amr40509

We are still thinking about AWD vs. FWD. Probably go w/ AWD just because...well....we can. I've had a 4x4 of some kind, either as a primary or utility vehicle, (still have a truck based 4x4 SUV that I'll keep, Edge will be for the wife) for my whole driving life. AWD would be nice, as when there is a mixture of snow/clear pavement I don't want to drive my "real 4wd" locked in because of the clear patches, but would appriciate the 4 corner grip on some of the slick spots. As for towing the boat, we pull a 22 foot and I don't think I've ever REALLY needed 4wd. I've locked it in a couple of times on slippery ramps, but bet I could have gotten out w/ just rear drive. Front drive on a slippery ramp is a bad thing though (weight is on the rear end) so I bet AWD would be the ticket for pulling a boat w/ the Edge. I used to launch a 17 foot bass boat using a full size Bronco. Launched it MANY times at a couple of local lakes that have a gravel/mud ramp w/ no pavement -- no problem in 4wd.

I would have to assume that T-case stress would be increased by towing, but would this cause a leak? I don't know about the Edge, but my '06 Pathfinder is rated to tow 6000lbs and I do tow 4500-5000 most weekends (deck boat). The service manual says to change the Transfer Case (as well as Transmission/front diff/rear diff) fluid at 30,000miles if towing, 60,000 if not towing. SO I assume there is increased stress/wear on that area under heavy load. BUT what I don't understand is how this would cause a leak. Internal wear is one thing, but it shouldn't be blowing out the seal and making a leak. I WOULD take the boat to a certified scale (loaded and ready for the water) and get it weighed though, this way if you do end up having any issues w/ the warrenty you can quickly make a case that you were under your 3500lbs towing limit (or if you are above, you can get a new tow vehicle before you do blow something up). I took the boat to a truck stop and drove my truck/boat on the scale and got a weight (truck on front scale, boat trailer axles on the rear scale so I could get both weights). Then drove off and unhooked the boat, came back on and weighed just the truck. Then I could calculate tongue weight/truck weight/boat weight and know what I'm really pulling.

Ah I see. I'm new to looking at the Edge, so I guess I missed the back story on this. Are you talking about the same guy trolling on other forums, or other people mentioning the bad brakes?? Personally, I noticed they were weak w/ in 2 miles of the dealer. If the Highlander had better steering feel, I would have taken the car back to Ford right there. BUT, this is the wife's call anyways, it's her car. I drive what I want, she drives what she wants. I just want to be sure she is getting a good safe car, and see if it will be a better/safer car in '08.

I agree. I also agree that when this is going to be my wife car, to transport my kids, I'd like the thing to stop like it should. In my test drive, I felt they were sub standard. It COULD have been the one unit I drove. Otherwise it drove GREAT, but it stopped so badly that it makes me have serious reservations about it. So I can see where someone might say that. Now I know that you can drive like you have bad brakes. My family boats, so I tow about 5000lbs on the weekends with my SUV. Even with good trailer brakes, I KNOW I cannot stop/go/turn like I would otherwise be able to. I don't think I am unsafe. I do think I am LESS safe then if I didn't have the trailer back there. It seems like the weak link in an otherwise solid platform, so I think it's fair to ask what is being done to correct it. Brakes are a saftey issue that people would upgrade because to improve saftey. It's not like he was talking about upgrading the speakers for better sound, if he didn't feel he needed better brakes, he wouldn't have wanted to see about upgrading.

My wife has taken an interest in the Edge. We have 2 dogs, and will probably have kids while we have this car (I have another SUV w/ 7 passanger seating). We will be going w/ one of the tannish cloths because of the tan dogs (my last car had leather and got some dog nail marks on the back seat, wife has grey cloth in her car and we cannot get rid of 100% of the dog hair that is visable, I have tan cloth in my SUV and it looks deceptivly clean.) What options do you love about your car. What do you wish you hadn't bothered to pay for?

Wow...so what you are saying is that this guy was trying to get around you because he wanted to drive faster then you. He waited for a passing lane to make a nice legal pass. THEN you decided to be a complete jackhole and block him. Well done. Wanker. These vehicles are not in the same class. Strap a 6000lbs boat to the back of each and see what blows up, the Truck or the Car. They are made to totally different levels of luxery also. Sure one costs more, it should.

Could be the tires, had the Hankook's on it. I felt one or two quick ABS pulses when I first stomped it, then it just didn't feel like it had the power to actually push the tires all the way to almost locked. This was dry/warm pavement. The past cars I've had that had ABS seemed to keep pulsing a bit through the whole process. Then again, they also felt like they were sucking my eyeballs out, and had Z rated, 100 tread wear rated, performance tires. Even my '06 Pathfinder 4X4 w/ it's junk stock General Grabber tires FEELS like it is stopping harder and faster, and also keeping the fade free force applied.

Wow, I'm pretty disappointed at the attitude of a lot of people here! Blasting a guy for asking about a brake upgrade. My wife and I are looking for a new car/suv for her, and drove past Ford on the way to look at the Highlander. She REALLY liked the Edge, and I think it's now in the top spot for her next car (she liked the Highlander, but we both hated the vague/light steering feel). The ONE thing I logged on to this site to do a search for was info on the brakes. I have a background in sports cars/auto-x so I expect to stop in a decent amount of time. On the test drive I warned the dealer, then laid down the brakes from about 55-60mph. I was NOT impressed, they didn't grab well and actually faded in that short/slow of a stop. I did the test again, same result (tried on older pavement and brand new black top -- temps in the mid 80's). Dealer tried to tell me the brakes would be better if I drove an AWD (then I told him we WERE driving an AWD), then told me that brand new brake pads need to wear in...but the car had 550 miles on it... I think there is a good chance we'll buy the car anyways (still looking at the Highlander, but she seems to like the Edge), but if '08 is going to bring better stopping, we can wait. Does anyone know if brakes are on the '08 list?