Ford Edge ST: Rally Sport Soul with Family-oriented Design
Mini Track, Jumbo Performance
From the starting line, the Ford Edge ST feels like it’s ready to rock, thanks to all-wheel-drive and an immediately noticeable 380 lbs.-ft of torque character And that’s before you even put it in Sport mode.
Of course, we promptly push the “S” button to unleash all of the ST’s handling capacity. But the button does much more than just stiffen the suspension. It also remaps the throttle to make it much more responsive to even the slightest touch. The transmission is less intrusive, shifting only when the rpm range nears redline.
The track is very brief; if you drive it at the intended speed, you can breeze through it in less than 30 seconds. There is one acceleration point, two apexes, and a braking point that leads back to the starting line. Each driver gets two passes. Ideally, the first lap is for quick acclimation and the second is where you unleash the beast.
The vehicle’s acceleration picks up very rapidly, and the brakes are a little on the sensitive side. In the apex turns, the Ford Edge ST has superb handling with very little body roll, if any. We wish we had at least three more turns but realistically speaking, the amount of parking lot space Ford has to work with is the best we’re going to get. And that’s okay, because there is one more leg to the entire event: The road test in the Edge Titanium.
Less Power but Definitely No Slouch
The Titanium package for the 2019 Ford Edge is a notch below the ST but it certainly isn’t inferior by any means. The one above features a wonderfully posh, cream-colored interior with soft leather seats. It has a turbocharged, 2.0-liter inline-four engine that churns out 250 horsepower with 280 lbs.-ft of torque. Just like with the ST, the kick of the torque is very apparent. Minus the ST badges, the cabins between the two vehicles are practically identical, though the touch points feel slightly different.
As we venture out onto the street, the throttle response is not as sporty as the ST, but acceleration and handling are still top notch for a four-banger SUV. Sure, the turns aren’t nearly as dramatic on the orange cone circuit, but this package is more about comfort that performance. The Edge Titanium uses the same eight-speed transmission as the ST and it performs similarly. While it is fun to manually shift, we prefer to keep it in automatic mode to keep the ride as smooth as possible this time around.
Other than the lane awareness and cross-traffic alert technology, we didn’t get to utilize the full functionality of the CoPilot 360. We couldn’t test out pre-collision assist feature (for obvious reasons) but the overall system feels intuitive and natural.
Pricing for Ford Edge ST & Titanium
The 2019 Ford Edge ST starts at $42,355, while the Titanium starts at $38,550. While that is a $680 premium over last year’s model, it is well worth it. Remember, each model now comes with Ford’s driving assist tech.
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Photos & Video for Ford Truck Enthusiasts by Derin Richardson
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