akirby

Obviously they are trying to target a younger demographic. That's also why it's OPTIONAL on the Edge SE and SEL. If customers don't want it they don't have to get it - meanwhile, the techno-geeks that just HAVE to have it can get it. I also don't see any complaints from actual owners about the system being too difficult - only from magazine reviewers who only see the vehicle for a few hours or a day at most.

I honestly think CR will rethink this position after the technology has been out for a year or so and shows up in more vehicles. And if consumers want the technology they aren't going to worry about a CR recommendation. Of course it's your money and your decision.

It works like your home HVAC thermostat. Just set it on the temp you want to achieve and let it do it's thing.

The advantage to ordering a new one is you can have it painted and ready to install then just switch it out and you don't have to drive without one while you wait for the body shop to paint it. The other advantage is if you decide to sell it you can always swap the oem grille back in. A lot of dealers don't have their own body shop anyway - they use a local one. I'd check with the dealer first either way to see who they use. It's a very easy paint job so any decent shop should be able to do it easily.

The hard drive has been replaced by the SD card. More reliable and probably cheaper. I don't see them going back to hard drive based nav.

The OP has MFT thus he only has the A/V inputs.

I think they deleted it on the 2011 models in favor of the A/V style inputs. It was standard on the 2007-2010s.

I didn't read anything in the article that would make me think twice about ordering one. Just because CR doesn't like it doesn't mean that consumers don't like it. CR thought Toyota's were really safe, too. They're not always right. The biggest flaw in their argument is that all of the controls you would normally need to use while driving are available via steering wheel controls and/or voice control. You don't HAVE to take your eyes off the road to use it.

Other than the $750 coupon, not really, at least not from Ford. X plan pricing is not negotiable. You will get any incentives on top of the X plan pricing - that's standard but if you're leasing that's probably already factored in. You can always ask the dealer to throw in something but I'd be surprised if they did much. X plan pricing is pretty close to rock bottom already.

I agree it shouldn't be off by that much but if you consider that the pump, the fuel tank top off and the on board computer estimate could each be off by 5% that adds up to a 15% difference. I still wouldn't worry about it yet - give it time to break in and settle down and recheck it.

I agree this is BS. All of the controls you need while driving are on the steering wheel and/or available via voice command without taking your eyes off the road at all.

1 - the gas pump calibration may be off. 2 - you never get exactly the same amount of fuel in the tank each time 3 - there was an error in your calculation somewhere That's only a 15% difference but it's usually closer than that. I would keep track of it for a few more tanks before starting to worry. Also try getting fuel from a different station if possible.

Not strange at all, but consider this. Most electronics either fail right off the bat due to a manufacturing defect or they last for years or until they get a power surge which shouldn't happen on a fused circuit in the vehicle. Also - in the case of the powertrain warranty let's say the ESP is 7 yrs. 100K miles. Since the factory warranty is 5 yrs 60K miles you're really only getting additional coverage for 2 yrs or 40K miles. Anything that happens before 5/60 is covered by the factory warranty and anything that happens after 7/100 isn't covered at all. People tend to see 7 yrs/100K miles and think that's a great deal when in reality the coverage of the ESP is far, far less because of the factory warranty. Just something to keep in mind.

No - I don't buy them. I self-insure. It's cheaper over the long run. Most of my cars have been kept 2 years beyond the factory warranty and I have yet to pay for a single repair out of warranty, so by not buying the extended warranty I've probably saved over $7K. Even if I have to buy a new transmission or engine I'm still WAY ahead. My recommendation is if you can afford to pay for a large repair then it's cheaper to self-insure (again, over the long run. You may lose on one or even a few vehicles but in the long run the odds are in your favor. If they weren't then nobody would be selling extended warranties). If you can't then buy the ESP with the largest deductible you can afford and finance the plan with the vehicle so that you're only paying a few bucks per month. Most run between $1100 and $1900 depending on length of coverage and deductible. Remember you already get a 5 yr 60K mile powertrain warranty from the factory.

Some have reported better prices via the internet but it's like buying anything else - your mileage may vary. It costs the dealers the same so it depends on how much profit your dealer is trying to make versus the other guys. You just have to shop around. Do your shopping ahead of time so you know what the cost is and you can compare that to what your dealer is asking or you can ask them to match it. You can buy the ESP plan for the same price within the first year and you can also buy it up until the 3 yr/36K warranty runs out for $100 more. So you don't have to buy right away.

I would take it a step further and say that 1/4 mile times are not really a performance consideration for a 4000 lb crossover vehicle. 0-60 would be better than 1/4 mile times but even then I'm not sure it's totally applicable. Can you feel the extra HP in the sport vs. the non-sport? Of course. Most people would be using the extra power when accelerating onto a highway or to pass somebody - not doing WOT starts from a dead stop for 0-60 or 1/4 mile sprints and that power is available and used regardless of the gearing. So I don't think it's misleading even to uneducated consumers. A F250 Super Duty 6.7L diesel has 400 hp and 800 lb/ft of torque but is slower to 60 and in the 1/4 mile than the Edge Sport. Is that misleading advertising? And that's the crux of the problem with the original statement.

I'm not attacking you. If you want to post your "opinions" then you should be prepared for others to post their disagreement with your "opinions". And it seems in this case I'm not the only one who disagrees. You would have fewer issues if you said things like "I wish the gearing had been more aggressive" as opposed to implying that Ford screwed up and was being deceptive about the advertising. That said, I will try harder to ignore your posts in the future.

As Waldo pointed out My Touch is brand new and exclusive to the Edge, MKX and Explorer right now. The good news is that the software can and will be upgraded periodically as Ford finds and fixes all the bugs. There are a lot of bugs but most appear to be minor and don't affect everyone. There are a lot of folks with NO issues at all and the latest software seems to have fixed the major problems. Expect to have a few issues but also expect them to be fixed with software updates. I wouldn't hesitate to get it if I was buying a new vehicle that offered it.

He didn't say that. He said if you're looking for fast 1/4 mile times you shouldn't be looking at a 4400 lb crossover. Similarly if you're looking for back seat room you shouldn't be looking at a Mustang GT500 and if you're looking for towing power you shouldn't be looking at a 4 cylinder Fiesta. So if the 1/4 mile time had been 14.9 instead of 15.7 you'd be happy? Do you honestly think you can feel that 0.8 seconds? Otherwise it's just a number on a piece of paper for bench racing. If you had just said "I wish it had been geared more for performance" then nobody would have had an issue with it. But you presented it as if Ford not only screwed up but was deceptive about it to boot which is ridiculous considering we're talking about a 4000+ lb crossover, not a sports car. And not because you didn't like the way it drove but only because of a meaningless number on a piece of paper. Let's just call it a misunderstanding and move on.

I think we all agree that portables are much more flexible and economical, but there is something to be said for having an integrated system built into the factory head unit and voice operated. How much that integration is worth to you is a personal decision.

In addition to being lighter they won't pit over time like real chrome. I'm not sure if they're really cheaper to manufacture - they might be but I don't think that was the main reason.

Nope - you can either turn off autolocks altogether, hit the unlock button when you stop or open the door quickly.

But you get a 4" screen instead of a 8" screen plus some other integrated features. The marketing reason is you want to sell more factory nav units up front. If it's a $795 option that can be added any time then more people will opt out of buying it up front and may never buy it. It really comes down to how many factory Nav sales would be lost (which is really unknown but could be high) versus the number of additional sales generated by having it optional. I think the biggest advantage would be for dealers who could order inventory with just the MFT and make Nav a dealer installed option. But I don't see it helping Ford necessarily, at least not in the short term. If you want Nav - get the factory Nav.

I assume when Ford does start offering it that it would cost the same as the factory nav - $795. Edit - now that I think about it that would probably just cause more people not to order it from the factory so the aftermarket price would need to be higher - say $895.

Do most of the work yourself (oil changes, etc.) and pick and choose the other ones that you let the dealer do - when and where you want it done. A lot of the cost is for labor for inspections of various kinds. You'll almost certainly come out way cheaper that way. OTOH if you plan to take it back to the dealer and just use their recommended service packages then it could be cheaper. But they make a lot of money off people who buy the plan and don't use it so keep that in mind.