  2015 Ford Edge. Click image to enlarge |
Review by Mark Stevenson. Photos by Mark Stevenson and courtesy Ford Motor Company.
Detroit, Michigan – Ford learned recently with their full-size Taurus and Five Hundred not to mess with a winning formula. When the Dearborn automaker dropped the Taurus nameplate and rolled out the three-box boredom machine that was the Ford Five Hundred, sales dropped, and nobody knew exactly what Ford was trying to do.
Fast forward to today, a more mature, focused Ford knows what it needs to do to conquest new customers without alienating current buyers of the brand. The third-generation Ford Edge is proof of that in sheetmetal.
Expected to go on sale early next year, the 2015 Ford Edge is unmistakable for any other model from any other car company. The style-conscious crossover has retained its distinct DNA while receiving modern touches to bring it into its next five years of service.
Built at Oakville Assembly, it’s also the first North American model to go global, with the Edge soon to arrive in Europe and China (and the Chinese get a model all their own). For those markets, the Edge will get some very premium touches not available in North America as Ford doesn’t want their crossover cannibalizing Lincoln MKX sales.
The redesigned utility features some stylistic departures, such as an updated grille without massive chrome bars and wheels for the Sport model dropping an inch for the purpose of aesthetics. Ford wants the Edge to be a bit more “sophisticated” explained George Bucher, head of Ford’s utility design team.
Yet, the Edge does keep its overall shape for fear of alienating its current customer base. Some prototypes shown to focus groups were massive departures from the current Edge and were not well received.
  2015 Ford Edge front seat & dashboard. Click image to enlarge |
The interior is also not an incredible departure from the current design. While a new instrument panel is used (similar to that found on the Ford Fusion), and the centre stack is all new, Ford will not equip Edge with the next generation of SYNC with MyFord Touch. However, when the next generation system is available, customers will be able to update their vehicles with the new software.
