£45,500! …For a Ford! I say, is that a Vignale?
Tom Scanlan enjoys Ford’s top of the range Edge Vignale edition
This price tag, for the Edge Vignale with all the trimmings, turns this big SUV into a challenger in the prestige market-place alongside Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz competition…not forgetting Volvo and Japanese entries. That is quite a bold move for Ford. Does it pan out? It appears its well-heeled customers still desire more from their cars, not wanting to switch brand they asked for something just a bit more exclusive than the already premium Titanium. These Vignale models, along with their dealer concierge service have been built to fill that space and are now available in many cars in the Ford range and at most dealers.
Sales figures from launch in 2016 to this August indicate that Edge Vignale sells about 10% as many cars as the most popular Edge, the Titanium version that has had around 2700 sales (in turn about half of all Edge sales).
A first-impressions drive was in an Edge Vignale with Ford’s 2-litre diesel providing the power. Whereas the same engine in the Kuga and Mondeo has 180PS and 400Nm of torque, the Edge is mapped up to 210PS and 450Nm for overtaking capability. It is, of course, heavier than those two and even the extra power doesn’t enable it to quite keep up with the other two Fords in the acceleration stakes, taking 9.4 seconds to reach 62 mph. Kick-down for motorway speed overtaking seems a bit lame but does the job.
It was generally a pleasant experience to travel in the Edge, which is a spacious car both front and back. Loads of information is on hand as is only to be expected in cars in this price range; Ford’s SYNC 3 has an 8-inch colour touch screen with speech recognition (of course).
In the Vignale, the interior is of a more premium nature, than Ford has ever done before. Comfortable luxury leather with soft-touch materials and a well put together lasting feeling. The SUV is very quiet on the road and makes for a relaxing drive.
The ride, on generally good roads for the test route, was fine although not challenging. The steering, handling and braking, similarly, was without fault. There could possibly be an improvement in either the refinement of the diesel power unit or the damping of it, although this was not really a fault. However, the suggestion remains.
Vignale indicates the top specification for a Ford, so the Edge Vignale has certain external styling features so that any geeky neighbour knows just exactly which particular version you’ve got.
Before options, the Edge Vignale test car was the Powershift automatic version with All Wheel Drive and was priced at £41,795.
Eleven options brought the total up to £45,500: I’d go for the heated steering wheel (£100), heated rear seats (£200), inflatable rear set belts (£175), Active park assist with Parallel and Perpendicular Parking and Park Out assist (£150), Adaptive Cruise Control with Pre-Collision Assist (£500), and the Front wide-view camera (£150).
Caravanners would want the detachable tow-bar at £750.
Personally, I would leave out the Panoramic sunroof, saving £800 and allowing the installation of roof-rails; nor would I have the exclusive White Platinum paint at (£280), the door mirror chrome finish for £100 or probably the Active Steering costing £475.
Anyone buying on a PCP would probably not mind the extra £40 or so pounds per month that the full options list would add to the monthly payment……. The Edge Vignale makes a really enjoyable SUV.
Car reviewed: FORD EDGE VIGNALE SUV 2.0 TDCi AWD auto – Base Price On the road £41,795 with options £45,500 0-60mph 9.4 secs Top speed 131mph Fuel Economy combined 48.7mpg CO2 emissions 149g/km Engine 1997cc diesel EU6 Max Power 210PS@3750 rpm Torque 450Nm@2000rpm Transmission 6-speed dual clutch manual sequential mode 4wd
A big stylish premium SUV
Ford Sync 3 Connectivity
Quality build and attractive interior
Fully loaded can be pricey
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