The Ford Edge, that is. The eye-catching crossover, significantly refreshed for the 2011 model year, has now been tested by the EPA and officially certified as having unsurpassed fuel efficiency in its class: 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway. And while that shouldn’t be unexpected given Ford’s commitment to improving fuel savings across its lineup, here’s a surprise: The Edge now also boasts the most standard horsepower in its class as well.
The key to this kind of performance is Ford’s new 3.5-liter V6 engine, which leverages a wide range of advanced powertrain technologies. These include twin independent variable camshaft timing to optimize airflow, piston-cooling oil jets for a higher compression ratio, polished valvetrain buckets for reduced friction and a revised cylinder head that helps the whole powerplant run more efficiently. As a result, not only did the Edge achieve significant efficiency gains, it gained a significant 20-hp power boost as well. The 2011 model will pack 285 horses under the hood.
That mill is just one of three new engines available on the new Edge. The Edge Sport will holster a more powerful 3.7-liter that ups the ante to 305 hp, and, marking its initial application in North America, a 2.0-liter EcoBoost I4 powerplant will be on the Edge option list for the first time.
These new powertrains represent just some of the revisions customers will see on the ‘11 Edge. As explained by Elaine Bannon, chief engineer on the vehicle, “The new Edge demonstrates how a refresh at Ford is much more than just a few tweaks. It’s reworking all the elements, adding more content and improving the look and feel of the vehicle.”
That includes the debut of MyFord Touch, which will take Ford’s impressive SYNC in-car connectivity system to the proverbial next level with a more streamlined driver interface, minimal menu layering for ease of use, WiFi capability and more personalization features.
The ability to get MyFord in your Ford begins with the launch of the 2011 Edge later this summer.
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