Good-looking, inside and out
The Edge's outside styling has drawn unanimous praise at the office; it's a great-looking SUV. It's got the rough n' tough stance of an armadillo, and distinguishes itself within the SUV, uh, crossover segment. The copper paint seems to be the only one available, since all Edges I've seen on the road until now are in that color. Ah... forget what I just said, a red one just drove down my street.

The overall cabin experience is good.

I really like the cockpit with its leather seats that have contrasting stitching, its driving position and overall comfort. The A-pillars have a pronounced angle and hamper front visibility a bit, but otherwise, the view outside is great. The heating and ventilation buttons are small, but there are duplicate controls mounted on the steering wheel, which is nice. There are numerous storage points.

The only thing that really bugs me about the Edge's instrument panel is the miniscule green lettering in the driver information center and radio display, which are hard to read. Kudos to Ford for recycling the display screens of the 1984 Lincoln Continental.

Loads of space
There is plenty of space in front, with generous amounts of headroom and legroom. The two sunroofs (only the front one opens) allow a great amount of sunlight to enter the cockpit, which gives the impression that it's even more spacious.

In back, three adults will be happy, despite the center armrest. Resisting the temptation of following the current trend and cramming in 7 seats in the Edge, the rear bench is roomy and comfortable.

The cargo area is of average size, in part because of the angle of the liftgate. But by folding down the rear seatback, you benefit from a great amount of cargo space. A power button located on the left side allows you to instantly fold down the rear seat, but you have to pull them back up manually.

Conclusion
The Ford Edge SEL with all-wheel drive starts at $37,999. Adding the trailer-tow package ($500) and Vista roof ($1,700), the price of this test truck reaches $40,199. In comparison, the Nissan Murano SL AWD with sunroof costs $42,098 but its equipment list is shorter. A Kia Sorento LX Luxury costs $38,995. The Mazda CX-7 GT AWD costs $37,195. Finally, a Subaru B9 Tribeca Limited costs $45,195. The Edge is priced right in the middle of this bunch; not the cheapest, yet not the most expensive either.

The Edge is well equipped for the price.