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| The 2019 Ford Edge ST. |
With cars rapidly fading from its product portfolio, Ford has decided to imbue its surviving crossovers with some performance via its ST line.
The new 2020 Explorer will come in ST form (a "30 Minutes With" short drive from the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Day 2019 in Carmel Valley will post here at TireKicker in the next few days), and the 2019 Ford Edge ST is already available.
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| 2019 Ford Edge ST. |
I liked
the last Edge I drove (nearly four years ago) very much and the Edge ST comes with all-wheel drive standard---so there's a major handling plus. The ST also gets monotube dampers, stiffer springs, heftier anti-roll bars, as well as transmission and all-wheel drive cooling.
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| 2019 Ford Edge ST engine. |
As for power, well, don't expect the kind of shenanigans
Jeep produces with its 707-horsepower Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. What's under the hood in the 2019 Ford Edge ST is a 2.7-liter Ecoboost V6 making 335 horsepower---a decent jump from the 250-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder in non-ST Edges. It's mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, and should be good for zero to 60 in less than six seconds.
The EPA estimates 19 miles per gallon city, 26 highway. Our mileage varied.
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| 2019 Ford Edge ST mileage readout. |
With 150 miles on city streets and urban freeways and 200 miles of highway driving from TireKicker World Headquarters in Folsom to the WAJ Media Day in Carmel, we averaged 19.7 miles per gallon. Based on the EPA figure, 22.5-23 would have been expected. The Edge ST is thirsty. The good news is it's also very comfortable, soaking up those highway miles without any discomfort.
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| 2019 Ford Edge ST. |
Base price for the 2019 Ford Edge ST is $42,355. For that, you get the mechanicals discussed above as well as dual exhausts, LED fog lamps, auto bi-LED headlamps with auto high beams, wiper-activated headlamps, LED signature lighting, power, heated, manual-folding exterior mirrors with memory, LED turn signals embedded and approach lamps underneath.
There's also privacy glass on the rear doors, LED taillamps, rain-sensing wipers, a 60/40 folding rear bench seat, aluminum sport pedals, ambient lighting, auto-dimming rearview mirror, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-trimmed seats with ten-way heated driver and front passenger adjustment and driver memory, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with cruise and audio controls, 12-volt powerpoints, a rotary gearshift dial, two smart charging USB ports, ST bolstered bucket seats with sueded cloth inserts, automatic stop/start, a B&O Play premium audio system, blind spot information, Class II trailer towing package, FordPass Connect 4G wi-fi hotspot, intelligent access with pushbutton start, lane keeping system, pre-collision assist, a rearview camera with washer, reverse sensing, and an eight-inch SYNC3 touchscreen system which, the last few days that we had the Edge ST, became buggy---giving us either a blue screen or the rearview camera, but none of the other functions, for hours at a time.
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| 2019 Ford Edge ST interior. |
There were also extra-cost options on our tester:
- Equipment Group 401A (Universal garage door opener, perimeter alarm, wireless charging pad, evasive steering assist, panoramic vista roof, voice-activated navigation, hands-free, foot-activated liftgate, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and lane centering, remote start, auto-dimming driver-side mirror, heated rear seats, cooled front seats and enhanced park assist): $5,585.
- ST Performance Brake package: $2,695.
- White Platinum Metallic paint: $595.
With $995 destination and delivery, the bottom line was $52,225. Not a bad price for performance tweaks to an already good machine---but the SYNC snafu and the fuel consumption keep me from going further with praise.
