However 20in alloy wheels, a £500 option on Titanium and standard on Sport, push Edge up into the next road tax band, as it returns CO2 emissions of 152g/km – which adds £35 to this year’s VED and £300 to the first year VED from April 2017 – and combined fuel economy of 47.9mpg.
The Edge will bring new Ford technologies, including Adaptive Steering, which automatically optimises the steering response according to vehicle speed, making it easy to manoeuvre at low speeds, while remaining precise and intuitive at higher speeds; and Front Wide View Camera, which makes restricted visibility junctions or parking spaces easier to negotiate.
Also on the safety front Edge debuts segment-first Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection; a camera- and radar-based system that can operate at speeds from 5mph to 110mph to detect vehicles and people in the road ahead. A key feature in new Euro NCAP rating tests, the system can automatically apply the brakes if a potential collision is detected and the driver does not respond to warnings.
Ford’s standard Intelligent All-Wheel Drive (AWD) technology promises a seamless transition between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive performance to provide a more secure footing on the road especially in slippery conditions.
Measuring how the car’s wheels are gripping the road surface every 16 milliseconds – 20 times quicker than it takes to blink – the system can send up to 100% of engine torque to the front or rear wheels. By delivering torque only where and when needed, Intelligent AWD has minimal impact on fuel-efficiency and CO2 emissions compared with permanent four-wheel drive systems.
Refinement is achieved with acoustic windscreen glass and laminated glass for the front door windows, minimising wind noise. Underbody panels and wheel-arch liners further minimise road and wind noise. All Edge models are also equipped with Ford’s Active Noise Control technology that detects and cancels out unwanted engine noise in the cabin with opposing sound waves from the integrated sound system.
