Ford Kuga Our nal verdict on living with this hard-working large SUV
We’ve asked a lot of our frugal large SUV over the past few months. How has it responded?
WHEN I WAS growing up, my parents always had the same type of cars: a practical German estate for my dad and a hot hatch for my mum. Indeed, from my childhood until the present day, they have never owned an SUV. But times change and so do tastes, so while an estate may have been the car of choice for a jobbing photographer when my parents were my age, today I think you’d be mad not to also consider a large SUV – especially when that SUV is as capable and as comfortable as my Ford Kuga.
Over the past few months, I’ve covered a lot of motorway miles in it and been impressed by just how much quieter it is than the Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck that I ran previously. That was primarily a workhorse, whereas the Kuga is far more rounded.
In addition to its superior refinement, the ride is so much more settled and the handling much sharper. Plus, the Kuga proved kind to my wallet, with my overall average fuel economy of 56mpg only a smidge behind what the official tests say should be possible.
When travelling around town for my weekly shop, I found the steering to be nice and light and the turning circle impressively tight, making parallel parking a lot easier than you might expect for such a large car.
Meanwhile, on the occasions when I set up my mobile office in the back and worked from the Kuga, I found the seats to be comfortable and supportive. Even with the driver’s seat set in my rather long-legged driving position, there was still a good amount of leg room for anyone sitting behind it. And thanks to the plethora of sockets and charging points in the car, I was able to keep all of my kit ready to go.
Indeed, the Kuga is well equipped full stop. The list of features my Titanium-spec car came with included adaptive cruise control, a heated windscreen, a punchy Bang & Olufsen stereo and keyless entry and start. It has all proved useful, even if I found the keyless locking and unlocking rather confusing for quite some time; you seem to have to hold the driver’s door in a certain way to get it to work.
My only other complaints were minor: the Kuga’s parcel shelf had a habit of falling off when I opened the boot, and while being able to charge my phone wirelessly initially felt like a bonus, I soon realised that this functionality was rendered nearly pointless by the need to plug in my phone to use Apple Carplay.
So, what of boot space – something that’s crucial in my job as a roving photographer? Well, I could just about fit all my kit back there – no mean feat, given how much I carry. Plus, I was impressed by how easy it was to fold the rear seats down to extend the space even further. As I mentioned in an earlier report, I was able to fit a 6ft-long ladder alongside my regular camera gear with no problems.
Perhaps the most significant thing about the Kuga, though, is its ability to change minds. You see, having spent time in it, my mum is now on the warpath to get an SUV of her own, and my dad is slowly coming around to the idea. If they follow through, it will be because the Kuga showed them how practical and rewarding an SUV can be. Now, if I can just get our tastes in music to align…
LOGBOOK
Ford Kuga 2.0 Ecoblue MHEV Titanium
Mileage 9438
List price £29,815 Target Price £28,337
Price as tested £30,545
Test economy 56.0mpg
Official economy 56.5mpg
Dealer price now £20,946
Private price now £18,619
Trade-in price now £19,553
Running costs (excluding depreciation) Fuel £840
‘You’d be mad not to consider a car as capable and comfortable as the Kuga’