She Said, She Said: 2008 Ford Edge

This time out Amanda and Beth took on Ford’s Edge SUV. Amanda doesn’t go into her current Ford SUV ownership trials and tribulations, but she has a lot of background preparing her for this review. Check out what they both had to say.

Amanda: I spent a lot — and I mean a lot — of time driving this car. Over one weekend I spent more than 10 hours driving it to St. Louis and back, and I’ve gotta say it’s a comfortable road trip car. To be fair, we did have the Limited trim that came with seat heaters, leather interior and Ford Sync. I would’ve liked a little more pickup when trying to merge on the interstate, but it was a really smooth ride and I honestly didn’t mind having to spend so many consecutive hours in it.

Beth: I didn’t spend nearly that much time in the Edge, but it’s easy to see it as comfortable highway transportation. I didn’t love it quite so much driving around town, where it felt slightly underpowered whenever I took it up an incline. Overall, though, it’s a smooth and comfortable — if uninteresting — crossover to drive, which is probably what a vehicle of this type ought to be.

Amanda: I guess the “uninteresting” label is one I struggled with as well for this car. It was a nice size for an SUV in the city — not too big or too small — and there wasn’t really anything about it that turned me off, but there wasn’t anything that totally wowed me either. Ford didn’t really break any new ground in the crossover segment here, but maybe that’s not what it was trying to do. I did think the panoramic roof was a nice touch though; it made the cabin seem really open.

Beth: The only things that even encroached upon “wow” status were things that are extra-cost options on higher trim levels, like the panoramic roof. The powered liftgate was great, made even better by a button just inside the cargo area that also closes the door. That’s especially nice for shorter folks like myself who can have a hard time reaching a raised liftgate. Put together, though, those two features add $2,000 to a starting price that’s already more than $30,000. That strikes me as a lot of cash for such a blasé car.

Amanda: I think it just needs a little tweaking to push it into a place where I’d feel OK spending more than $30K for it. If the Edge had a more powerful engine, or if Ford had been a little more innovative with the interior layout, I’d gladly pay that much for it. As it is, that’s a lot of money to pay for a car that seemed to strike both of us as just “decent enough.”