2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport vs 2021 Ford Edge

The 2021 Ford Edge retained much of its styling from the 2019 refresh, which successfully modernized its exterior. This refresh harmonized the Edge's look with Ford's contemporary design language, making it a cleaner alternative to the more elaborate designs of competitors like the Chevy Blazer and Hyundai Santa Fe. The Edge Titanium models featured additional chrome accents, while the ST trim boasted a blacked-out grille, 20-inch wheels, and a body kit. The ST-Line offered the same exterior styling as the ST but without the performance enhancements and higher price tag.

Inside, the Edge's design showed signs of aging, despite attempts to update it with new features like a larger touchscreen. The Titanium models came with leather upholstery, and the ST models included sporty front seats with extra bolstering and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with contrast stitching. However, the interior design didn't feel as fresh as the exterior updates.

The 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, launched in 2005 and still in its second generation, received a significant refresh in 2018 that carried over into 2021. This refresh introduced the dual-screen center console, a defining feature of recent Land Rover interiors. The 2020 model year saw the addition of a plug-in hybrid variant and the availability of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Range Rover Sport offered a variety of trims, including SE, HSE Silver, HST, HSE Dynamic, Autobiography, SVR, and SVR Carbon Edition.

The base SE trim included leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, an eight-speaker Meridian sound system, a WiFi hotspot, and the dual-screen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The HSE Silver added quad-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a 19-speaker Meridian sound system. The HST trim featured a more powerful powertrain and tri-zone climate control. The HSE Dynamic included a supercharged V8 engine, a limited-slip differential, and a two-speed transfer case. The Autobiography trim offered high-end luxury features like 22-way power-adjustable front seats and power soft-close doors. The SVR and SVR Carbon Edition featured a more powerful V8 engine, performance-oriented seats, and a stiffer suspension.

The 2021 Ford Edge offered a 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, producing 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. This engine was paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and came with standard front-wheel drive (FWD) or optional all-wheel drive (AWD). The Edge ST performance model featured an EcoBoost twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6 engine, delivering 335 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque on 93-octane fuel. The ST came with standard AWD, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and model-specific suspension tuning. An optional package added upgraded brakes and 21-inch wheels with summer tires.

The Edge ST, introduced in 2019, aimed to compete with performance SUVs like the Porsche Macan, though some enthusiasts were skeptical. While the Porsche comparison might have been ambitious, the Edge ST offered a decent driving experience, especially considering its competitors didn't emphasize performance. The Edge's turbo-four engine in non-ST models was found to be somewhat sluggish. The Edge's towing capacities were 3,958 pounds for the base FWD model, 4,122 pounds for the AWD model, and 4,525 pounds for the V6-powered ST. However, competitors like the Honda Passport and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport offered higher towing capacities of 5,000 pounds.

The 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport provided various powertrain options. The base P360 mild-hybrid powertrain, available in the SE and SE Silver Edition, combined a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with a 48-volt electrical system, producing 355 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque. The HST model featured a more powerful P400 version, rated at 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. The HSE Silver Edition also offered plug-in hybrid and diesel powertrains. The P400e plug-in hybrid combined a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine with electric assist, delivering 398 hp and 472 lb-ft of torque. The 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 produced 254 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque.

The HSE Dynamic and Autobiography trims featured a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine, producing 518 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque. The SVR and SVR Carbon Edition received a more powerful version of this engine, making 575 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. All Range Rover Sport models came with an eight-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive (4WD). The Range Rover Sport also featured height-adjustable air suspension and a Terrain Response system with multiple modes for various terrains. The Range Rover Sport's towing capacity was 7,716 pounds for most variants, except for the SVR, which could tow 6,613 pounds.

The 2021 Ford Edge remained competitive in interior space, offering the most rear-seat headroom among two-row midsize crossovers. Legroom in both the first and second rows was second only to the Hyundai Santa Fe. The Edge featured standard dual-zone automatic climate control. Cargo space was 39.2 cubic feet with the rear seats in place and 73.4 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, trailing only the Honda Passport and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. Higher trim levels offered a foot-activated power liftgate.

The Edge's rotary shift knob was designed to free up space on the center console, but the console's narrow width limited the available space. The raised console provided a storage nook below, but its out-of-the-way location made it difficult to reach and easy to forget items placed there.

The 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered a maximum of 63.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded and 31.7 cubic feet with the second row in use. An optional third row of seating increased the seating capacity from five to seven, but with the third row in use, cargo space was limited to 10.8 cubic feet. While these cargo figures were suitable for road trips or extra bags, more spacious options were available.

Both the first and second rows provided ample headroom and legroom, combining space with luxurious appointments. However, the optional third row was tight and best suited for children.

The 2021 Ford Edge featured Ford's latest Sync 4 infotainment system, with standard wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and a 12-inch touchscreen. Standard tech included Bluetooth, SiriusXM with 360L satellite radio (with a three-month free trial), and a built-in 4G LTE WiFi hotspot. The Edge ST models came with a 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. The Edge also had four USB ports, including two rear USB ports (one USB-C) added for the 2021 model year.

While the driver didn't need to plug in for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, the Sync 4 system's simple graphics and straightforward menu layouts were user-friendly. Not all competitors offered wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, giving the Edge an edge in this area.

The 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport's interior was dominated by the dual-screen center console. The lower screen controlled climate settings and vehicle settings, while the upper screen housed the infotainment system. Although the system wasn't always intuitive and earlier versions had bugs, the integrated dials on the lower screen were versatile, controlling fan speed, temperature, heated/ventilated seats, and off-road settings.

The upper touchscreen had a simplified layout with reasonably sized icons for menu navigation, allowing users to switch between the native infotainment system and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The Range Rover Sport also had a real volume button, though it was located at the base of the lower screen. Overall, the infotainment system had a learning curve, and while it wasn't the worst on the market, there were better systems available.

The 2021 Ford Edge was an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) "Top Safety Pick," scoring the top "Good" rating in all IIHS crash tests and the top "Superior" rating for front crash prevention tech in vehicle-to-vehicle situations. However, it received a lower "Advanced" rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention tech, an "Acceptable" rating for LATCH child-seat anchor ease of use, and "Acceptable" and "Poor" headlight ratings (depending on trim level). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the 2021 Edge a five-star overall safety rating, with five stars in frontal and side crash tests and four stars in rollover crash tests.

The Edge came with a decent amount of standard safety features under the Ford Co-Pilot360 banner, including automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking (with pedestrian detection), post-collision braking, dynamic brake support, and rear parking sensors. Adaptive cruise control (with stop-and-go and lane centering) and Evasive Steering Assist were standard on all but the base Edge SE trim level.

The 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Sport came equipped with standard driver assistance features, including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and front-and-rear parking sensors. However, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert were optional, despite being standard on some non-luxury vehicles that cost less.

Other available driver assistance features included a surround-view parking camera, traffic sign recognition, driver drowsiness monitoring, and parallel and perpendicular park assist. A head-up display was also available.