The 2019 Ford Edge qualifies for a TOP SAFETY PICK award when equipped with specific headlights, becoming the first model from the brand to qualify for a 2019 award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.
The Edge, a midsize SUV, last qualified for an IIHS safety award under the 2015 criteria. Criteria for TOP SAFETY PICK awards change each year, and the Edge has been held back in recent years partly by an acceptable rating in the driver-side small overlap crash test.
Beginning with the 2019 model year, the Edge was modified using the same body and bumper structure as the Lincoln Nautilus. It now earns a good rating in both the driver-side and passenger-side small overlap crash tests. The Edge also earns good ratings in the Institute’s four other crashworthiness evaluations.
The 2019 model also demonstrates improvements in headlight performance. Its available curve-adaptive LED projector headlights earn an acceptable rating for models built after March. The same headlights on models built earlier earn a poor rating, largely due to excessive glare. The Edge’s base headlights — static LED projectors — rate poor, regardless of build date.
The Edge comes with a standard front crash prevention system that rates superior for its ability to react to an imminent crash with another vehicle. In track tests, the system avoided collisions in both 12 and 25 mph tests. The SUV is also available with an optional system that also rates superior.
The Edge has not yet been rated for pedestrian crash prevention.
While the Edge earns the year’s first safety award for the Ford brand, Ford Motor Company’s luxury brand, Lincoln, previously earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+ award for the 2019 Continental.
