Ford Edge (2016-2019) review - Practicality, comfort and boot space
Although it's five-seat only, the big Edge offers plenty of space for five and one of the biggest boots in its class
The big benefit of the Edge’s substantial exterior size can be found inside. As well as plenty of space for those up front, rear legroom is substantial and enough to ensure five adults can sit in comfort. It’s even better than already spacious cars like the Honda CR-V, and beats the BMW X3 for rear seat accommodation.
Combine that with one of the biggest boots in the midsize SUV class and you’ve got a useful large family car for the school run. It’s a shame, then, that Ford has elected not to offer a seven-seat version here for now, claiming the S-MAX and Galaxy cater for that market. At least storage in the cabin is good, with a sizeable glovebox, central cupholders and chunky door bins, plus a cubbyhole on top of the dashboard.
Size
The Edge is a sizeable SUV, which is unsurprising given that it is designed to cater for American needs. Whereas a Nissan Qashqai is 4.4m long, and a Honda CR-V is around 4.6m long, the Edge is a full 4.8m long. That makes it bigger than the Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC and BMW X3, and it's even fractionally bigger than a VW Touraeg. It’s also nearly 2.2m wide including wing mirrors, which is an issue around crowded city streets.
Legroom, headroom and passenger space
Given its exterior dimensions, the Ford Edge delivers about what you’d expect in terms of accommodation. The front seats are comfortable and highly adjustable, while in the back there’s plenty of legroom and good head and shoulder room for three adults sitting side by side. However if you opt for a model with the panoramic sunroof, it eats into headroom considerably. It’s not a deal breaker, but it cuts down on the spacious feel when the sun shade is in place.
Given how much legroom there is in the second row, we can’t help but feel that Ford could easily offer a seven-seat variant here. Chinese buyers get the choice, but we don’t.
Boot
One of the biggest selling points of the Ford Edge is its large boot. At 602-litres with the seats up, its bigger than anything BMW, Audi or Mercedes can manage, while even the Honda CR-V is smaller at 589 litres. Fold the seats down (which you can do electrically via buttons in the boot) and you get a full 1,847-litres of space. There’s a space-saver spare wheel, too, although underfloor storage compartments are small.
Towing
The Ford Edge is a capable towing car, and irrespective of which model you go for its maximum braked trailer towing capacity is 2,200kg.
