Great Car if you need cargo space more than a 3rd row

The Ford Edge is a great 5 passenger crossover vehicle, for those who need a larger cargo space rather than a 3rd row. Just so you know on the front end, I am a 30-something mother of 1, soon to be 2 and am reviewing this from my own perspective. So if you're looking for all that technical and mechanical stuff you might want to look elsewhere.

I didn't know what I wanted when I started car shopping this spring, except that I wanted better fuel mileage than my GMC Yukon and needed enough room for 2 carseats and a large dog. The obvious answer was a crossover, but which one? I really liked the GMC Acadia, but it was a little pricey for me, and bigger than what I *needed* so I kept looking. Mazda CX-7, Nissan Rogue, Nissan Murano, Saturn Outlook, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Highlander, Dodge Journey...the one I fell in love with was the Ford Edge.

The Edge comes in 3 trim levels: SE, SEL, and Limited. I bought an SEL with Sync, Sirius satellite radio, 18" chrome wheels, and a reverse sensor added. It came standard with 6-way power driver's seat, premium cloth seats, steering wheel audio controls, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, driver information center, auto headlamps, 6-disc CD changer, and auto-dimming rearview mirror, in addition to what the base SE would be. Leather seating is available for the SEL in 2 different packages, the seating flexibility package or the more expensive premium package. Leather is standard on the Limited, along with several other nice additions. Front wheel drive or all wheel drive are available with all 3 trim levels. Engine and transmission are the same, regardless of trim level.

First off, the Edge is cute. It looks very car-like (to me) and sporty. Has enough ground clearance to avoid dragging bumpers in most situations, but I don't have to climb up at all to get in. I've had it for a month, but I'm still getting used to ducking my head to get in, since I've been driving pick-up trucks and full-sized SUVs since 1995. Getting out is super easy, I don't have to climb up out of it or drop down.

The seats are very comfortable, with good cushioning and support. I'm currently 7 months pregnant and just drove 4 hours without a problem. I wasn't achey at all afterwards. The lumbar adjustment is easy to use. The adjustment range on the power parts of the seat is adequate with the exception of the tilt on the front of the seat. I can't get it quite low enough to suit me, but it's not a huge deal. The only other thing I would change is the tilt of the headrests: they come way too far forward and can't be adjusted. I have mine raised as high as it will go to get it out of my way as much as possible. It's very annoying with a ponytail.

The interior is laid out well and pleasing to the eye. The gauges are easy to locate and read. I like that on the driver information center, I can have the odometer and compass up at the same time as other information, such as fuel economy and miles left until empty. I am finding that I use the extra information more in this format. The miles until empty has proven especially useful. I really miss having an outside temperature readout. I've had that feature in all my vehicles since 1998 (including the Ford F-250 I had), and I'm not sure why they left that off.

The center console is HUGE deep and easily organized. The 2 cupholders for front passengers are within easy reach. They are 2 different sizes though, which is kind of weird. I like the placement of the storage nooks and crannies, and the sunglasses holder overhead is nice. It would be nice if they had put in-dash storage above the glove box like some of the other cars in this class have (the chilling compartment in the Dodge Journey was way cool).

The audio controls on the steering wheel are not the best I've ever used. There are not enough functions on the steering wheel to work everything on the radio/cd changer, for example I can't change discs, and the media selector only goes one way. The radio display itself is jumbled and difficult to read. It's not bright enough in daylight, and all the characters are the same size. The amount of information is also lacking--it does not list song titles or artist name, even in satellite mode. In my opinion, they need to start over with the radio. There is an upgraded audio system available, but I'm not sure if it fixes the problems with the display since I haven't seen one.

The 60/40 split bench seat in the back has tons of leg room. It actually is roomier than my Yukon was, and it's easier to get kids in and out of their car seats. The seat back reclines, which I'm sure is great for passenger comfort, but it also makes proper carseat installation easier. The seat does not move forward and back. I can get 3 carseats across with the right combination of seats. I really like that there are air vents for the back, and I like that the seatbelt for the center position comes off the seatback, rather than the ceiling like some of the others. There is an armrest in the center with cupholders, but nobody has used it yet. The seats fold down to make more cargo space, but they must be folded from beside the seat, there's no latch to fold from the cargo area.

The cargo area is way bigger than it looks from the outside. You lose a small amount of room because of the rounding off of the back glass, but I haven't found it to be a big deal. On a normal day, I have a stroller and my german shepherd dog back there, and she fits very comfortably. I've made one trip to Sam's Club since owning this car, and was able to fit everything with room to spare.

The Edge is way fun to drive, especially for a girl who has spent her entire adult life driving pickup trucks. The handling is great and there's no body sway. The V6 is not as peppy as the V8 in my Yukon, but it gets the job done and I don't have any complaints. The better fuel economy more than makes up for having less power.

As for fuel economy, I have been getting 24 mpg with mixed driving. On longer trips, just driving down the interstate, I've been getting in the 27-28 mpg range. My husband can do better because his foot is not as heavy as mine. I can get well over 400 miles out of the 19 gallon tank, with fuel to spare. The EPA ratings were 16 city, 24 highway, so I am very pleased by the numbers I've been getting. (and yes, they were figured manually)

It is available with a tow package, but I can't imagine what you could actually tow with it safely. A jet ski or a miniature u-haul trailer, maybe. My husband and I both have full sized pickups, and mine is a 3/4 ton diesel, so towing was not an issue for me in this purchase.

The ride is much smoother and quieter than a lot of its competitors. We live in the boonies and our roads are not in the best shape, so ride was very important to me.

I like the size and shape of the tilt/telescoping steering wheel. It feels much more natural in my hands than the steering wheels on the foreign cars. I also prefer the gear shift on the Edge over most of the other cars, because it doesn't have the confusing (to me) manual shift pattern. Just push the button and pull it straight back. The back glass is a little small and there are some blind spots. I'm so used to using my side mirrors anyway, because I tow a gooseneck horse trailer a lot, that it doesn't bother me at all. It would probably be an adjustment for someone used to driving a car.

My Edge has the Sync hands-free blue tooth technology on it. It works great, once you get the hang of how to talk to it. I can push one button on my steering wheel and either request that it call a person in my phone's phonebook, or to dial a number. I have found that it works better if your 3 year old doesn't echo everything you say to it. (haha) After getting hooked up to whoever I'm calling, we are able to have a clear, easy to hear conversation. You can use the volume button so that even a soft talker comes through very clear, or a loud talker doesn't damage your hearing. Word of warning though, you might find yourself using up more of your minutes because it's so much easier to talk and drive!

I haven't had the car long enough to comment on reliability.

I am very happy with my Ford Edge. I feel like it was a good value for my money, and perfectly fits my needs as a family car. The incentives from Ford really helped out too. I plan to drive this several years, until I get done with the car seat/booster seat phase and then upgrade to a 7 or 8 seater.