2008 Ford Edge AWD Limited

At first I thought our Ford Edge test car was a DUB edition, with the big chrome 20" wheels and 245/20 Pirellis. Turns out this wheel/tire package is an $895 option on the AWD Limited. And with the navigation and whatnot, this baby optioned out to around $38,000–a pretty hefty chunk of change.

Like the Hyundai Santa Fe we reviewed last week, the Edge is a mall cruiser, but without the off road pretensions. And it has a lot in common with the Mazda CX-7. But while the Mazda comes with a turbo four banger, the Edge comes with a 3.5 liter V6 that puts out a healthy 265 hp. Then again, the Edge weighs around 4,300 pounds, so it doesn’t exactly scoot. Which brings us to one of the main issues with this vehicle: the gas mileage is quite poor. We averaged around 18 mpg. Now, maybe that didn’t seem so bad when the Edge was first introduced almost two years ago, but that’s gonna be an major barrier for a lot of people these days. And all that weight also means that the Edge doesn’t handle all that well, either. It feels big and porky. So what’s to like? Quite a bit, actually. Continue reading…

First off, I think it looks great. There’s really not a bad angle on this car, and it was quite striking in the Light Ice Blue Metallic. I was also very grateful to have the charcoal interior with aluminum accents (I hate tan interiors with fake woodgrain). The seats are super comfy. The panoramic sunroof is awesome (my five year old daughter loved it). The back seat is huge–the Edge is a great family hauler. The controls are all well placed and very intuitive. The stereo is good, the nav works nicely. Rear visibility isn’t that great, but I got used to it. Crash test scores are excellent.

Still, I don’t think the Edge has been a huge hit for Ford. You certainly don’t see a lot of them in Seattle. I think I counted two of them during my week with the car. Ultimately, I think Ford needs to shrink this package down a bit. Maybe closer to Chevy HHR or even Scion xB proportions. Get the weight and price down and the mileage up. Then maybe we’ll start seeing more of these on the road, and at the mall.