Living With the 2024 Ford Edge ST‑Line
I bought this car in January of 2025, and it's the first car I've ever been excited to drive. Growing up, I drove hand-me-downs, and I loved them dearly. But nobody was rolling down their window at a red light to give me the Detroit affirmation: that little nod that says the ride passes the check.
My first car was a 2007 Ford Focus, a four-door sedan with a sweet spoiler off the back. My second was a 2011 Honda Civic coupe: sunroof, leather, and tech that went exactly as far as Bluetooth. Both had heated seats, because in a Michigan winter, heated seats aren't a feature. They're survival gear. Between the two of them, the total driver-assistance package was me, turning around in my seat and hoping.
The Edge is the first car I picked because I wanted it. It matters more than I expected.
The Tech
This is also the first car I've ever owned with a backup camera, blind spot monitoring, and lane assist. I have never felt more confident to park. That sounds like a small thing. It is not a small thing.
The 12-inch screen basically works like an iPad bolted to the dash, with minimal buttons. And I'll say it: I am an Apple CarPlay truther. I've never understood why automakers pour so much money into their own software. I want Maps, and I want my music. CarPlay does both without a fight. And the simplicity matters more than people admit. Like an iPhone, the Edge gives you one screen and a handful of buttons. Some new cars hand you a touchpad, a touchscreen, a row of buttons, and knobs. Four different ways to change the fan speed and no obvious one.
The Look
I've always loved the way this car looks. For everyday SUVs, my list starts with the late-2010s Jeep Grand Cherokee (visually, that generation will always be at the top for me), and the Edge sits right behind it.
It has the style of a sports car, and let's be clear, that's where it ends. The ST-Line and the actual ST part ways under the hood: the ST gets a 2.7L twin-turbo V6 making 335 horsepower, while the ST-Line keeps the 2.0L turbo four at 250. What you're buying is the appearance package.
And the appearance package delivers. Black interior with red stitching on every seat, dark grey exterior over black rims and black accents. It looks good any day and every day.
How It Drives
Despite giving up the V6, the pickup is genuinely good, and I'm not just grading on a curve against a 2007 Focus. Around town it's smooth and quiet, the kind of car that makes a commute feel shorter than it is. I'm averaging 23 MPG year-round, which for a sport-styled SUV in stop-and-go Detroit driving, I'll take.
My one real knock is the highway. Cruising at 70-plus, any little imperfection in the road can land like a massive dip, and this is Michigan, where potholes aren't scarce. Maybe it's the suspension tune, maybe it's the weight, but it's the one place the Edge loses its composure. I'll give it this, though: it's the first car I've owned that doesn't start rattling as the speedometer approaches 80. In the Focus, 80 felt like re-entry.
Built Solid
I'd also be selling the Edge short if I didn't mention how solid it feels. This car is a tank. In my old Civic, the entire door would shift when the window rolled down. The Edge's doors close heavy, properly heavy, but somehow none of that weight follows you onto the road. It's the kind of car that makes parents feel safe: comfortable, easy to operate, nothing to figure out. It feels safe, and between the backup camera, the blind spot monitoring, and the lane assist, that feeling is earned.
Living With It
Trunk space is awesome and the cabin is genuinely roomy. I'm 27, single, no kids: I can load the back with golf clubs, drop the seats to move a TV, and still feel like I'm driving something with a little attitude. For this chapter of my life, it has everything I need.
Worth saying out loud: 2024 was the Edge's final model year in North America. Ford ended the line to make room at the factory for what's next. So this isn't just a review. It's a little bit of an obituary. I'm driving the last of something.
The Verdict
The 2024 Edge ST-Line is the right car for someone like me: wants something that looks fast even if it isn't, needs room for golf clubs and the occasional TV, and does most of their driving between Detroit potholes. It's not the ST, and it stops pretending the moment you hit the gas. But for daily life in the Motor City, it passes the check.
Windows down.