FIRST DRIVE Ford Kuga:Ford's Kuga looks the part of an SUV, says Paddy Comyn, and that's half the battle in a crowded sector.
TIMING IS everything in the motoring industry. If we told you last year that Ford had just released a new SUV to the market, we might have said that they really shouldn't have bothered, since they had Land Rover in their stable for that sort of thing. Now Land Rover is no longer part of the blue oval brand and an impending change to the VRT laws for Ireland means that buying a Land Rover is going to become more expensive anyway. Lucky, then that Ford now has the Kuga.
Any manufacturer worth their salt has a pseudo-SUV in their range. Volkswagen has the Tiguan, Nissan the Qashqai and Toyota has the Rav4. They are all about as useful off-road as a fish but then again few of them need to be.
Ford has taken this to heart with the Kuga. Sure, you have one that has four-wheel-drive if you want, but there are no buttons to press to go into four-wheel drive, no low ratio transfer boxes, and not even hill descent control. The Kuga has been designed very much to go where most of these "cars" spend their lives - on tarmac. Plus, with the lowest CO2 emissions in its class, it won't be hammered too badly by the new VRT laws either.
I must confess that I am getting a little weary of these pretend SUVs. I know people love them because you are higher up and feel safer and posh, but they generally cost €10,000 more than the equivalent hatchback and drive a lot worse.
Visually, it really isn't something that blows you away. The "kinetic" design works well, as it does on Mondeo, C-Max, Galaxy and Focus, but there is a danger for Ford in Europe that their products will all start looking the same, much as has happened with Seat and their Leon/Altea/Toledo jelly moulds.
The Kuga looks much as you would expect a Focus/C-Max SUV to look. The front is dominated by that lower trapezoid grille and prominent headlights that run back as far as the wheel lips. Martin Smith, executive director of design calls it "a rugged and tough interpretation of the design language" and there are some neat details on the belt line and on the bonnet that give it a high-class look and a premium quality.
The interior is better, with Ford avoiding the temptation to make it look like an off-roader inside, opting rather to give it a smart saloon car interior with many parts borrowed from the rest of the Ford family. Visibility is good, thanks to the high driving position.
Power is provided by a 2.0-litre Duratorq diesel putting out 136bhp. There will be a 2.5-litre petrol option, but few are expected to opt for this powertrain. The 2.0-litre diesel has CO2 emissions of 169g/km, meaning it will occupy Band D after July 1st, with a VRT rate of 24 per cent.
This engine has been used extensively in the range and feels urgent and has impressive torque levels of 320Nm. It is quiet, and moving off in the Kuga you notice how refined the package is. The wet and treacherous roads around Jerez, in Spain, where the European launch took place, were a good test of the Kuga's on-road prowess, and there certainly are flashes of the Focus's dynamic ability in evidence in the Kuga.
You can fling it about with certainty, even on poor road surfaces and the standard Electronic Stability Programme intervenes if things get a little hairy. There is always compromise by elevating the ride height of a vehicle, and some of the near flawless grip and flat handling of the Focus has been compromised with the Kuga. Having said that, it is unlikely that many of the Kuga's target audience, namely 30 to 45-year-old females, and to a lesser extent, males, will spend much time at Mondello in their new SUV.
When the Kuga comes to Ireland in May it will be offered with the 2.0-litre diesel engine in two trim levels and with a choice of front-wheel-drive or all-wheel drive with about a €2,000 difference between the two. Ford has yet to finalise prices on the Kuga, but marketing manager Denis McSweeney said it will be priced competitively against the equivalent Volkswagen Tiguan and as it will sit in a lower VRT Band from July 1st, a price tag of around €39,000 should be about right.
The Kuga is another worthy entrant into what is fast becoming a crowded compact SUV segment. Its pricing, quality, driving finesse and the badge on the front should be a guarantee of its success.
FACTFILE
Ford Kuga
Engine:1997cc four-cylinder turbo diesel putting out 136bhp and 320Nm of torque
Transmission:six-speed manual, front- or all-wheel drive
Max speed:180 km/h
0-100km/h:10.5 seconds
Fuel economy:6.5 l/100km (43.4mpg)
CO2:169g/km (Band D - 24 per cent VRT after July 1st)
Price:Around €39,000, arrives in Ireland in May