Ford Kuga

Ford’s first foray into the soft-roader, mini-SUV market proves the old adage about being last but not least. Won’t go up mountains, but will do most of the other things buyers expect of these cars. It’s a Ford, so dealer service will be middling

• Comfort

  You’ve got one of those classic sit-up-and-beg seating positions so comfort there is pretty good. There aren’t any complaints about the ride either, as it’s really well damped and never gets ruffled. The diesel engine is as quiet as they come.

  

• Performance

  There are two engines, a 2.0-litre diesel with 135bhp and a 200bhp, turbocharged 2.5-litre petrol but so far we've only driven the former. Turn the key and push the crisp little 'Ford Power' button nestling between the air vents at the top of the centre console, and the engine rumbles into life. It's not the sweetest unit at idle, but there's still an immediate sense that you're in charge of a thoroughly well-engineered machine. It feels German (which it is - the Kuga is manufactured in Ford's Saarlouis plant). On the move the TDCi is strong and flexible and offers the right amount of performance for a soft-roader of this size.

  

• Cool

  Can a soft-roader ever be cool? Not really I’m afraid. These things say so much about you having to join the crowd that you’ll lose any sense of coolness. Too desperate, that’s what you are.

  

• Quality

  Up to Ford's recent high, VW-like standards with good quality plastics, tight fitting panels and positive feeling switches. There are other nice touches, like the little rippled panel above the glove-box, the plastic surrounding the handbrake, and the inserts on the interior door-grabs. Only the Volvo XC0 can match it in the compact SUV market, and that's far more costly.

  

• Handling

  There are few surprises here, but no shocks either: with MacPherson struts at the front and Focus-style control blade suspension at the rear, the Kuga rides beautifully without hurting handling. Its increased centre of gravity is only a problem if you begin asking Focus ST-style questions of it; the rest of the time, it's just fine. The steering is an electro-hydraulic set-up, and though you can choose between 'standard', 'comfort' and 'sport' settings, the fact that you can choose at all confirms that none is truly optimal. Still, it's never less than linear.

  

• Practicality

  It’s not a small car, the Kuga, so you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that practicality is pretty impressive. Lacks the clever interior touches of the Renault Koleos but it’s still big inside.

  

• Running costs

  As with all diesels, there should be long life service intervals on this and the economy won’t be a problem. Depreciation might rear its ugly head if the bottom continues to drop out of the SUV market.