► Ford Edge Sport unveiled
► New sportier trim for top SUV
► Here to rival the Q5, XC60
Ford is slowly pushing its blue-collar brand upmarket – and a slew of new products launching this year will propel the company into the £30,000+ bracket for the first time. And the new Ford Edge Sport unveiled this month is one of these models.
It’ll join the regular Edge models, Mustang and poshed-up Vignale models in new territory for the Blue Oval, as it aims to squeeze into segments previously hogged by upper-mainstream competitors such as Volkswagen, Volvo and the smarter Japanese brands.
The Edge is the new Volvo XC60 and Audi Q5-chasing SUV that arrives at the end of 2015, priced over £30k. It was unveiled in 2014, but this is the first time we’ve seen the new Sport trimline.
Ford Edge Sport: so what’s new?
It’s one of a number of new Sport models that Ford hopes will allow it to charge a premium over its bread-and-butter cars. The other models include the latest S-Max Titanium Sport and Kuga Titanium X Sport model we reviewed last week.
It’s mostly cosmetic fettling in the Edge’s case, with additions such as 20in smoked alloy wheels, twin rectangular exhaust finishers, colour-coded bumpers, mirrors and door handles and high-gloss black grille and window surrounds.
Note also the front skid plate and rear diffuser – both surely irrelevant for a family-focused soft-roader, but if that’s what Joe Bloggs wants, that’s what the marketing department offers…
Inside the Edge Sport you’ll find sports seats with carbonfibre-alike trim, contrasting ebony cabin detailing and satin silver brightwork scattered throughout.
Ford Edge: the background
This model sits above the Kuga in Ford’s fast-growing SUV segment. It might have been (very) late to the crossover party, but now the Blue Oval has three SUVs in its range, stretching from the short-cut EcoSport small 4×4 through the Kuga and on to the £30k+ Edge.
The five-seater Edge has been on sale in the US for years, but this is the first time it has been available in Europe. Perhaps of more note than the cosmetic changes on the Sport model are the technologies available on all models: it offers noise cancellation systems, inflatable airbag seatbelts and adaptive steering ratio.