Part 2 of our review / road test of the Ford Kuga Titanium
In this second part of our road test / review of the Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi Titanium we get down to the nitty-gritty. Any good, or not?
As we’ve come to expect from all Fords, the Kuga is a good drive. It feels like a jacked up Ford Focus – which is exactly what it is (by 80mm) – but it manages to maintain by far the largest part of the dynamic abilities of the Focus despite its extra height. The engine in this 2.0 TDCi is willing, flexible and well geared.
It’s not the fastest kid on the block – the new Duratorq engine for 2010 will solve that – but the performance is more than adequate, particularly around town where the torque on offer makes it very easy to keep up with the flow without a struggle.
On this Kuga – with AWD – the power is sent to the front wheels with the back only getting fed power if needed. We didn’t try any serious off-roading (this is at best a soft-roader) but we did manage to find a few muddy tracks on which to play, where the Kuga acquitted itself well. But don’t buy the Kuga to rock ‘n’ roll on the rough stuff. Even if you’re in the minority that buy the AWD as opposed to the FWD, the AWD is not for mud-plugging. It’s for on-road reassurance and a bit of car-bootery, not a serious mud-plug. If you want that – at this price level – you need to be going the Land Rover Freelander Route.
In terms of values for money, it does depend what you use as a bench-mark. Compare the Ford Kuga to the VW Tiguan and yes, it comes in at a similar price but is – on the whole – better equipped. However, compare it to the Hyundai ix35 and the picture changes. This top of the range Kuga Titanium with AWD can be compared directly to Hyundai’s ix35 2.0 CRDi 5-dr 4WD Premium at £20,745.
Which is a rather hefty £5,000 less than the list price of the Kuga 2.0 TDCi Titanium at £25659. Which could prove a problem for Ford – and not just for Ford – if the perception is that the Hyundai is any where near as good as its more expensive rivals. Which could help explain why Ford are bringing in the beefier Duratorq engine for 2010. Especially as Hyundai has declined to bring their 184hp version of the 2.0 litre diesel offered in Europe to the UK.
The Kuga is well bolted together and feels a quality product. Even in basic Zetec guise its well-equipped with AirCon, alloys and keyless start, but in this range topping Titanium – with let’s not forget every expensive option thrown in on top – you really can’t fault the level of toys.
So with this feeling of highly specced quality it is a bit disappointing to find that the Kuga is a bit on the ‘Windy’ side on quicker roads. Wind noise – and even road noise – is not dealt with as well as in a Tiguan, which is odd when the Kuga feels so civilised and accommodating around town. And whilst we’re on a gripe, the boot on the Kuga is on the paltry side (smaller than a Focus at 360 litres) and you won’t want to be putting six-footers in the front if you’ve got six-footers in the back. It won’t work.
But these are minor gripes. It remains to be seen what inroads the Hyundai will make in to this market. It has the potential to cause real problems, but for now Ford are relatively safe. They’re still seen as the default choice for a sensible, quality family car. And that is what the Kuga is. It has a lot of compromises, but it ultimately offers what today’s family car buyer wants – and what the Playsation generation demands – from its cars.
A Ford Pop for the 21st Century.
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Rowny Vidot says
I think that Ford has woken up to the hard facts of reality in the vehicle world. The Japanese & of late the South Koreans are continuing to rule the roost in many ways, but what I suspect is Ford Europe is slowly but surely closing the gap. To look at the Ford Ranger, the Kuga, the Modeo, the Focus, the Ecosport and the sporty fiesta. These cars ( with their modern designs) would certain “ruffle” a few feathers in the long run. No doubt the competition is also not sitting down, but they will have a lot to do to keep their current lead. Only thing now is, is FORD as reliable as their Japanese & South Korean counterpart in other words….. Proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
ken dickinson says
i own a for kuga awd ,a jacked up over priced focus neither an SUV or a true 4×4 , noisey and small in cabin if it was not for the AWD on it i would have been better off buying a FOCUS and saving a lot of money .hello rip off britain