Driving the 2015 Ford Edge, the Old New Kid on the Block

There are always those children who, until a certain blooming age, are almost invisible to their classmates. They show up on time, they do their work and get good grades. They follow the rules, stand in the back row, and participate quietly. But eventually, after a summer break, the kid walks back in to school transformed. Maybe it was the summer away at the grandparents on the coast. Perhaps it was a sports camp, far away from familiar eyes, or music lessons where self-confidence became an undeniable personality trait. But, whatever the means, there is no more being taken for granted as a wallflower.

Which is how you should think about the 2015 Ford Edge.

Revealed in 2006, the original Edge led the crossover sport utility pack among two-row family haulers, but after nine years on sale, it was overdue for an update. Its closest segment contender, the Kia Sorento, was only about 6,000 units behind in 2014, and the Sorento came early to the 2015 model year with a massive step up in the design, drive, and technology contest.

While it could never be called ugly, the exterior of the outgoing Edge just was always plain: like a slightly washed away bar of Dove soap. Now, the 2015 Edge is a piece of sculpture. The Edge still has the short hood and raked windshield, while the biggest changes on the exterior can be seen in the surface language. The body panels are carved and expressive. Lights are integrated into the overall design, giving the Edge a more nimble air. Of all of the attractive fluid swells, the least sensible is the raised ridges on the hood, pointing from the windshield down to the grille. They are reminiscent of driving guides that might be found on mountain-capable Land Rovers and serve to give the driver guidance where to place tires when driving through treacherous, rocky terrain. The Edge’s hood ridges serve an aerodynamic function, but are so dramatic that they do require getting used to seeing from the driver’s seat.

With about 17 percent of all new Edge buyers coming from luxury brands, the goals for the interior redesign were to raise the bar for Ford and expectations for car shoppers. Gone are the inconsistent surfaces and color variations. Hard plastics and make-do design have given way to a desirable holism. Ford likes to call the new interior for 2015 a “dynamic sanctuary.” And with an additional 7 cubic feet of space behind the 2^nd row and an extra 4.5 cubic-feet behind the front row, there is a lot more room to luxuriate in.

Adding to the roominess is one of the largest sunroofs available in the industry, and the more esoteric effect of having acoustic windshield glass standard in every trim. An 8-inch LCD touch screen with SYNC with MyFord Touch is standard on Titanium and Sport models and optional elsewhere, and there are several new technologies throughout. Enhanced Active Park Assist will now do both parallel and perpendicular parking; there’s also adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, auto start-stop technology, a blind spot warning system, a new 180-degree front camera with washer, standard rear camera with front and rear sensors, cross-traffic alert, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, and a hands-free lift gate. Command central to all of the technology available is a redesigned center stack and instrument panel that make all of the elements merge together almost seamlessly.

But how does it drive? We were given the opportunity to drive both the Sport and new Titanium trims. Cornering in the Titanium trim (starting at $37,390) around winding roads north of Scottsdale, Arizona was pleasant and because of the lane-keeping systems and Curve Control, it never felt like driving was fighting. The new Edge has shed a little weight and gained some 26 percent more body stiffness, and that was more than apparent when driving. The Titanium trim is available with two different powerplants: a standard twin-scroll 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo or the carryover normally aspirated 3.5-liter V6.

Stepping into the Sport trim level ($39,890) was a different beast. First, the Sport had the 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine, a twin-turbo unit with 315 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. A hard right during city driving in sport mode in the Sport trim was tight – almost giving a retro feedback to the days of no power steering. That’s not a bad thing for a driver who likes to feel the road, and it is entirely due to the fact that the Sport was given a 15 percent increase in stiffness over the base model.

Looking further into the engines, the SE ($29,890), SEL ($33,290), and Titanium trims will have two engine options, and the new 2.7-liter EcoBoost is the most exciting, by far. The single turbo 2-liter four-cylinder has 245 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque, good enough for a 3,500-lb. tow rating shared throughout the lineup. The four-cylinder should get 20 mpg in the city and a whopping 30 mpg on the highway; the all-wheel drive Edge is betting on numbers within a single digit. The oldest engine of the 2015 Edge trio, the 3.5 V-6, only eeks out 25 more horsepower and 5 lb-ft than the super-efficient four, and is expected to get a combined MPG of only 21 for the front-wheel drive and 20 for the all-wheel drive.

Why would Ford continue to offer the V-6, when the 2.7 has usurped its place on top of the line? As a $500 upgrade from the 2-liter EcoBoost, maybe more cylinders is seen as “more premium” — but the four-cylinder should be sufficient for many. The 2015 Ford Edge is returning to the highly competitive utility segment transformed, and will surely be hanging out with more of the cool kids than ever.

Disclosure: For this article, the writer’s transportation, meals and lodging costs were paid for by one or more subjects of the article. Yahoo does not promise to publish any stories or provide coverage to any individual or entity that paid for some or all of the costs of any of our writers to attend an event.