This is the Ford Edge, a large SUV that's been on sale in America for years. And now it's coming to Europe.
Of course, Ford has sold off-roaders in Britain before. We’ve had two generations of Maverick, the first of which was a re-badged Nissan Terrano, while the second was an American product. As was the American-as-apple-pie Explorer from the late Nineties. But the new Edge is the first SUV Ford has designed with the rest of the world in mind.
The Edge Concept is a handsome, classy thing. There’s a clear resemblance to the current Edge, itself a good-looking and popular car - not just in the USA, either. The production version will inevitably lose the shiny bits and the grille might get smaller, but the Concept looks pretty close to reality.
The idea of a big, posh SUV with a Ford badge might put some people off in badge-snob-central Britain, but the Edge will come very well equipped with Ford’s latest connectivity and safety systems, and should be good value. The mid-size Kuga already sells well here and the smaller EcoSport will probably sell by the truck load when it finally arrives.
If Ford gets the price and marketing right (and who would bet against that?) the Edge might be the right car at the right time when it goes on sale in a couple of years time. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
Article by Matt Hubbard and Graham King
