2021 Ford Edge ST

Remember when the ST badge meant something?

We do.

We had one of these in the company car pool for a while. I managed to snag it for a business trip last year. The ST specific bits certainly add a sense of occasion the first few times you drive it. And I agree that the power is fun, but not sports car fun.

But that stupid shift knob... I backed into a parking spot, went to shift into park, and turned down the volume on the stereo... I sat there and stared at the dashboard for a minute in frustration at such a stupid, error-prone interface design. Then I put it into park and got lunch.

ShawneeCreek said:

But that stupid shift knob... I backed into a parking spot, went to shift into park, and turned down the volume on the stereo... I sat there and stared at the dashboard for a minute in frustration at such a stupid, error-prone interface design. Then I put it into park and got lunch.

My Fusion (and pretty much all newer Fords) has the same shift knob, and I can tell you that after 3 years of ownership.... it's still stupid. I don't mess it up anymore, and muscle memory has gotten me to where I can operate it without looking at it, but it's still not an improvement on the good old lever, other than it takes up less space, I guess.

i get they arent a sports cars, but they are quick and alot cheaper than a trackhawk. I cant remember i it was the explorer or edge that people were dipping into the 11s with just a tune and a tire.

Opti said:

i get they arent a sports cars, but they are quick and alot cheaper than a trackhawk. I cant remember i it was the explorer or edge that people were dipping into the 11s with just a tune and a tire.

My wife had a 2015 Edge Sport which is basically an ST with a better transmission(6 speed FTW). 93 tune only and the thing was a rocket. Would put lengths on cars due to the AWD and torque of that 2.7 out of the hole. 

Biggest issue with it was the stupid oil pan. Never had an engine that required oil pan replacement/resealing more than oil changes. Ended up costing us an engine at one point from total failure. Ford covered the cost under warranty but it was ridiculous that the plastic oil pan couldnt be sealed for longer than a few thousand miles.

I read that thinking, man, we're spoiled if 335hp in a compact SUV isn't something special. I get that it's not specific to the ST, but damn that's a ton of power.

Ford have very specific targets for improvements in performance, handling, brakes, steering etc. to differentiate a Sport from regular models, and an ST from a Sport.  I forget the exact figures, some are % improvements, some are absolutes.  That's why this is an Edge ST, while the Fusion Tom Spangler mentioned above is 'only' a Sport, despite being able to out perform the Edge ST.  That doesn't mean it's a sports car.  It means it's a sporting version of the base vehicle with carefully defined improvements in key performance areas.  Is it a fun vehicle to drive?  I'm sure it is.  Is it significantly improved over a base model? Absolutely.  Personally I don't want one, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy product.  We had a prior gen (U502) Explorer Sport.  IT was an awesome compromise vehicle when we needed to tow and haul lots of people.  It was light years better than regular cookie cutter Explorers, and certainly worthy of the badge, just not a sports car.

kevinatfms said:

Biggest issue with it was the stupid oil pan. Never had an engine that required oil pan replacement/resealing more than oil changes. Ended up costing us an engine at one point from total failure. Ford covered the cost under warranty but it was ridiculous that the plastic oil pan couldnt be sealed for longer than a few thousand miles.

Interesting. I've heard people complain about the fact that it's a plastic pan, and that the drain plug is plastic, but I haven't had any issues so far. And I bought the fat extended warranty, so I'm not really worried about it, either.  I did look into a metal drain plug, but it was pretty expensive, and mine is fine, so I decided to skip it.

Do the F-150s with the 2.7TT have the same issues? There's an awful lot of those on the road.

This car (I said it deliberately) will forever be dead to me due to a conversation I had with a Ford dealership salesperson.  Slight paraphrasing from passage of time and still some remaining red mist:

Me:  "Hi, I'd like to get a quote on a Focus ST.  Blue, Recaro seats, and that's it."

Salesguy:  "We've stopped ordering new cars, and are closing out our onsite inventory, I don't have anything close to that.  But the new Edge ST is like a Focus ST, but better in every way!  You need to buy that!"

Me:  "Does it have a manual?"

Salesguy:  "No."

Me:  "Does it have Recaro seats?"

Salesguy:  "No."

Me:  "Does it drive like a car, or is jacked up an extra foot in the air for no reason?"

Salesguy:  "People like the better visibility from sitting up high...."

Me:  "Are you selling them for the same price as a Focus ST?"

Salesguy:  "No it's $10,000 more, but it's got more HP!"

Me:  "Do you understand how you've taken away all the things I liked, and somehow expect me to pay $10,000 more?"

Salesguy:  "No."

Me:  "I'm going to go look at GTI's and Civic Si's."

I think the Kona N would be a better buy for this segment no? 

I know in the trucks there is TSB about the plastic pans not sealing due to prep. Ford recommends special cleaners and wipes to prep the surface and a new pan. I cant recall if its the 2.7s or the 3.5s, though. I wonder if you had all that problem before Ford figured it out and realesed the TSB.

Opti said:

I know in the trucks there is TSB about the plastic pans not sealing due to prep. Ford recommends special cleaners and wipes to prep the surface and a new pan. I cant recall if its the 2.7s or the 3.5s, though. I wonder if you had all that problem before Ford figured it out and realesed the TSB.

Last I knew only the 2.7 had the plastic pan, 3.5 is metal. 

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

But that conversation has nothing to do with the capability of the Edge ST, and everything to do with changing market trends, company policy, the dealership, and a salesman who is used to 'normal' customers.

For 90+% of the people who walk into the dealer, everything he said was true from their point of view. It's faster, doesn't have 'uncomfortable' (*) seats, and with it's suspension tuning it will feel 'sporty'.

(*) On the uncomfortable seats.  While I like them,  I know plenty of people who hate the Ford Recaro's in the Focus and Shelby Mustangs, including real enthusiasts who occasionally track their cars.  A friend canceled his Gt350R order and got a regular GT350 for just that reason.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :

Without question.  I even understand the pivot to things like this from a purely business point of view.  They are making significantly more $/car for only a small bump in production cost (or maybe neutral/less, with the way US production and supply chain caters to the light truck market). 

I just wish they would have continued to cater to the hot hatch segment in some form, rather than lame marketing/sales team assertations that the segment will be conquest/conversion of Focus ST buyers to an Edge ST, rather than leaving the brand to a competitor.  It's not like the Focus/Fiesta ST isn't still available elsewhere in the world, so most of your parts/tooling/engineering/development costs are sunk anyway.  Are the US crash, fuel economy, & emissions certs so expensive that they wouldn't make money?

And I hear you on the Recaros, definitely a love it or hate it proposition.  I seem to fit into them well, and didn't mind climbing out of the bolsters to get out of the car.

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

As some someone who spent from 94-2019 working in and around Ford, and someone who's only Toyota product was the biggest POS on earth, I think you need to look to Toyota/Lexus as the go to for sports and sporting cars across their line up.

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

Ford have very specific targets for improvements in performance, handling, brakes, steering etc. to differentiate a Sport from regular models, and an ST from a Sport.  I forget the exact figures, some are % improvements, some are absolutes.  That's why this is an Edge ST, while the Fusion Tom Spangler mentioned above is 'only' a Sport, despite being able to out perform the Edge ST.  That doesn't mean it's a sports car.  It means it's a sporting version of the base vehicle with carefully defined improvements in key performance areas.  Is it a fun vehicle to drive?  I'm sure it is.  Is it significantly improved over a base model? Absolutely.  Personally I don't want one, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy product.  We had a prior gen (U502) Explorer Sport.  IT was an awesome compromise vehicle when we needed to tow and haul lots of people.  It was light years better than regular cookie cutter Explorers, and certainly worthy of the badge, just not a sports car.

All Sport models were discontinued and replaced by the ST trim model in certain line ups, the Fusion was discontinued all together through their stoppage of cars in the United States. 

Id bet that if they killed the ST name off after discontinuing the Fiesta/Focus that the Edge Sport model would live on with the updates that were already planned - 8 speed, hp/torque increase, monotube rear dampers and brake upgrade. The transmission was for the mpg improvement as it was actually slower than the Sport model with 20" wheels and 6 speed.

EDIT - even better....Ford got rid of the 8 speed box and now offers a 7 speed box due to people complaining about the back and forth shifting of the 8 speed. MIght be the same transmission with the one gear programmed out or removed?

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a23654624/2019-ford-edge-st-performance/

The best part of it all? This paragraph on the "performance" increase of the ST over the Sport....

"At the test track, the ST ran to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 14.3 at 98 mph, which is reasonably quick for a 4597-pound SUV that moves on waves of easy-going torque—that is, until you realize a 2015 Edge Sport we tested hit the same marks in 5.6 and 14.2 seconds (with the same trap speed), thanks in part to weighing some 160 pounds less."


The most apparent misdirection part "update" is the Edge ST seats which Ford touted as "new" yet have the same design, materials and stitch pattern as the Sport trim with the only change being the ST logo emblazoned into the backrest. They state they increased the bolstering but from my attempts to find a difference between my wife's Edge Sport and a dealer ST we were looking at(we went Explorer ST instead) we could find no difference between the two.

Sport seats from the 2015+ MY's versus the ST seats shown in the article above.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

kevinatfms said:

Biggest issue with it was the stupid oil pan. Never had an engine that required oil pan replacement/resealing more than oil changes. Ended up costing us an engine at one point from total failure. Ford covered the cost under warranty but it was ridiculous that the plastic oil pan couldnt be sealed for longer than a few thousand miles.

Interesting. I've heard people complain about the fact that it's a plastic pan, and that the drain plug is plastic, but I haven't had any issues so far. And I bought the fat extended warranty, so I'm not really worried about it, either.  I did look into a metal drain plug, but it was pretty expensive, and mine is fine, so I decided to skip it.

Do the F-150s with the 2.7TT have the same issues? There's an awful lot of those on the road.

We had two 2015 Edge Sports and i currently have a 2021 F150 with the 2.7 Ecoboost. 

The first Edge Sport was a buy back due to interior and body seam mold under a recall. Ours got to the point where they couldnt get rid of it. So Ford bought it back. Oil pan was leaking though at 5500 miles or so that the truck had at the time and was in for resealing the oil pan under warranty.

Ford then offered any model through Explorer Sport to replace the Edge for our trouble. Wife loved the Edge Sport and wanted another one. So they gave us the only other one available in the color she wanted which was Tuxedo Black. It was a 2015 with every option including the 21" wheels, airbag seat belts...etc.

It had at least 3 oil pan resealings due to leaks then the 4th time ended up costing it an engine. All within 30k miles. After that we kept it until 50k miles and she traded it in for a 2021 Explorer ST with the 3.0L Ecoboost.

My truck hasnt had an issue yet and im at 17,510 miles right now. I have had more trouble with the wiper arms than anything else on the truck(stripped splining from the factory!!!). Ill keep an eye on the oil pan for a while until i get a warm and fuzzy it isnt a problem on the second generation 2.7.

DirtyBird222 said:

I think the Kona N would be a better buy for this segment no? 

The Edge ST tops $50k+ with some of the wanted options(401a package).

I think a Kona N is going to be around $35k fully loaded? The options for the Kona N is just some small accessories.

In reply to rslifkin :

3.5 is metal after 2018, plastic before

Opti said:

In reply to rslifkin :

3.5 is metal after 2018, plastic before

Do you mean the 2.7? All my 3.5 Ecoboost vehicles (2011 F-150, 2014 SHO, and 2015 Expedition) have had metal pans. My 2019 Fusion with the 2.7 has a plastic pan.

kevinatfms said:

I think a Kona N is going to be around $35k fully loaded? The options for the Kona N is just some small accessories.

To be fair, an Edge is a much bigger vehicle than a Kona. It's 22" longer.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

I think its the beginning of the gen 3 run. Like 16-18

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

kevinatfms said:

I think a Kona N is going to be around $35k fully loaded? The options for the Kona N is just some small accessories.

To be fair, an Edge is a much bigger vehicle than a Kona. It's 22" longer.

I was more alluding to the Kona being a compact SUV verus the Edge being a mid-size SUV. They arent even in the same class.

Kona N is also fwd only, I think.

BlueInGreen - Jon said:

Kona N is also fwd only, I think.

Correct. FWD and 8 speed "wet" DCT versus the Ford which is AWD and now a 7 speed.