So I'm currently leasing my 2015 Edge with the 2.0L EB and FWD, and that lease ends in December. I saw Ford released the new 2019 ST and it kinda got me worried about what I should do when my lease runs up or sooner, and I wanted to pick your brains.
I really like my current Edge, with a few exceptions. One really annoying thing about it is the throttle response from a dead stop. It's made pulling out in traffic a touchy situation since you either gamble and time traffic just right with pre-accelerating and getting the torque to kick in at the right moment or you wait forever to make sure you got plenty of clearance. So the throttle response is one complaint, but then as soon as the torque does kick in, being a FWD vehicle, well, it wants to send me into the ditch on the other side of the road. This is also an issue with passing, throttle lag isn't really there, but passing torque always seems to put too much power into the steering wheels right as i'm turning the wheel to go around.
Since it's a lease I wanted to go ahead and upgrade anyway and get AWD to solve that problem, and hey, since I was at it, I wanted to go back to a V6 so I've been eyeing the Sport model heavily. I want to get out of leasing this time around tho, so I'm basically going to be financing a really expensive car.
While the options I want are purely up to me, I wanted to get a general consensus from the community on a few things.
I don't really like the look of the new ST and I really dislike the new shifter, but I do want the extra HP, the new transmission, and all the new tech. I suppose I could get used to the look but I'd really rather not have a car that screams to be pulled over. I'm also curious what the new price tag is going to be for the 2019 and being new, I doubt there will be many offers to move them off the showroom. However, this is one option I am looking at.
I love love LOVE the look of the current model Sport.This car to me is elegant and a bit of a sleeper. I doesn't scream "hey look at me, i am fast, pull me over". However, I would have preferred chrome over blacked out anything, and I really wish Ford had left a package that favored a chrome grill over the blacked out one. I can keep the somewhat chrome looking 20" rims. I also would have preferred an interior with light colored leather over black. I think I would be more than happy with the 315HP as long as the AWD keeps the tires from chirping too much under moderate acceleration, and as long as I can get as many features available out the door. Maybe by the end of the year dealers will be desperate to get rid of these and I can snag a well equipped sport at a discount rate. This is currently my favorite option.
I am a little worried about the future, and saddling myself with a hefty finance payment for 6, 7 or 8 years might be a little dangerous. I might prefer to get as many options as I can in a 2018 or 2019 2.0 liter model with AWD for a better price than I can get with the sport or ST. As far as performance goes, I've been researching simple modifications and it seems I can get pretty close to the 2.7L's stock 315HP with a lot less money. Of course, now we're talking about possibly voiding warranties and doing damage to an engine that wasn't intended to be pushed as hard. I'm also a novice at this stuff, and I'm not really a fan of cheesy looking addons that can be seen in the interior of the car or dangling around inside the hood.
Finally, I may just keep my current lease. It has low miles and I know it very well over the two years we've been together. Again, I would be looking at beefing up the engine with aftermarket parts. I think I would really really be happy if I could get rid of the throttle lag, the HP my car gives is more than I've ever had in my life and at the end of the day it's honestly enough for me. However I kinda read these throttle fixing mods just do things to trick the computer by sending false readings, and I'm not really a fan of that. Also I'd be down for a tune but I kinda worry putting any more torque to the pavement on a FWD car that's kinda squirrely while accelerating with any steering input is just asking for trouble.
So those are my options, I'd love to see some debate over what is the best option, as well as ask some of the 2015 2.0 era owners how it drives with AWD. If you've driven both, is it noticeably slower than the FWD version? I drove an AWD 3.5L V6 and that thing felt sluggish as heck compared to my SUV. I just wonder how much extra weight it puts on or if it even makes a difference. Knowing the 2.0L with AWD was just as quick as mine might help me lean towards that option. I'd also like to ask if any of you 2.0L owners with have done tunes or bought products like JMS pedalmax or boostmax have to say about the handling characteristics with the extra HP. Knowing a little more about it might help me keep my current car.
I think that's all I had. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your answers!
Mods, I hope this is in the right place, I couldn't decide where it needed to be. If I need to move it please let me know where I need to post it so I can copy the text before you delete it, or if you can move it for me that'd be great!
o/
