Monday, July 7, 2008

Has Ford Made a Good Car With the Edge

For a long time Ford hasn't been able to make any cars that were good. The Taurus for example was terribly built, slow, ugly, unsafe, and terrible to drive. The Crown Victoria was even worse. It was 212 inches long, had a rigid axle, failed the side crash tests, and its huge 4.6L V8 only had 230hp. When they brought out the Five Hundred and Freestyle were their first good cars in a long time. Now they have the Edge crossover. The Edge looks good, it is modern and overall attractive looking. The Edge is based on the Ford Fusion, which means it drives just like the Fusion, but it's taller, higher, and heavier. The Edge got a top safety pick (good in frontal, side, whiplash protection tests and has stability control) crash test rating from IIHS. The Edge also has a great 3.5L V6 with 263hp, plenty of power for the Edge's 4500lb weight. The Edge is comfortable and quiet on the highway or almost any surface, besides gravel where our 2008 Edge SEL rental car was rather noisy. The seats were large and very comfortable, the rear seats had plenty of space and reclined. The front seats were good, but the passenger's seat sat too low and wasn't height adjustable. The interior is good looking and seems very well made, our rental had 10,000 miles on it, but it still seemed new. The Edge is a good value too, at $29,000 the SEL AWD is very well equipped and nice. The biggest problem the Edge has is its driving position. The seat is low to make it feel like a car, but the dashboard it too high and hood is low, so when you drive it you can't see the end of the front. The Edge should also have more cargo space than it does, a Honda CR-V seems bigger inside. The Edge is a very good car, but the Nissan Murano is better. The Ford Taurus X is better too, but is more boring and slightly more expensive. The Hyundai Santa Fe and Dodge Journey are both less expensive, have 2 more seats, the Santa Fe has more space, and the Santa Fe is safer.

2 comments:

CAR97sub said...

Motorstreet it is great to hear that Ford is improving with cars like the edge. I must admit that I was concerned when you mentioned the difficulty for the driver to see with the highdash board and low hood. Sounds like it is not good for short people. Great to get the first hand information from someone who has test driven the car. You mentioned the Santa Fe briefly. I was interested when you said it was safer -- is that mean it is safer than the EDGE and the dodge journey?

MotorStreet said...

The Santa Fe is slightly safer than the Edge. They were both Top Safety Picks, but the Edge had a few more small problems. The Journey hasn't been crash tested, but probably won't do as well in the whiplash protection test. The Santa Fe is very good.