2018 Ford Edge will hit the Australian market in 2018 and the starting price of the base trim will be $49,990 whereas the top-trim Titanium Plus will cost $75,000.
The car will be available in four different trims – Trend, Sport, Titanium and Titanium Plus. However, it will only be offered with one engine option. A 2.0-liter V4 diesel engine will be under the hood and the car will have eight-speed automatic. All four trims will be with AWD and seven seats.
Ford’s market research company in Australia decided to feel out the market with Trend and Titanium Plus. Just for comparison, Ford Kuga Titanium diesel model costs $47, 190 with on-road costs, whereas Ford Territory Titanium with a petrol engine and RWD is rated at $49,490, on-road costs included. However Everest is a bit more expensive and it is priced at $54,990, which means that entry level Edge is somewhere in the middle.
The aforementioned engine produces 140kW of power and 400Nm of torque. This car is economical, considering that combined fuel consumption is 5.9L/100km.
An eight-speed automatic gearbox is currently being developed and so far no Ford vehicle has one. Ford Edge is supposed to get this gearbox first and it should be installed before the car reaches Australian market.
However, General Motors is developing a 10-speed automatic in cooperation with Ford, which will be a more logical option for the new Ford.
New Ford Edge will most likely come to Australia from the Canadian Ford factory, rather than from China. For the record, a five-seat Edge is produced in a plant in China.
Unfortunately, the Edge offers only 2000kg braked towing capacity, so if you need a car which will transport larger load, Everest is a far better option.
The top-shelf model has leather interior and a panoramic glass roof, which changes the cabin look drastically. Moreover, LCD screens are integrated into headrests of the first-row seats whereas a 360-degree rear-view camera is another useful feature. All these are in an optional package which costs $4,500. Also, high and low-speed autonomous emergency braking is included as a safety and driver assistance component.
All four cars have 20-inch alloy wheels, but only two upper-trim and top-trim models come with a 21-inch option. Sync 3, which is Ford’s latest infotainment system, should come as a standard option in mid- and upper trim, so as a 10.1-inch color LCD screen with speedometer, tachometer, and trip computer functions.
Although 2.7-liter EcoBoost turbocharged petrol V6 that produces 242kW of power and 3.5-liter naturally aspired V6 powerplant rated at 210kW are in the range for the Edge, only one engine will be offered for the Australian market.
Ford Australia product communications manager, Damion Smy said: “All that we have confirmed is that it’s coming in 2018. All the talk on engines, seating configuration et al is speculation”
Stayed tuned for more information.
