2019 Ford Edge ST

As a midcycle update on Ford’s seventh best-selling car or light truck, the 2019 Edge wouldn’t seem all that important in the big scheme. Ford’s midline crossover has been outsold in 2018 by a couple of Ford’s dying (or dead) sedans, for cryin’ out loud.

Then again, before the current Edge finishes its product cycle and gets completely redone (or not), there probably will not be a single Ford sedan or conventional sedan-based wagon sold in the United States. The Edge is expected to fill a large chunk of Ford’s coming no-cars gap, so it’s at least a bit more important than it might appear at first blush. Then there’s the 2019 Edge ST.

The Edge ST is the first utility from Ford Performance. You know those people — the wing in Dearborn that goes back decades to the SVT days. The crew that up-tuned recent mainstays like the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, and delivered track burners like the Focus RS and Boss 302 and GT500, not to mention two generations of Ford GT and off-road monsters like the Raptor. The same folks who’ve taken care of Ford loyalists who think performance is important and created whatever performance halo exists around Ford’s broader lineup.

The performance-tuned Edge ST portends what Ford Performance looks like, for pavement, in a post-car world. If you read this website regularly you might think the Edge ST is really important.

The 2019 Edge is a hair longer and another hair lower at the roof compared to the 2018, thanks to styling adjustments, and it gains about 75 pounds across trim levels thanks mostly to more standard equipment. Neither interior nor cargo volume (73.4 cubic feet max, 39.2 behind the back seat) change.

Engine choices have been reduced to two, with Ford’s familiar 2.0-liter turbo four used in all Edges except the ST. Refinements to the 2.0T make five additional horsepower compared to 2018, with a peak of 250 hp and the same 275 pound-feet of torque. The six-speed automatic transaxle has been replaced with a more contemporary eight-speed. Engineers say Ford didn’t seriously consider turning the 10-speed auto from the F-150 sideways for the Edge because there wasn’t a whole lot of benefit for the cost.

Those engineers did revise the Edge all-wheel drive system. The power take-off unit at the engine is now liquid cooled, maintaining a more constant operating temperature for both durability and more precise modulation of rear-axle torque. And for the first time in a Ford, the prop shaft and rear axle can automatically disconnect at the PTO, improving fuel economy in appropriate conditions—like steady operation on dry, level surfaces.

The Edge ST gets Ford’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 — the same V6 launched in the 2015 F-150 and since rolled out through other Ford products, with the same 60-degree, compacted graphite iron block, the same aluminum heads with cast-in exhaust manifolds and turbo flanges, capable of the same near-diesel levels of specific torque. Of course, the ’18 Edge Sport had the 2.7, too. For the ST, it’s up-tuned to 335 hp and 380 lb-ft, for increases of 20 and 30 respectively.

In the ST, the new eight-speed gets lower, generally closer ratios, compared to other Edges, but still tops overdrive in seventh and eighth. Ford Performance considered a more sophisticated, twin-clutch torque vectoring all-wheel-drive system like that in the Focus RS, but again dismissed it for cost and anticipated Edge ST customers. Instead it went with the same decoupling PTO in the standard Edge and adjusted the control protocol for more rearward bias. It also made one final, significant adjustment to the Edge ST powertrain: a lower (numerically higher) final drive ratio of 3.39:1, as opposed to 3.16 in other Edges, including last year’s Sport.

With the eight-speed and lower final drive, the ST’s acceleration improves considerably. Ford’s claimed 0-60 mph time of 5.9 seconds is super quick among midsize, mainstream SUVs, and 1.6 seconds quicker than the ’18 Edge Sport (also quicker than a Fiesta or Focus ST). Yet even with the lower final drive and a bit more weight to haul, the ST nonetheless improves mileage ratings compared to the Edge Sport, thanks to the AWD disconnect: 19 mpg city, 26 highway vs. 17 city, 24 highway.

Naturally, the standard Edge suspension is retuned for the ST (though not fitted with electronic variable damping, which is apparently reserved for Mustangs and Lincolns). Spring rates increase 10 percent in front, and the standard hollow stabilizer bar is replaced with a larger diameter — and solid — bar. In back, the standard twin-tube shocks are replaced with mono-tubes. The sway bar (still hollow) is thicker, and spring rates increase 20 percent. The electric steering assist is retuned, and the skid-management electronics allow more driver adjustment, including traction-control off, track mode and all-off.

The ST also comes with a brake upgrade from the standard Edge. Disc diameter is identical (13.6 inches front, 12.4 inch rear), but the ST gets vented rotors in back and wider, more aggressively vented rotors in front. There’s also an optional brake package that adds performance brake pads and slightly larger pistons to the two-pot front calipers, but that will cost you $2,695, with 21-inch wheels and summer Pirelli P Zeros included (the wheels and performance tires are available by themselves).

Then there are the typical ST appearance tweaks, including an all-black, large-mesh grille, square exhaust tips (to go with electronically manipulated engine sounds), and almost no brightwork on the body. Inside, there’s a different instrument cluster, more heavily bolstered seats and ST badges here and there.

All ’19 Edges get an upgrade in standard equipment. Even the base SE comes with LED headlights, wi-fi hotspot capability, a FordPass app that allows owners to start, lock, and locate their Edge with a phone or Amazon Alexa, and Ford’s Co-Pilot360 safety package. That includes automatic high-beam adjustment, perimeter cameras, blind spot warning, lane-keeping assist, post-collision braking and pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. All Edges but the base model offer optional evasive steering assist and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go. This is also the first Ford with what the company calls “lane centering”—the ability to stay in its lane and steer through moderate bends without driver intervention. 

You can buy your new Edge now, starting at $30,990 for a front-drive SE, including the $995 destination charge. A mid-range SEL with AWD starts at $36,080. The ST starts at $43,350 and maxes out at just past $55K with the full Cleveland.

That’s more than twice the base price of a 2018 Focus ST, but if you prefer one of those you’d better hurry, because Ford’s plan to eliminate the sedan (or the sedan-based hatchback and wagon) is underway. The C-Max and Focus have already ceased production for the U.S., and the plan to import a crossover-ish Focus Active wagon from China has already been squelched by the Trump admin’s China tariffs. The Taurus and U.S. Fiesta will end production in the spring of 2019, while the Fusion will soldier on longer—likely two years or so longer, until the end of the current car’s product run.

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We mention all that as a reminder of the updated Edge’s significance. Even in their death throes, the cars noted above will account for about 450,000 sales in calendar 2018, or 25-30 percent of Ford’s U.S total. The new Edge and the Escape and whatever comes after are expected to fill the void. Then there’s the demise of the car-based products that have kept Ford Performance in business and Ford enthusiasts happy and cast a warm glow over the rest of Ford’s offerings. 

The most significant question might be whether the first SUV tuned by Ford Performance can live up to the brand and engineering promises established by the ST tag.

Execution

The updated drivetrain is better across all Edges, including those powered by the 2.0T. Those with the standard engine are just little quicker, a little smoother, maybe more seamless. Max towing capacity nonetheless remains 3,500 pounds with the Class II tow package, regardless of 2.0-liter four or 2.7-liter V6.

The drivetrain is a stand-out feature in the ST, as it should be. The 2.7 EcoBoost is really torquey across the range, but it’s also reasonably smooth and it’s more than okay operating near its 6,000 rpm redline. The ST is really quick compared to most comparably sized crossovers, including more expensive ones like the base Porsche Macan, and the eight-speed is decently tuned as a sporting automatic (though Ford still hasn’t completely caught up with GM when it comes to programming automatics). Manual operation is worth it, and fun, but the Edge ST will shift up on its own at the rev limiter, rather than letting you bump, and it seems overly protective with the level of downshifts it will allow.

V6 engines never sound as good as V8s, or even inline engines, but this one is appropriately aggressive, and the right pitch. The problem here isn’t the cylinder configuration. It’s the electronic manipulation. Ford gathers sounds from the Edge ST’s engine bay, processes them with a chip and then broadcasts them through the audio system. The ST essentially uses noise-cancelling technology to enhance, and here it sounds like that—enhanced, or maybe over-produced and almost staged. After an extended run at full song, music turned down, it gets annoying, and there doesn’t appear to be a way to turn it off. Better to just open the mufflers a bit more and do it the old fashioned way.  

The ST’s steering is good, for accuracy and appropriate ratio or speed, but there’s an artificially heavy feel. Its ride is firmer than other Edges for sure, but fine to our taste. The ST would make good fun for a family outing where you’re not inclined to get too aggressive. It’s more fun in all circumstances than a Hyundai Santa Fe or a Toyota Highlander or a Ford Explorer, and more fun than the label “competent” might imply (though the Edge ST is certainly competent).

As for track-style, more heavily aggressive driving—well, there’s a lot of up-high mass in an Edge that you can’t really do much about, short of something drastic like slamming it and completely destroying the ride. The Edge ST stays nice and level in fast sweepers—certainly more level than any obvious competitor—until you reach a certain g-load, and then all that high mass wants to carry itself to the outside, and the good manners give way to hanging on. There’s some default understeer, too, and even on dirt you can’t really get this ST to rotate with the throttle or AWD—only with an abrupt weight shift. The Edge ST is not as raucous as a Focus ST, not as crazy fun nor as easily hammered as a Fiesta ST, and not as holy-crap thrilling as a top level Ford Performance product like the Focus RS or a Shelby Mustang.

For that you get significantly more road noise than in a regular Edge, mostly from the performance grade P-Zeros pressed to the pavement with a significantly firmer suspension. Then there’s that potentially drone-ie electronic engine noise. At 80 in an Edge Titanium, audio off, you’ll start to think about where the air is whistling off the body a bit. In the ST you won’t, because you’re probably not going to hear the wind whistle above the din.

All ‘19 Edges have the same instrument panel and doors as the ‘18s, but the console is redesigned with space for a contact charger and a dial-type gear selector. We’d take the dial shifter compared to a lot of the balky joy-stick things that are gear selectors these days, assuming there are wheel paddles to select forward gears. The Edge’s gauge cluster is sharper, but the big screen at the top of the center stack is starting to feel a bit small, and low res. The soft plastics on the dash, console and door-panel tops are at least class average in touch and appearance. The hard plastic on the lower doors, console and center pillars still looks pretty cheap.

The Edge ST merits the ST label, in terms of its own distinctive mindset and the performance upgrade compared to other Edges. With the gloss-black 21-inch wheels and red calipers, it definitely looks the part. The ST has a few issues, yes, but the bigger of those are less a function of the tuning and more of the constraints in the basic configuration or package, and maybe in why people choose this configuration or package to begin with. This ST has all the right ingredients. I wanted to love it, but only sort of like it.

To clarify the ambivalence, let’s try it this way. If money wasn’t the sole determining factor, would you take the Fiesta ST over any standard grade Fiesta, or a Focus ST over a Focus Titanium? Beyond the shadow of a doubt. Would you take the Edge ST over any other Edge? Yeeeeahhhh, probably.

The Takeaway

The Edge ST is unique among its mainstream competitors. You won’t find anything like it in a Chevy Equinox or a Santa Fe or a Highlander. There’s nothing quite like it out there, unless you can step up to a (probably European) luxury brand or maybe a considerably more expensive Dodge Durango SRT. The Edge ST is generally well done, likely to get better going forward, and probably the right place for Ford Performance to start on a post-car world. What it can’t be, please, is the answer to what becomes of Ford Performance and loyal Ford enthusiasts in the absence of the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, or the Fusion Sport and Taurus SHO.

Ford notes that the Edge ST can make the perfect life-stage step for someone moving out of a Fiesta or Focus ST (someone who gets married and has a couple kids, in non-marketing speak). But what about the person who doesn’t make a life-stage step? Does she have to go all the way to $60K plus for a Mustang GT350?

At best the Edge ST is a first step, and we don’t really know what else Ford has planned, beyond the announced Explorer ST (pretty sure that won’t be the answer, either). The chefs at Performance hint that they could do what they call a Level One SUV—what the Focus RS is to the ST, or the forthcoming GT500 is to a Mustang GT, or what the Raptor is to an F150 FX4—but what will the foundation vehicle be? Will it be a Raptor-ized Bronco?

What’s probably clear is that if you’re a Ford loyalist and a track enthusiast and want factory performance upgrades and you can’t abide by a truck, your options are going to be limited, and well past the average new car transaction price.