Safe, sporty and well-equipped, this Edge is OK

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California – Ford tweaked its five-passenger Edge sport-utility vehicle for 2017, and from my seat, it delivered on its sporty promise.

The tested 2017 Ford Edge Sport AWD looked sleek and racy straight on and in profile, and those 21-inch premium, painted aluminum wheels definitely added to the eye appeal.

Even the neighbors were surprised to learn that this was a Ford sport-ute, initially guessing that it was a saucy foreign make.  There’s a message there, and for Ford designers, I think it’s a positive one.

On the fly, I was genuinely impressed with the performance and responsiveness from the 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V-6, rated at 315 horespower and 350 foot-pounds of torque.

When asked, the tested Edge zipped into tight spaces coming down the on-ramp, and it raced away from most everything surrounding it, offering a secure feeling of comfort when it came time to dart out of harm’s way.

That feeling was enhanced by a blizzard of top-level, five-star federal government safety ratings, including five stars for the overall vehicle score.

Please note that it takes some juice to wind up that V-6 engine: 17 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.

My ride was dressed up significantly with a solid navigation system, a remote-start system, a park-assist system and rain-sensing wipers.  There were enough perks to make me feel only slightly queasy about the imposing bottom line on the sticker: $46,980.

I’m sure there was a day when I might have envisioned a five-passenger Ford SUV costing some $50,000 to drive it off the lot … but I can’t remember that day.  Welcome to the modern era of feature-loaded vehicle buying.

And there is this: the Edge has an exceptional list of driving/operational safety and security features, the kind of long list you might have once associated with a Mercedes-Benz or a Volvo product.  Believe it, this Edge has the full suite of safety/security technology.

I think the market for this current-generation Ford Edge is a suburban family with multiple children beyond the toddler age.  That means frequent road trips, soccer practice, Little League, endless grocery runs and serious driving vacations to faraway locales.

In other words, I think you buy this Edge to keep it for a long time and enjoy every memory it dishes out for your and yours.

That’s a pretty happy goal for any motor vehicle.  I think the current Edge can make it happen.