When I agreed to review the all-new Ford Edge, I wasn’t too excited about it. Sure, I come from a Ford family, own a Ford myself (my third, specifically,) and have was surprised when I reviewed the Eddie Bauer Explorer last year. This time, though, I was skeptical, hesitant, and fully ready to say something insulting… but I just can’t do it.

Auto writers basically get a chance to test drive a car, but instead of doing it for ten minutes, we get a couple days. Even still, a couple days isn’t always enough. I had a busy week, so I didn’t get a chance to read all the documentation until a few days in.

I’d just come off a few weeks of driving the most expensive, mid-sized SUVs, so my expectations were pretty high. I know Ford don’t make no junk, so I assumed this was more expensive than the competition, and I like the Edge, but I wasn’t entirely impressed.

Until I saw the sticker price… and then I was flat out shocked. All this for just that? Okay, I’ll give it a “wow”, because in all honesty, it’s the most shocking sticker I’ve seen this year. This is a pretty premium ride, and it’s $10,000 to $15,000 below the competition.

I’ll get into what makes it a great car in a minute, but first I have to point out that such a discount can mean huge savings in your monthly payments. On a 36-month term, this car is $200 a month cheaper, which is like $10 for every day you go to work. Maybe it doesn’t sound like much, but consider that buying the Ford Edge over a rival car would mean you’d get a free $10 lunch each and every day that you own it.

If that was their promotion, you’d snap it up in a second. But really, that is their promo, because these are still your dollars no matter how you slice that sandwich.

But here’s what makes it such a gravy ride…
All the power – Even the Ford Focus isn’t a gutless car, even though it’s supposed to be. There’s a few different configurations of two and four wheel drive, but even in all-wheel-drive mode, as tested, it’s got all the power you’d want. It’s not a race car, but with gas pushing the $3 mark, I don’t want a race car. This is about the best balance of economy and raw, angry, muscle, and it had all the horses I wanted.

All the comfort – Ford has never been accused of making cars anything less than totally comfortable. Even the likes of the Escort and Tempo had couches for seating and extra sound-proofing from the firewall, so the fact that the Edge is a comfortable commuter should come as no shock. You can hear the engine when it roars without hearing the hiss of the sand in the wake of a snowfall. The cockpit is logical, intuitive and does its job of doing whatever it does without getting in your way well enough to keep your eyes on the road.

All the luxury – With available leather, navigation, and more creature comforts than I could even try to list, within a few grand of the base price, you’re going to drive out nicely equipped with about as much luxury as you can take without feeling embarrassed in your neighborhood. My Lexus was always my favorite car, but this is just as quiet, twice as comfortable, and has all the deluxe trimmings (that didn’t even exist when I bought the Lexus), and this costs less new than I paid for that car when it was many years old.

All the cool – The cool could easily fill its own article, so I’ll just hit the highlights. First is the window to the sky. You’ll never see a car in your life with a large sun roof, and I mean it’s got to be six-square feet, and the whole thing opens. Oh yeah, and there’s still a window above the second row of seating, which looks fantastic. With it open to the hilt, there’s still no wind in your hair, but you will turn some heads.

The bigger part of the cool factor is this. On the first day I had it, I went out to lunch. On the way back I hit a construction zone so convoluted they had to have a police officer directing traffic. The light turned red, he walked right up to my window, asked me what I was driving, and told me it was the coolest car he’d ever seen… wow, that’s the first time a cop has walked up to my window to ask me about anything but my license, registration and proof of insurance. Almost makes me wish I could be witty under pressure, but it’s probably better this way.

It’s got trim in all the right places, controls at all the right fingertips, and proves better than anything that Ford understands the global market demands for what a car is supposed to be.

All the safety – This should be an assumed set of factors, but it’s got airbags in all the relevant fronts and sides, remarkable traction, and all kinds of accoutrements that keep you from backing into misfortune and otherwise regretting your ride.

All the warranty – Ford offers just about the best warranty on the market, but these days you won’t need it. The feel of the motor is great, the engineering feels tight and the visual review I’ve done since reviewing an $80,000 Cobra a decade ago was pointless. All the panels match with laser perfection, and as much as I drove it, I couldn’t find a complaint.

Half the price – Okay, maybe not “half” the price, but at 20-40% off what you might pay from the competition, it’s obvious that Ford has learned something new in the past few years, and that they’re happy to pass it on, along with the savings that come with it.

Dollar for dollar, there isn’t a better crossover on the market. Ford has always sought to build what America wants, even when America doesn’t exactly know what they want. Today we’re coming to our senses, and this is the sensible car, even if it would cost ten-grand more, but it doesn’t.