2022 Land Rover Defender vs 2021 Ford Edge

The 2021 Ford Edge maintained a consistent styling since its 2019 refresh, which successfully aligned its exterior with Ford's contemporary design language. This refresh gave the Edge a cleaner look compared to the more elaborate designs of competitors like the Chevy Blazer and Hyundai Santa Fe. The Edge Titanium models featured additional chrome accents to signify their premium status, while the Edge ST trim boasted a blacked-out grille, standard 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. Inside, the Edge's design began to show its age, with awkward tweaks over the years to accommodate new features like a larger touchscreen. The Titanium models offered leather upholstery, and the ST models included sporty front seats with added bolstering and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with contrast stitching.

The 2022 Land Rover Defender retained its distinctive exterior styling, with a boxy profile, tailgate-mounted spare tire, and flat hood that paid homage to the original version and classic Series Land Rovers. Despite these retro elements, the Defender's design was thoroughly modern, with rounded corners for improved aerodynamics and recessed LED headlights that gave it a unique personality. The modern Defender was significantly larger than its predecessor, enhancing interior space and ergonomics. The interior design emphasized the Defender's rugged character, with bare metal and exposed screws in the door, complemented by metal trim on the steering wheel. The high-end Defender 90 V8 test car featured a mix of leather upholstery and suede, offering a practical yet stylish interior that could handle mud and dirt better than traditional all-leather interiors.

The 2021 Ford Edge offered a 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, producing 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It came with standard front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive. 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, with standard all-wheel drive and model-specific suspension tuning. An optional package added upgraded brakes and 21-inch wheels with summer tires. The Edge ST aimed to compete with performance SUVs like the Porsche Macan, though some found this comparison ambitious. The Edge was refined for its age, but the turbo-four engine in non-ST models felt sluggish. Towing capacities ranged from 3,958 pounds for the base FWD model to 4,525 pounds for the V6-powered Edge ST.

The 2022 Land Rover Defender introduced a new V8 engine, joining two existing powertrains. The base model had a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The mid-level option was a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six mild-hybrid powertrain, rated at 395 hp and 406 lb-ft. All models used a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission with standard four-wheel drive and a two-speed transfer case. The V8 engine produced 518 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque, propelling the Defender 90 from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, with a top speed of 149 mph. V8 models featured an electronic active rear differential, Dynamic drive mode, and unique transmission and suspension tuning for sportier handling. The Defender was comfortable on pavement, with a suspension that absorbed bumps well and minimized noise from the 22-inch tires. It also excelled off-road, with a 4WD system, good approach, departure, and breakover angles, and up to 11.5 inches of ground clearance. The Defender's towing capacity was an impressive 8,201 pounds.

The 2021 Ford Edge offered competitive interior space, with the most rear-seat headroom among two-row midsize crossovers and ample legroom in both rows. It featured 39.2 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats in place and 73.4 cubic feet with them folded, trailing only the Honda Passport and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. A foot-activated power liftgate was available on higher trims. The rotary shift knob freed up space on the center console, but the narrow width limited its utility. A storage nook below the console was difficult to reach and easy to forget.

The 2022 Land Rover Defender featured 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats, which were comfortable but challenging to access in the two-door Defender 90. Folding the seats increased cargo space, a tradeoff for the Defender 90's classic styling and off-road agility. The four-door Defender 110 offered two-row, five-seat, and three-row, seven-seat configurations. Three-row models had 11.4 cubic feet of cargo space with all seats in place, 35.4 cubic feet with the third row folded, and 70.4 cubic feet with the second row folded. Two-row versions offered 18.1 cubic feet with the rear seats up and 51.7 cubic feet with them folded. The Defender's interior design emphasized functionality, with a large caged storage space below the dashboard and a spacious center-console storage bin that could be equipped with refrigeration. Optional exterior cargo solutions included a basket-style roof rack and side-mounted cargo boxes.

The 2021 Ford Edge featured Ford's latest Sync 4 infotainment system, with standard wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and a 12-inch touchscreen. It also included Bluetooth, SiriusXM with 360L satellite radio, and a built-in 4G LTE WiFi hotspot. The Edge ST models came with a 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. The Edge had four USB ports, including two rear USB ports added for the 2021 model year. Sync 4's simple graphics and straightforward menu layouts were user-friendly, and not all competitors offered wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The 2022 Land Rover Defender came with the standard Pivi Pro infotainment system, featuring a 10-inch central touchscreen and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster was standard on all trims except the base model, and an 11.4-inch touchscreen was newly available for 2022. The interface had a distinctive look with muted, cool colors, though the screen required a firm touch to respond. Optional features included a 14-speaker Meridian audio system, head-up display, and a surround-view camera system, which was useful for off-roading.

The 2021 Ford Edge was an IIHS "Top Safety Pick," with top "Good" ratings in all crash tests and a "Superior" rating for front crash prevention in vehicle-to-vehicle situations. It received an "Advanced" rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention, an "Acceptable" rating for LATCH child-seat anchor ease of use, and varying headlight ratings. The NHTSA awarded the Edge a five-star overall safety rating, with five stars in frontal and side crash tests and four stars in rollover tests. Standard safety features included automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, post-collision braking, dynamic brake support, and rear parking sensors. Adaptive cruise control and Evasive Steering Assist were standard on all but the base trim.

The 2022 Land Rover Defender included standard driver-assist tech like lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking, and traffic-sign recognition. Blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control were optional. The IIHS and NHTSA had not published safety ratings for the Defender, which was common for luxury vehicles.