LIKES
- Good value in most trims
- Available performance version
- Great safety scorecard
- Updated tech
- Composed ride
DISLIKES
- Edge ST is a little wasted
- Thinly padded seats
- Outdated interior
- Seeking a hook
BUYING TIP
The 2021 Ford Edge soldiers on with stellar safety figures and good value in affordable versions.
What kind of SUV is the 2021 Ford Edge? What does it compare to?
The Ford Edge is the automaker’s bread-and-butter five-seat crossover SUV. It takes on a range of competitors from the Jeep Grand Cherokee to the Chevy Blazer to the Honda Passport. Ford’s Edge is structurally older than almost all of them, but it’s managed to keep pace with a handsome shape, stellar safety, and reasonable comfort.
Is the 2021 Ford Edge a good SUV?
The 2021 Edge earns a reasonably high 6.7 TCC Rating overall. It’s boosted by its safety record and good features. Performance and style take a back seat to value and gear, which is fine. Adults can take a back seat, too, and that’s a bright point.
What's new for the 2021 Ford Edge?
Last year, an ST-Line trim level offered sporty looks without a high-performance engine and a high price tag. This year, Ford offers a 12-inch touchscreen standard, along with its latest infotainment interface.
The 2021 Ford Edge is available in SE, SEL, ST-Line, Titanium, and ST trim levels.
A 2.0-liter turbo-4 that makes 250 horsepower is standard on all trims below the top Edge ST. Front-wheel drive is standard on all cars equipped with a turbo-4, and an 8-speed automatic handles shifting detail. All-wheel drive is optional on every trim level with a turbo-4.
The Edge ST returns with a 335-hp 2.7-liter V-6 that’s impressive in its might, even if it’s a little overpowered for the relatively pedestrian crossover. All-wheel drive is standard on the ST, mostly to help put its power to the pavement.
Inside, five adults will fit for short- to medium-length trips. The Edge offers similar stretch-out space to competitors—more than 40 inches of leg room in the second row—but the seats aren’t as comfortable as rivals in its class.
Same goes for interior materials, where the Edge starts to show its relative age compared to other two-row crossovers. The Edge’s basic design dates back more than a decade, and it shows.
Its safety scores are up-to-date, and then some more. It earned a five-star overall rating by federal testers and a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS. Automatic emergency braking and active lane control are standard on all models.
How much does the 2021 Ford Edge cost?
The Edge SE checks in with a low price tag below $33,000 with front-wheel drive, which is a relative steal. We’d step one level higher to the Edge SEL for its synthetic leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power-adjustable and heated front seats, and better options for about $36,500. Top spec Edge ST versions ring in at more than $44,000 for power, grippy cloth fabric, and big 21-inch wheels. The Edge Titanium is on the bleeding edge with a 12-inch vertically oriented touchscreen if that’s what you’re looking for.
The Ford Edge is assembled in Oakville, Ontario.
Styling
The Ford Edge has aged handsomely.
Is the Ford Edge a good-looking car?
Stylish but safe, the Ford Edge mostly succeeds in looking good. Just one problem: It’s also old. Starting from an average score, the Edge gets a point for its exterior alone. It’s a 6.
Ford’s held on to aged family haulers before (looking at you, Flex) but the Edge doesn’t have the same verve—not even in ST guise.
The interior isn’t as sharp, and it recalls the original Edge era in some unflattering ways. Aside from the big, available 12-inch touchscreen, the interior is minimalist—bordering on stark. There are large expanses of plastic, and small, round buttons in some places and glossy plastic that shows smudges worse than freshly rained-on ink.
Performance
With turbo power and a comfortable ride, the 2021 Edge keeps pace.
Ford gives the Edge a spicy ST variant, but we get heartburn with its relatively high price. We’re happy with the base turbo-4 and happier still with its comfortable ride. It’s a 6 for performance.
Is the Ford Edge 4WD?
All-wheel drive is available on all Edge models, and it’s standard on the Edge ST with a V-6.
Base Edge crossovers tap a 2.0-liter turbo-4 for power that makes 250 hp (rated on 93 octane, which isn’t very common), which is shipped to the front or all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic. It’s hardly fast at about eight seconds to 60 mph, but it’s plenty of power for what’s an around-town crossover anyway.
The standard Edge rides on a four-wheel independent suspension that controls body motions well and its steering is precise. It tracks easily down highways and smothers uneven roads well, but tall wheels can harsh the Edge’s ride.
The Edge ST gets a 335-hp 2.7-liter V-6 (rated on 93 octane, again) that shuttles power to all four wheels via the same 8-speed. The ST can hit 60 mph in less than six seconds, and its revised steering, suspension, and available performance brakes can confidently handle just about any curvy road. The ST is shod with 20- or 21-inch wheels, which stiffens the ride considerably.
Comfort & Quality
Reasonably comfortable and very spacious, the Edge steers toward the middle among crossovers.
Five will fit in the 2021 Ford Edge, but its seats are like our bank accounts: We could always use more padding.
Starting from an average score, the Edge gets points in its favor for its ability to haul people and cargo equally. It’s a 7 for comfort.
Starting up front, the Edge is equipped in base models with cloth seats that aren’t only uncomfortable, they’re also flat. Spend up trims such as the Titanium and ST get more supportive thrones, but that’s after you’ve crossed the $40,000 threshold. Driver and passenger seats are power-adjustable and heated in SEL trims and higher.
Behind the second row is 39.2 cubic feet of cargo space, which expands to 73.4 cubes with the seats folded flat. The space is easily accessible with a power liftgate that’s optional on SEL and standard on higher trims. (Last year’s kick-open power liftgate was scrapped for this year.)
Inside, the Edge is appointed well with quality materials that feel good but are also old. The basic design for the Edge’s interior dates back more than a decade by now and it shows in the round knobs and basic shapes. A 12-inch touchscreen gives us the tech monolith to distract us from all that for a while, but in the Edge ST it’s not enough to justify the steep price.
Safety
Mediocre outward vision keeps the Edge from a perfect score.
How safe is the Ford Edge?
Very. The 2021 Edge has a nearly spotless safety scorecard from federal and independent testers, active safety features on all models, and good optional safety equipment from forward-facing cameras to automatic parking aids. It lacks great outward vision, which keeps it from perfection here. It’s a 9 for safety.
The NHTSA gave the Edge a five-star overall rating but rated its rollover-crash protection at four stars, which is common for tall vehicles. Similarly, the IIHS gave the Edge a Top Safety Pick after it aced all its crash-tests with a top “Good” rating. The IIHS noted that forward crash prevention in the Edge was “Superior” at avoiding other cars but rated its pedestrian crash-prevention tech as “Advanced,” which is one rating lower. The IIHS rated the optional headlights on Titanium and ST trims as “Acceptable” but rated the rest as “Poor.”
Features
A big 12-inch touchscreen is new in the Edge this year.
The Ford Edge touches all the family-car bases and swings for the fences in top trims this year with a big new touchscreen. It’s an 8 out of 10 for good standard features, including infotainment, and its value toward the base end.
Which Ford Edge should I buy?
Ford offers the Edge in SE, SEL, ST-Line, Titanium, and ST trims with a handful of options scattered into the mix. The Edge SE gets a 12.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, wi-fi hotspot, active safety features (covered above), 18-inch wheels, cloth upholstery, and dual-zone climate control. For about $32,500 with front-wheel drive, it’s a relative bargain.
The Edge ST-Line will appeal to SUV shoppers who don’t need to drive fast but want to look like they do. It’s an acceptable common-sense compromise—the Edge ST won’t blitz many corners or straight in the grocery store lots.
Luxury-leaning shoppers could look at the Edge Titanium, which boasts leather, uprated audio, and creature comforts. But at $40,000 or more, the Titanium is eclipsed by other premium crossovers that start there and are more modern underneath than the Edge.
How much is a fully loaded 2021 Ford Edge?
Fuel Economy
The Edge is middle of the road for gas mileage.
Is the Ford Edge good on gas?
The Edge lacks gas-saving tech like a hybrid powertrain or cylinder shutdown tech. Among rivals, it’s just average. The EPA rates front-wheel-drive models with a turbo-4 at 21 mpg city, 29 highway, 24 combined. That’s a 4 on our scale.
Opting for all-wheel drive drops the highway and combined rating by 1 mpg on turbo-4 versions.
With a V-6 and all-wheel drive, the Edge ST rates 19/26/21 mpg, which isn’t a steep penalty for more power.
Regular fuel is sufficient, but Ford recommends premium fuel. Its quoted power figures are based on 93 octane, which is hard for many to find and/or justify.
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