DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is adding a new trim to the Edge lineup for customers who want the looks of the high-end ST performance model but may not want to pay the nearly $45,000 sticker price.
The 2020 Edge ST-Line, available later this year, comes with the base model’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder that generates 250 horsepower. But it looks like the higher-trim ST with a special grille, body-color bumpers, black ST beltline molding, black roof rack side rails and 20-inch black aluminum wheels, among other features.
The ST-Line will slot between the ST and Titanium models. It has a starting price of $39,345, including shipping, which is about $5,000 less than the ST’s base price.
The Edge was last redesigned in 2015 and underwent a freshening in 2019 when the ST model was added. Ford is facing competition in the midsize crossover segment from the Honda Passport, Chevrolet Blazer and Toyota Venza, and plans to retool the Edge for the 2022 model year.
Craig Patterson, Ford’s SUV marketing manager, said the ST-Line was created to appeal to customers who “want style and value and don’t need all of the horsepower.”
The Edge ST gets 335 hp out of a specially tuned 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine. While it competes in a crossover segment with vehicles such as the Subaru Outback and Honda Pilot, Ford has targeted performance-oriented luxury vehicles from Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, noting the Edge ST costs less and delivers similar, if not greater, performance numbers.
Ford says the ST accounted for nearly 13 percent of U.S. sales of the Edge in 2019 and so far in 2020.
The automaker has offered ST-Line variants of European vehicles including the Focus and Kuga for a number of years.