Ford v Ferrari rebooted
No Matt Damon this time.
You’ll have read about our 2021 Sports Car Giant Test a couple of months before seeing these words, during which time the Kuga has been busy dining out on the time it rubbed shoulders with another red plug-in hybrid.
The SF90 is Ferrari’s first production plug-in hybrid, and combines a 769bhp turbocharged V8 with a pair of electric motors on the front axle, and a third acting on the rear. Cumulatively, the electric motors produce 217bhp, which is fairly close to the 222bhp output of the entire electric-plus-combustion combo in the Kuga, and the Ferrari’s 9.3sec zero-emissions 0-62mph time is only a couple of tenths worse than Ford says the crossover will do, both powertrain guns blazing.
Unsurprisingly, there’s no Assetto Fiorano-style track pack available for the Kuga, so our ST-Line model is as sporty as the Ford comes. ST-Line brings slightly stiffer suspension that tightens up the body control, but does mean the town ride can feel a little busy. And inside you get sportily red-stitched alcantara sports seats to hold you in place while you’re pushing on.
Except they don’t. The seats are plenty comfortable, and look like they should be supportive, but the bolsters are so far apart that anyone under 20 stone will be hanging on to the over-light steering on a good B-road to stop themselves falling into the passenger footwell. The seats on my 17-year-old Honda CR-V (a car with zero sporting pretensions) are far more supportive.
The Kuga wasn’t in danger of breaking any lap records at Anglesey, but even with the extra mass of the hybrid gear it still possesses most of the poise Fords are famous for. And more importantly, it proved itself an invaluable tool for the photo team.
A combination of fairly rollresistant handling, a decent-size boot and rear seats that slide and fold meant the art guys liked it as much as we liked the SF90. Well, almost as much.