Ford is adding juice to its Edge SUV this year that not only adds extra comfort and connective services and pop to the standard engine, but the first performance ST package to be added to a Ford sport utility.
The Edge had its best year ever in sales in 2017–142,603– as trucks, SUVs and crossovers across the industry continued to dominate passenger cars as gas stays below $3.00 a gallon in most parts of the country, the stock market hits new highs each month and the economy gains.
When times are good, SUVs and trucks rock the sales charts. And it’s a good thing for Ford. According to Ford insiders, the automaker these days loses money on each passenger “car” it sells except for a few like the Mustang. Trucks and SUVs, by contrast, are profitable.
Ford is wasting no time, with its lagging share price, to bolster its SUV and truck lineup. It just introduced a new Lincoln Navigator. Besides the redesigned Edge, it is also bringing back the Ford Ranger mid-sized pickup to a much sportier and rugged truck than the old Ranger a year from now. And in 2020, Ford will re-introduce the Bronco SUV. Those are two all-new models, and there are more on the way.
The 2019 standard Edge, which will go on sale this summer, comes with a wider grille and full LED headlamps. The hood sits on a higher plane. It’s powered by a 2.0 liter EcoBoost with 250 horsepower. The 8-speed automatic transmission comes with a stop-start system, and there is a rotary gearshift dial, which helped create space for a wireless charging pad for smartphones in the center console.
It also comes with a suite of active and passive safety systems that Ford believes will be best in class: standard forward collision warning, pre-collision assist, pedestrian detection, blind-spot detection, cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping alert and assist, hill-start assist and automatic high beams. The SUV also comes with technology called post-collision braking, which stops the vehicle after it senses impact. A new feature for Edge–evasive driving assist–helps drivers steer around stopped or slowing vehicles by becoming more responsive to driver inputs.
And in keeping with what is becoming one of the most popular features in new vehicles, the new Edge comes with a Wi-Fi hotspot called FordPass, which is a branding that will be rolled into Fords across the lineup.
Ford says 46-percent of Edge buyers are women, as more and more women continue to opt for crossovers and SUVs instead of cars or minivans for their families. Edge brand manager Christina Aquino says that women have told the automaker that while they like the Edge, what they are looking for in the new Edge is “a bit more fun, a bit more connectivity capability and a bit more oomph.”
In the ST, the EcoBoost 2.7 liter V6 produces 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque, which is an increase of 20 hp and 30 pound feet over the current Edge Sport. All of the new 2019 Ford Edges will come with a new, more fuel efficient 8-speed transmission.
The ST, developed by the same team of engineers who fitted out the GT supercar and F-150 Raptor, has slightly more sinister looks than the standard Edge, with a black gloss mesh grille, 21-inch wheels and deeper side skirting.
The mid-sized SUV segment that Edge competes in grew by 9% from 2016 to 2017 while total light vehicle industry sales slipped, according to Michael O’brien, Group SUV manager at Ford.
