2007 Ford Edge Review

Specifications

If you want to look at promising cars that are on sale today, look no further than the Ford Edge. It currently stands proudly in the number one position atop the crossover sales charts, selling a remarkable 130,000 units in the United States last year since it was launched - and a handful or two in the Middle East and Asia. But if you want to look at what cars hold promise for tomorrow, also look no further than the Ford Edge… this Ford Edge.

Besides looking a little like an earth-bound space ship, this particular Ford Edge is special. It’s the only one in the world that’s been converted from gasoline to run on hydrogen and electricity. It’s one of over two-dozen hydrogen-powered vehicles that Ford has built over the past decade, and like the rest it’s out on the road being tested for durability, gathering data. What makes it even more special is that it integrates the much-talked about series hybrid drivetrain with a Ballard fuel cell.

Without getting to in depth and technical, a series hybrid isn’t at all like the hybrid that roams about on streets today; those are parallel hybrids. It shares the same rough definition of hybrid in that it runs on more than one type of power, but unlike, say, a Prius which uses both a gasoline-powered engine and an electric motor to propel it, a series hybrid’s propulsion comes strictly from its batteries. When the charge of the batteries is on the way to depletion, a power source - an internal combustion engine, or, in the case of the HySeries, a hydrogen fuel cell - fires up, acting like a generator to charge the batteries back up. In much fewer words, it’s like an electric car that’s got its own hydrogen-fueled power station. Conceptually, it’s the same sort of thing you’ll find in GM’s much hyped E-Flex system in the Chevrolet Volt, though there are two key differences, the first being that the Edge HySeries is fully functioning and has racked up nearly 10,000 miles in the process, and two, that it runs on hydrogen, not gasoline (though a fuel-cell Volt has appeared in concept form, with China as a targeted market).

In the immortal words of the infomercial, but wait - there’s more. The Edge HySeries also happens to be plug-in capable, which is crucial to its execution and performance. Without factoring in the replenishing qualities of the hydrogen fuel cell, the HySeries’ lithium ion batteries are good for about 25 miles, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s enough to sufficiently cover most peoples’ commutes. The benefits of the HySeries’ plug-in function is that if it’s driven within this range, you won’t use an ounce of hydrogen, and thus your fuel consumption is effectively infinity mpg. Because not everyone’s place of work has a power outlet to charge on, Ford says that you’d expect to get about 80 mpg on a 50 mi trip, which is pretty darned good.

When the fuel cell is factored in, the HySeries’ range extends to a much more impressive 225 mi, which means unlike a regular electric car, you won’t be left at the side of the road, stranded. And although hydrogen is doled out in pounds and not gallons, when the math is done it equates to an average consumption of about 41 mpg, which is still vastly better than the current Duratec 35-powered crossover on sale, not to mention that the only thing that comes out of its neat, trapezoidal tailpipes is water vapor. Filling the 9.0 lb tank with hydrogen takes about five minutes. Charging the batteries from 40-percent to full on a standard 110-volt household socket takes eight hours.

If all of this info weren’t enough to take in all at once, the pairing of the fuel cell with the series hybrid’s advanced battery packs and electrical drive means that the fuel cell need only be half the size of a regular direct, fuel-cell powered vehicle, saving cost, weight and complexity, though it puts a greater amount of strain on the battery pack. It also means that the hydrogen tank, the electric drive motors and the power unit are small enough to fit into a production Edge without compromising interior room, cargo space or needing a specially developed vehicle to accommodate its powertrain.

Another technical caveat worth noting is that the Hy portion of the HySeries, its hydrogen fuel cell, could be swapped out for another power source, like a diesel or a small gasoline engine, but the system was designed for hydrogen fuel cells, which is why Ford has pursued it. It would also need to rename the powertrain, but that’s a bridge that Ford will cross on another day.

To most people, the Edge HySeries looks like an Edge that’s been featured on Pimp My Ride, not a $2,000,000+ research vehicle. But who says research can’t look cool? The exterior features Aston Martin door handles, custom wheel arch flares to accommodate its 22-inch Land Rover alloy wheels, and different window belt-line sills. Ford also reworked some of the body panels to accommodate the beautiful, brushed aluminum filler slots for the electric plug-in adapter and the hydrogen coupling for refueling. And the rear hatch has been painted matte black. I’ve got to say, it’s one of the coolest looking Edges I’ve ever seen. Why the wheels and the funky panda paint job? According to the HySeries’ stewards and engineers, it’s ‘cause it looks good.

You can tell that the people who were in charge of the Edge HySeries program wanted their test bed to be as opulent and comfortable as possible, which is why when you open the door you won’t find a normal Edge interior. Instead, it’s got the seats, the door panel and console from a Lincoln MKX for that extra luxurious touch. In place of the standard navigation system is a brand new custom screen that provides the readouts and status of the powertrain - the what, the where, and the how much. It’s very similar to what you’d find on a Prius, but it’s much more detailed, with displays of charge functions, drainage and capacity - the arcane details that mean little to you or I, but everything to a developer.

In place of the big, chunky buttons that scroll through the trip computer are push-buttons that tell the APU how to operate - to conserve power, to maximize acceleration or to put a priority in recharging the battery. The trip computer’s buttons now reside near the sunroof’s switch. And while the instrument bin may be the same, the gauges themselves bustle with information. Colorful, bright, and full of information, each gauge delivers precisely what you need to know, about what engine or motor is working, what its output is, and what it’s doing… provided you know where to look.

To start, you simply slot the regular Ford key into the ignition, twist, and let go. The dash and console display light up, but other than that it’s silent. After all this, you’d expect some whizzing, whining, or whirring like something out of a science fiction film but no, just silence. And what is it like to drive? To tell the truth, it’s particularly uneventful. And while the “engine” powering this CUV is cutting edge technology, the sort of thing we’re hoping to find in cars two or three decades from now, it feels normal, if a little anti-climactic. But then again, if this is what the future holds, it had better be normal to operate or there won’t be many takers!

Unlike most concept cars or one-off show vehicles, the Edge HySeries is not only fully functional but fully civilized; it has power steering, properly calibrated brakes, and the suspension is tuned to absorb bumps. Put someone behind the wheel of an Edge HySeries who’s never driven one before, and they could easily be convinced that this is the norm, besides the faint whine of the electric motors as they put their power to the ground. From a pure driving standpoint, this two million dollar rolling laboratory is not only pleasing, but it’s serene and capable. Off the line, the Edge literally leaps forward, pushing you back into your seat as hard as the gasoline-powered version. It’ll also do 85 mph, which means that it won’t be left behind in traffic. What good is new technology if it can’t physically keep up with what’s around us today? Furthermore, the HySeries’ brakes don’t have the odd, snatchy, springy feel that most hybrids have, as its brakes do not recapture kinetic energy so slowing down is smooth and linear. Some energy is recaptured during coasting, but the rate isn’t as high as with conventional hybrids.

Provided hydrogen was as easy to find as natural gas (let alone diesel), I would have no problem driving a car equipped with this HySeries powertrain on a day-to-day basis. Even in this stage of development, I think it’s refined enough to sell to the general public, though durability and reliability issues are a different story.

Ford is pretty adamant on letting us know that while the HySeries powertrain is being researched and developed, it won’t be ready anytime soon either, and it isn’t because the technology isn’t proven. Ford has racked up thousands and thousands of miles across the globe in its fuel cell research vehicles, and the components themselves are proving to be robust. What needs backing is the refueling infrastructure - the places to fill your hydrogen-powered vehicle up. Even if a certain Japanese automaker is leasing a road-legal hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in the state of California, Ford doesn’t expect to be a part of the game for at least another eight or so years.

It really is hard to be anything short of impressed with the Edge HySeries, simply because it’s a concept that not only makes sense on paper, but physically works in practice. At the same time, I feel a bit bad for the Blue Oval. Both it an GM showed conceptually similar vehicles at Detroit two years ago - the AirStream Concept and the Volt - and yet it was the Volt that garnered the attention despite the fact that at the time, neither vehicle had operating powertrains. As we speak, GM is hard at work fast-tracking the Volt, but it’s the Edge that’s out doing real world testing right now. And for that, Ford deserves not only praise but credit.

The future looks bright for Ford and Hydrogen. And while the first HySeries-equipped production part might not look anything like the Edge, Ford’s futuristic crossover has certainly played a key role in its development.