Stalking the new Kuga (From Bournemouth Echo)

Stalking the new Kuga

2:50pm Wednesday 10th June 2009 in

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BASED on the class-leading Focus chassis (although both lengthened and widened), Kuga looks like an aggressive 4x4 with sharp lines and large ‘grill like mouth’ while from the side the high raked rear window gives the car character.

On the road, the Kuga’s suspension is excellent, smoothing out the worst of the road irregularities while offering secure handling. It’s unusual to be sitting so high and have steering that responds accurately to input making the Kuga remarkably agile. Even though there is slight body roll as you enter a corner, the Kuga stays flat in the bends and demonstrates a level of stability that’s unusual in something so tall.

When it comes to driving power, the only offering is the tried and tested Ford 2.0TDCi turbo diesel which produces a healthy 136bhp with a whopping 320Nm of torque. Zero to 60mph is achieved in 10.7 seconds with an average 44.1mpg if driven sensibly. On the motorway there is some wind noise but overall Ford has done a good job of keeping outside noise ‘outside’.

For the business user the real bonus is the class leading CO2 emissions producing just 169g/km. The way Ford has achieved this is by making the Kuga front wheel drive most of the time, however if things do get a little sticky as much as 50 per cent of the torque can be delivered to the rear wheels.

The Kuga has had its ride height increased by 80mm compared to the Focus giving the ability to do some light green laning. The Kuga does not have ‘hill decent’, but it is claimed that the Kuga will descend angles up to 25 degrees.

It is unlikely that the Kuga will be used off road by the majority of its owners, however should the need arise rest assured the Kuga will deliver the goods.

The Kuga has ample storage space and handy hiding areas for valuables. The cavernous front centre armrest has a deep storage area, which includes a docking for an i-pod through the upgraded Sony stereo. The glove box is also large and would easily store a small laptop. There are ‘lift up covers’ in the rear passenger foot wells, which provide ‘out of sight’ storage for cameras or other valuable items.

The Kuga’s boot is easily accessed by the flat loading area and includes a 60/40-split fold rear seat, which gives a maximum load area of 1,355 litres when the seats are laid flat.

Rear passengers are given plenty of headroom and adequate legroom. The driver and passenger seats are firm and supportive. The Kuga sports a similar dashboard to the Focus; the controls are well placed and have a luxurious feel to them.

A long list of standard features includes: electric folding mirrors; electric windows; heated front and rear screen; dual climate control and a six speed gearbox.

Safety features include: ABS, EBD, ESP and six air bags as standard which has given it the highest Euro NCAP rating of five stars.

Kuga is available with low-rate finance and a £1,000 deposit allowance with prices starting from £20,500 for the Zetec and £22,500 for the Titanium.