5 inches. On the other hand, at 75.8 inches wide, the Edge is wider than the Freestyle.

Although the wheelbase is one of the longest in this mid-size class, the chassis is exceptionally stiff. High chassis rigidity and a long wheelbase equal good ride quality, another edge for the Edge. With subframe-mounted front struts, a multilink rear, and anti-roll bars fore-and-aft, the Edge smoothes lumpy pavement - as well as dirt-road nastiness - without feeling squishy. Severe washboard stretches can provoke an impromptu dance step or two, but for the most part, the Edge is about as composed and responsive as 2.3 tons of tallish SUV can be.

CarAndDriver.comOur test vehicle's composure was enhanced by an all-wheel-drive system capable of anticipating traction loss and transferring torque rearward as needed, up to 100 percent, according to Ford. Standard on all Edges is AdvanceTrac with RSC, unique in its use of a gyroscopic sensor to monitor both vehicle yaw and roll motions. When either or both become excessive in the judgment of a brain chip somewhere in there, the system uses brake and/or throttle intervention to restore equilibrium.

Although not particularly quick at 3.1 turns lock to lock, the rack-and-pinion power steering delivers a gratifying level of feedback and accuracy. There's enough roll stiffness to keep the horizon more or less level, and there's enough motor to move all this mass through the landscape with a fair degree of urgency.

The 3.5-liter V-6 bears the familiar Dura­tec imprint, but it's all-new, according to Ford, and beyond its general layout - 60-degree cylinder banks, twin cams, four valves per cylinder - it shares nothing with previous Duratecs. This is a good thing, because the Freestyle's 3.0-liter Duratec V-6 is, to be kind, anemic: 203 horsepower, 207 pound-feet of torque. The new V-6 raises the ante to 265 horsepower and 250 pound-feet, and mated with a new six-speed automatic it musters enough punch to hurry the Edge to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 16.0 seconds at 87 mph.

CarAndDriver.comFord tells us the new engine's design makes allowance for eventual increases in both bore and stroke. The engineers also plan to install direct injection at some point, a refinement that was tabled in initial development for reasons of cost. It's worth noting that this engine will also be available in the Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle, which should reduce their ennui factor, and also in the revised - and substantially improved - Lincoln MKZ sedan, as well as the MKX, Lincoln's version of the Edge.

The Verdict

2007 Ford Edge SEL Plus AWD
Highs: Eye-catching exterior, impressive new V-6 powertrain, competent dynamics, roomy interior.

Lows: Surprisingly pudgy at the scales, long stopping distances, deficient in small details.

The Verdict: A slick new Ford that raises the stakes in the crossover game.

But we digress. As competent as it is, the Edge does have a couple of demerits in its dynamic dossier. For one, the grip provided by the optional 245/60-18 Continental CrossContact LX all-season tires is very modest at 0.75 g. For another, the blend of mass and so-so grip yields longish stopping distances: 191 feet from 70 mph, hefty brakes notwithstanding. Mass doesn't help the fuel economy, either. We predict EPA ratings of 16 city and 24 highway, and we observed 15 mpg during our brief time with the vehicle. That result includes test-track thrashing, but even so, mpg doesn't look to be an edge for this new Ford.

We suspect the quiet competence of the Edge driving experience will be satisfying to most. Thus the challenge will be getting test-driver butts into the comfortable seats (attractively turned out with handsomely stitched leather in our tester). Getting butts into those seats requires attracting the attention of the owners of those butts, of course, and in this area we think the Edge looks like a winner. The smooth, contemporary shape, developed under the baton of Edge chief designer Doyle Letson, eschews any hint of the old brickish SUV look and does an excellent job of disguising the vehicle's substantial bulk.

That smooth sheetmetal surrounds a roomy interior with ample space for five, and unlike many so-called five-seaters, the center rear seat is adult habitable for more than seven minutes. Also, in addition to folding flat to expand cargo room, which you'd expect, the split rear seatbacks recline, which you might not. The front passenger seatback also folds flat to accommodate long stuff, such as your custom boar-hunting spear. Ford lists cargo room behind the rear seats at 32 cubic feet, 70 cubes with the rear seatbacks folded.

You may wonder, as we did, why there's no third-row option. The answer: Ford already has two three-rows in this class - the Freestyle and the Explorer - with a third, the Fairlane, just around the corner.

CarAndDriver.comOur SEL Plus was loaded with goodies, among them a $1395 option known within Ford as BAMR, for "big-ass moon roof." Ford marketing types somehow failed to see the charm of this moniker, so the official name is Vista Roof. Whatever, there's no shortage of overhead glass in this dual-port design. The forward portion - 27.3 by 29.4 inches - tilts up or slides open. The rear glass - 15.8 by 31.3 inches - is fixed. Stargazers, this roof's for you.

Other options on our tester: DVD-based navigation with the Audiophile sound system, garish 18-inch chrome wheels, a towing package (3500 pounds max), and a six-month Sirius-satellite-radio subscription - all of which contributed to a bottom line that's almost as heavy as the curb weight: $36,465. At that price, what's conspicuous is what's missing. Little things. For example, where's the driver's footrest? And the passenger-assist handles? Why isn't there a soft lining in the bottoms of the various storage nooks? And if the Edge is supposed to be sporty, how come the tranny has no manumatic function?

Cost cutting is fine, provided it's invisible. But we suppose all these quibbles are things that become transparent to owners after a while. And in any case, the Edge still tallies up as a probable winner. It's quiet, it's competent, and most important, it's got style. Ain't no substitute for that.

COUNTERPOINT

TONY QUIROGA
The Edge lacks a third row and weighs 4528 pounds, 300 more than the larger, three-row Ford Freestyle. On the plus side, handling dynamics are surprisingly sporty, and the new V-6 feels eager. But when it comes to five-seat unibody SUVs, the less-expensive Mazda CX-7 clobbers the Edge. The CX-7 is more than 600 pounds lighter, has better braking and skidpad numbers, accelerates nearly as fast despite a smaller engine, boasts better fuel economy, and possesses steering feel that embarrasses that of many sports cars. Looks like it's Mazda that really has the edge.

CSABA CSERE
With everyone fretting about fuel prices, mid-size crossovers such as the Edge are expected to form the heart of the future SUV market. With clean styling, an attractive interior, decent space, and comfortable road manners, the Edge fits the crossover template. But why does it weigh 600 more pounds than a Toyota Highlander and even more than Ford's bigger and roomier Freestyle? That excess poundage compromises the fuel efficiency and performance we expected from the Duratec 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic. And that's what crossovers are all about.

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