The Ford Edge is pretty popular mid-size SUV in the Canadian market, it has been around since 2006 with the 2015 model year getting an all-new design. The overall shape is similar between the first and second generation models, but the 2nd generation is more edgier (or is Edge-ier). The name makes more sense now, since the first generation was more rounded.
This week we’re reviewing an all-new 2017 Ford Edge Titanium, with a 2.0 liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine, is the small engine powerful enough for a big heavy mid-sized SUV like this? Continue reading to find out.
Price
The 2017 Ford Edge comes in four trim levels, the base SE has a starting price of $31,449, the SEL starts at $34,249, Titanium trim starts at $38,249, and the top of the line Sport trim starts at $44,749. These prices are starting prices, AWD is not included in most trims and is an additional cost, there are also a lot of optional packages that can increase price by as much as 25%.
Our Edge Titanium AWD had a starting price of $41,999 and with the included options, it topped out at $52,199 plus $1,690 for destination and delivery, for grand total of $53,889 before taxes. The Edge can get quite expensive, below is a list of options our Edge Titanium had:
- Burgundy Velvet paint – $450
- Group 302A – $3,800
- Canadian Touring Package – $2,000
- Driver’s Package – $2,100
- Class II Trailer Tow Package – $500
- 20” Polished Aluminum Wheels – $850
- Cargo Accessory Package – $400
The Group 302A package consists of the following:
- Blind spot monitoring
- Auto-dim driver’s side mirror
- Cold weather package
- Rubber floor mats
- Heated steering wheel
- Lane departure warning
- Enhanced park assist
- Split view front camera
- HID headlights
- Rain sensing wipers
- Heated/cooled front seats & heated rear seats
- Second row inflatable seat belts
Canadian Touring packages includes the panoramic roof and voice activated navigation. Driver’s package includes adaptive cruise control, collision warning, adaptive steering, power tilt/telescoping steering wheel.
The Edge does come with a lot of stuff, but you do end up paying quite a bit for it.
Engine
The 2017 Ford Edge is offered with three engine choices. Other than the Sport trim, all Edge(s) are equipped with twin-scroll turbocharged 2.0 liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engines with direct injection, producing 245 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 275 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm (according to Ford, these figures were achieved with 93 octane fuel), mated to 6-speed automatic transmissions. There’s an optional 3.5 liter V6 engine available on the SEL and Titanium trims ($500), producing 280 horsepower at 6,500 and 250 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm.
The top of the line engine on the Sport trim is a twin-turbo 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6 with direct injection, producing 315 horsepower at 4,750 rpm and 350 pound-feet of torque at 2,750 rpm (tested with 93 octane fuel), mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.
According to Ford, our test vehicle with the 2.0 liter engine and AWD should consume 11.9/8.6/10.4 L/100 km in city/highway/combined driving. For our week-long review, we averaged 10.2 L/100 km in mostly highway driving (about 10/90 city/highway), however when I did just drive it in the city, the on-board computer was showing 14.2 L/100 km. I was driving pretty smoothly without any cargo in the cabin and no hard accelerations. These numbers are quite a bit off the posted numbers, which I find to be the case with small turbocharged engines, I think the naturally aspirated V6 engine should be closer to the posted numbers.
Performance
I was expecting the big heavy cross-over to be too much of a car for the small 2.0 liter turbocharged engine, but the Edge performed much better than I had expected. The 4-cylinder engine has plenty of of power and gets up to speed quickly, I did notice turbo lag at lower rpms or when I was in a high gear on the highway and needed to pass. Passing is achieved pretty easily once you build up the revs, or quickly go down a gear with the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, driving in sport mode does keep the engine in high rpms, which makes the car feel more responsive and you don’t need to downshift for highway passing. However, you’ll burn through fuel pretty quickly.
The suspension setup on the 2017 Edge has a closer feeling to a large car than an SUV, it’s very comfortable but not floaty like a big SUV. It corners pretty well, for a larger CUV, and the ride quality is good enough and won’t make you tired on long trips.
Styling
The styling has changed quite a bit on the 2nd generation Edge, with more straight lines and angles, and a more aggressive look. The overall vehicle has also grown a bit in size over the original Edge. I think it looks pretty good (this is a subjective matter) and the styling is distinct enough, it won’t be mistaken for another vehicle on the road.
Interior
The interior on the Ford Edge is very modern looking, with a very clean layout that’s pretty easy to understand. At the center of the dashboard is a the large 8” touchscreen, housing the SYNC3 system. I’ve never had any problems with the previous generations of this system and SYNC3 is supposed to be even easier to use, which it is. It connects to your phone quickly, the screen is quick to respond to touch, and the voice command easily understands you when you talk to it, I really like this system.
Behind the steering wheel is a pair of small digital screens to the left and right of the speedometer, which can be customized to give the driver information like trip computer, fuel economy, tire pressure monitoring, navigation direction, show current radio station etc.
Ford has also included redundant controls for the climate control system, so you don’t have to go through the touchscreen to change the temperature/fan speed etc. Climate settings can also be changed via voice command.
The interior has a luxurious feel to it, it’s very quiet on the inside and you can barely hear the engine in normal driving conditions. Materials used are a mixture of hard and medium plastics. Ford has included lots of little storage areas to store small items like sunglasses, keys, and even large cellphones, I was able to neatly store away my Nexus 6P, which usually sticks out of cellphone holders in most vehicles.
The interior is also very roomy, there’s lots of room for the front passengers and the rear seats have more than enough leg and head room for passengers over 6 feet tall, the 2nd generation Edge gets 1” more leg and shoulder room than the outgoing model.
Technology
Like all modern Ford vehicles, the 2017 Edge can be equipped with a lot of different packages and there are lots of options you can add to configure your Edge just the way you like it. Our Edge Titanium had pretty much everything you can order, there is a higher trim but that changes the engine and gives you an even sportier handling vehicle.
As mentioned in the pricing section, our review Edge came with the Group 302A package, which includes a lot of goodies and includes other packages like the “Cold Weather Package”, which consists of a heated steering wheel and all-weather floor mats.
The tech available on the 2017 Ford Edge works well, I personally don’t use things like cruise control, but things like automatic braking could come in handy in the rare case I’m not paying attention. On a side note, in the last 4 or so years since I’ve been reviewing cars, I’ve only one incident where the Collision Avoidance System alerted me to a potential accident before I realized it, it was a left turning car that I didn’t see because the sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t see the brake lights or the signal.
Impressions
The Ford Edge Titanium is quite a capable vehicle, I was expecting the big vehicle to be too much for the small EcoBoost engine, but it performed surprisingly well. However, personally I’d still go with one of the V6 engines.
The Edge is pretty quite, has lots of room on the inside, and there’s a fairly amount of trunk space available. The Edge handles pretty well for a large vehicle, the ride quality is definitely on the sporty side as opposed to a traditional SUV. For more information on the Edge and other Ford vehicles, visit ford.ca.
2017 Ford Edge Titanium Review Photo Gallery
