Not long after I recently checked in to a specific hotel, I eventually spent the night in a rental car instead because the property was revoltingly disgusting — with plenty of photographs of mold, blood stains, filth, and other aspects of my experience to prove that observation — and also because all of the other lodging options within 25 miles had no vacancy.
The Rental Car In Which I Stayed Overnight Due to a Disgusting Hotel Property.
The vehicle in which I spent the night instead of a hotel room was this 2022 Ford Edge Titanium model with all-wheel drive — and I immediately drove miles away from the vile hotel property just to get away from it.
The 2022 Ford Edge is classified with the ACRISS Code as SFAR — which means that it is a standard sport utility vehicle — and had been driven 5,741 miles before I picked it up at the rental car facility, according to its odometer; so it was a relatively new vehicle.
The class of vehicle which I originally rented from Hertz was a compact car — no, once again, I did not get arrested — so I received a significant upgrade of vehicle class at no extra charge — probably because of the recent sharp increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline.
Despite the classification of standard sport utility vehicle, I had been averaging approximately 24.7 miles per gallon — although at times I was able to eke that up to close to 30 miles per gallon with a range of as much as 465 miles — so even though I would have preferred a vehicle which was more fuel efficient, this Ford Edge was reasonably conservative with its gasoline consumption.
Plenty of controls are conveniently located on the steering wheel itself.
The seat on the driver’s side is equipped with no fewer than three power controls on the side of the seat. An ample quantity of air vents help to keep occupants of the cabin comfortable.
The leather seats can be cooled or heated. Gears are switched with a round knob instead of a shifter mounted either in the center console or on the shaft of the steering wheel.
The console screen is as large as a tablet and has a vast amount of controls for climate, navigation, music, communication, and even games — most of them separate controls for the driver and the passenger.
The front seats have plenty of leg room. The passenger side has a place to plug in a cigarette lighter to power an electronic device.
In addition to the aforementioned gear knob, cup holders and a spacious storage area are located in the center console. A removable tray covers the storage area, which is covered by a wide armrest when closed.
One feature which I greatly appreciated while staying in the Ford Edge overnight was the electronic panoramic sunroof. Although it allows plenty of ambient light to filter through to the entire cabin of the vehicle during the daytime, it was especially useful for ample ventilation at night when the air is cooler during the spring time.
The rear seat can accommodate three adult passengers reasonably comfortably. Each car door is equipped with a cup holder.
Passengers in the rear seats have access to their own controls in the back of the center console — including vents, electric seat warmers, a USB-A port and a USB-C port, a small compartment, and a port to plug in an electronic device.
The tailgate opens with the push of a button located under the license plate near the bumper — the indent can be seen in the upper center of the photograph above — and it closes again with the push of a button which is located on the left side of the door while it is open in the up position. The lens of the rear camera is also in view.
The storage space in the rear of the vehicle was quite ample — and that is before the split rear seats are folded down flat with the buttons on the lower left to yield even more room.
More photographs and text will be added to this review of the Ford Edge Titanium.
Final Boarding Call
I can think of many vehicles which could be potentially worse in which to spend the night than the Ford Edge in terms of comfort. All it was missing was a bathroom — but it was a much better choice than suffering in a substandard and poorly maintained hotel room.
I would have preferred a vehicle with better gasoline mileage — especially as prices for a gallon are at or have exceeded all-time record highs — but they likely would have been smaller.
Overall, I was quite impressed with the Ford Edge. It had all of the technology and conveniences I wanted; it was rather comfortable overall; its fuel economy was decent; and I rented it for the rate of a compact car. I would consider renting it again.
Although I did not actually sleep in the Ford Edge, I did get some work done — specifically, this article about my disgusting experience at a hotel property, which serves as part one of this series. This article is part two.
All photographs ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
