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How does it feel to drive a Ford Edge in Beijing
Updated: Jan 11, 2021
chinadaily.com.cn
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A car has many purposes, depending on the car and the person who owns it.
The primary purpose is, of course, to transport people from one place to another. Yet the most important one is that it gives you a sense of freedom.
It takes us to places where we couldn't otherwise travel and nowadays it increasingly allows us space where we can count on as our second office, or home.
In a city like Beijing, people like SUVs. They can take you to nearby mountains in rural Beijing to get a bite of nature, and travel through the always congested downtown areas to office.
A Ford Edge was my companion for two weeks from late December 2020 to early January 2021, the coldest days in the imperial capital.
One early morning, I drove it for around 80 kilometers from Tongzhou, where I live, to the remote mountainous area in Haidian for a shooting mission.
The 2.0-liter engine generates a top output of 248 horsepower and a maximum output of 393 Nm, giving me full confidence when I speed up to overtake or drive up the winding roads at the destination.
In terms of dimensions, the Ford Edge measures 4,585mm in length, 1822 in width and 1688 mm in height, with the wheelbase reaching 2710 mm.
It is easy to maneuver and big enough in a city that is already home to 6 million vehicles. Second-row space is generous for me.
And the SYNC system co-developed with China's Baidu has made it easy for me to navigate through the roads and pick one of my favorite songs--all hands-free.
The trunk space is not the biggest in its segment, but is enough for daily use.
One sunny afternoon in early January, I drove my wife and kid to a frozen lake, and his skating kit fitted perfectly in the trunk, and the two-year-old had a happy afternoon with his friends.
On the bank of the lake, the dad of one of my son's friends came up to me and he would not believe his ears when I told him the starting price of the Ford Edge is 169,800 yuan. "It is gorgeous," he said.
When it comes to gas consumption, it stood at around 11 liters per 100 kilometers for me, as I basically drove it between home and office in downtown Beijing.
