Ford Rolls Out Big Guns ; Sport Utility Vehicles Have Staying Power

Crossover utility vehicles - designed as gentler-riding, more fuel efficient, SUV-like vehicles - are growing in number for 2007, but Ford Motor Co. isn't quite done with big SUVs yet.

Here are details of models from Ford's divisions, foreign and domestic:

Ford

The 2007 Edge is Ford's entry into the busy crossover utility vehicle segment that seeks to mix car and SUV attributes. The Edge rides on a platform also used in the Fusion sedan. The five- passenger Edge sits up higher, though, and has a new, 265- horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6.

Explorer Sport Trac is given the updates that went into the Explorer SUV for 2006, and a V-8. The 292-horsepower, 4.6 V-8 boosts the Sport Trac towing capacity to 6,800 pounds.

The most powerful, most expensive Mustang is offered for 2007. The Shelby GT500 boasts a 500-horsepower, 5.4-liter, supercharged V- 8 and the look of a classic Shelby. Priced at more than $41,000, the Shelby GT500 is sold as a coupe and convertible.

There's a new Expedition EL SUV with a body that's extended nearly 15 inches over the regular Expedition for an additional 24 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. It's bigger to replace the huge Excursion SUV, which has died. Like all Expeditions, the EL has a 300-horsepower, 5.4-liter V-8.

The starting price of the gasoline-electric Escape Hybrid is $1,200 less than the 2006 model.

The GT supercar with a 550-horsepower supercharged V-8 and exotic race-car looks is no longer offered.

Jaguar

The big news is the XK sports car that debuted early as a coupe and convertible.

The styling of the four-seat, rear-drive luxury car is sleeker. XK is lighter than before because of aluminum construction. The power top has a hard boot that comes down automatically after the fabric roof folds and stores.

Power comes from a 300-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8, but the uplevel XKR models have a supercharged 420 horsepower. Starting price is just over $75,000 for the coupe, $81,000 for the convertible and $86,000 for the XKR.

Land Rover

Land Rover replaces its slow-selling, small Freelander SUV with the LR2. It has the styling of the larger LR3 but rides on a platform used by some Volvo cars. The compact LR2 seats five and is powered by a 230-horsepower, 3.2-liter, inline, six-cylinder.

Land Rover also updates its large Range Rover with a new dashboard and refinements.

Lincoln

Lincoln gets its first crossover vehicle, the MKX. Replacing the more traditional Aviator SUV, the five-passenger MKX has a more carlike ride, and options include heated and cooled front seats. The engine is the same 265-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 that's in the sibling Ford Edge.

Lincoln's full-size, luxury Navigator SUV is newly styled for 2007 with an aggressive-looking "powerdome" hood and chrome-laden grille. There's a stiffer frame and revised rear suspension, but the engine remains a 300-horsepower, 5.4-liter V-8.

This big SUV also has a new L model that's nearly 15 inches longer than a regular Navigator, providing 25 more cubic feet of cargo room.

The Zephyr midsize sedan is renamed the MKZ and gets freshened exterior styling plus a new, 263-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6.

The Mark LT pickup is available with a longer bed - 6.5 feet - for 10 more cubic feet of cargo capacity.

The aged midsize LS sedan is gone from the lineup.

Mazda

The MX-5 Miata roadster is available with a power retractable hardtop, making it the lowest-priced power hardtop convertible on the market, at less than $25,000.

The Mazda3 sedan and hatchback have freshened styling. A performance Mazdaspeed3 model debuts with 18-inch wheels and tires, retuned suspension, and a 264-horsepower, 2.3-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine.

The crossover CX-7 arrived as an early 2007 model. The five- seat, five-door CX-7 looks like a tallish wagon and is powered by a 244-horsepower version of the same engine that's in the Mazdaspeed3.

It will be joined by a larger CX-9, 16 inches longer, with third- row seating and a 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6. There's no turbo in this people hauler.

The MPV minivan ended with the 2006 model year.

Volvo

The S80 gets a 4.4-liter V-8 providing 311 horsepower. With new styling and suspension settings, the S80 retains a base, 235- horsepower, 3.2-liter, inline, six-cylinder engine.

The S60 is mildly restyled at the front and back, and the XC90 SUV's base, 2.5-liter, turbocharged, five-cylinder is replaced by the engine that's in the S80.

Other changes

MERCURY: The Milan adds all-wheel drive, and six air bags are standard on all models. The base price for the Mariner Hybrid is reduced to less than $29,000.

ASTON MARTIN: New seats with side-mounted air bags are installed in the DB9 and V-8 Vantage cars.

(c) 2006 Augusta Chronicle, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.