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When we first saw the Ford Edge, we were surprised to discover it is much bigger than it appears in photographs. The reason is immediately apparent, it has a very wide track and a longish wheelbase. Indeed, upon checking the specs, you'll find the Edge is about eight inches shorter than the Ford Explorer, yet its wheelbase is barely two inches shorter. Perhaps more important, the track on the Edge is over four inches greater, while the overall width is just one inch greater. What does all this mean?

First off, it makes the car look much more solid: The four wheels are near each corner giving the Ford Edge a look of being planted firmly on the road. More important, this is not just about looks. A long wheelbase and wide track make for a more stable vehicle because the mass of the vehicle is inside the wheels. A go-kart is the ultimate expression of this look. We're not suggesting the Edge looks like a go-kart, but its aggressive stance makes it stand apart from the tippy look of traditional SUVs with relatively narrow track measurements and massive front and rear overhangs.

The Edge features Ford's newly rediscovered bold, American design. The big chrome grille is placed well forward and has wide chrome slats that merge into the relatively small headlights at each side. The high hood is short as the windshield rakes forward more like a sports car or modern minivan.

Despite having a relatively high waist line with shallow side windows, the Edge does not appear as stubby as photographs sometimes suggest. The sporty look is helped by pronounced fender flares and large wheels. The rear tailgate slopes quite significantly and is nicely rounded, avoiding the truck-like rear tailgates found on many SUVs. We found the rear design to be a cross between a Lexus RX and a BMW X3, which cannot be a bad thing.

To top it all off, the optional Vista Roof adds expansive twin glass moonroofs that cover the whole roof providing all passengers with a clear view of the sky. There is only a foot-wide panel between the front and rear panels that is not transparent.

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Utility used to mean just the ability to carry stuff. Comfort and style were secondary, even mutually exclusive. No more. The Ford Edge manages to provide plenty of utility and a stylish, comfortable interior. Starting at the back, the tailgate lifts to reveal a wide opening. And even when the rear seats are in place there's a reasonable amount of cargo room.

Pressing a button automatically reclines the rear seats to give a total of nearly 70 cubic feet of storage on a nearly flat floor. Furthermore, the front passenger seatback can be folded forward to provide a mostly level floor space for long objects all the way to the dashboard. The rear seatback splits 60/40 for increased versatility and the back reclines several degrees on all models for improved rear-seat comfort.

The rear seats offer a decent amount of leg room; in fact there's two inches more here than you'll find in the larger Ford Explorer. Headroom is also reasonable in the rear, even with the optional Sky Vista roof. The rear-center passenger even gets more room than normal in a vehicle of this size, thanks to the wide track. Getting in and out is easier due to the rear wheels being placed well back allowing for less intrusion from the wheel well.

Front-seat occupants find a generous amount of room, again largely due to the vehicle's generous width. There is a large center console with a storage box big enough for a laptop computer. There are two decent cupholders alongside the substantial looking transmission shifter. The center stack is angled outwards to make the large knobs for the climate and entertainment controls easy to reach.

The four gauges are well recessed in their individual binnacles in the instrument pod in front of the steering wheel. About the only complaint in the cockpit we had during our test drive was the large number of reflections in the heavily raked windshield caused by the large shiny top surface of the dashboard. Ford ensured us this problem would be largely rectified in production vehicles through the use of less glossy materials.