Sometimes you have to chuckle at the marketing-speak of motor companies, such as BMW referring to its X5 as a Sports Activity Vehicle and Ford dubbing its Kuga as a Smart Utility Vehicle.
The Kuga’s a mid-sized Sports Utility Vehicle, plain and simple, although I suppose it does come with some “smart” stuff like Curve Control which is a nanny device similar to ESP but also monitors body roll, and Torque Vectoring Control which reduces understeer in tight corners.
I guess it’s also smart that the new Kuga’s all-wheel-drive is an “intelligent” system which varies torque distribution between the front and rear axles based on driving conditions, and the car offers extra-cost optional features like adaptive cruise control, active park assist and a lane-keeping aid. Less smart is the fuel consumption achieved by the Kuga AWD version we tested, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Launched here in April in a range of petrol and diesel models in two- and all-wheel-drive, the new Kuga is longer, lower and narrower than the first-generation Kuga, which had just a brief 18-month lifespan in this country, and offers more all-round interior space.
The cabin’s fairly roomy and takes four adults with ease, or five at a push, and apart from good legroom the rear passengers get folding tray tables and the ability to adjust the angle of their backrests.
The 456-litre boot takes a reasonable if not huge amount of luggage, but expands to a very useful 1653 litres with the rear seats folded. Under the cargo floor resides a medium-sized 155mm spare wheel, which is a little wider than the usual biscuit-thin spacesaver.
TURBO MUSCLE
Powering the subject of this test, the Kuga 1.6 Trend AWD, is a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine. With its 134kW and 240Nm outputs the car delivered acceptable muscle even when we packed the car with four passengers and stuffed the boot full of luggage. There’s little evidence of turbo lag and the revs pick up quickly, though the four-cylinder engine becomes rather vocal, and not in a charismatic way, as the tachometer needle sweeps towards the red line.
The Kuga has a pleasantly zippy nature around town and never feels underendowed, especially so when the six-speed automatic transmission’s in Sports mode, while out on the open road the cruiseability and overtaking punch elicit no complaints either. Ford’s quoted sea-level performance figures are 0-100km/h in 9.7 seconds and a 200km/h top speed.
The all-wheel-drive Kuga’s main downfall is that it’s a thirsty beast, and our test car quaffed 11.2 litres per 100km in mostly open-road driving, which is nowhere near the economical 7.7 litres figure claimed by Ford. If fuel efficiency plays a major role in your buying criteria, the 2.0-litre turbodiesel Kuga AWD (claimed at 6.2l/100km) seems a better option even though it has slightly slower acceleration (10.4 seconds) and top speed (196km/h). Or, if you insist on petrol power and can live without AWD, the Kuga 1.6T Trend comes in a two-wheel-drive version with a consumption claim of 6.6 litres.
COSY RIDE
Ride-wise the Kuga floats along comfortably and takes rough roads in its stride. With its 17” wheels wearing reasonably high-profile 235/55 rubber, along with a fairly generous 198mm ground clearance, it also deals well with that all-important SUV task of scaling pavements without risking bent rims or a scratched underbelly.
The Kuga’s cornering ability is similarly well mannered, and quick direction-changes reveal no unpleasantness in the form of excessive body roll or premature understeer.
While it’s not as gadget-intensive as the top-of-the-range Titanium derivative, the Kuga 1.6 Trend AWD is nevertheless pretty well equipped for its R364 900 pricetag. This includes a decent audio system with USB and Bluetooth inputs, a height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel with controls for the audio system, climate control, electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, trip computer, and cruise control with a speed limiter. Ford Sync lets the driver use their mobile phone hands-free while driving. Making a phone call is as simple as pushing a button and saying someone’s name.
Leather seats and neat finishes give the Kuga’s cabin a sophisticated air, and the car feels solidly built without any rattles revealing their ugly selves.
There’s no ignition slot and the engine’s started and stopped at the press of a dashboard button, but the “convenience” of keyless start is made redundant by the car not having keyless entry as well, and you still have to lock and unlock the car with a key remote.
Curiously there’s no satnav option available in the Kuga range and you’ll have to make do with an aftermarket Garmin or TomTom.
Service intervals on petrol-powered Kugas are only every 20 000km and they come with a four-year/120 000km warranty and four-year/80 000km service plan.
VERDICT
The Kuga 1.6 Trend AWD hits the mark as a medium-sized family SUV with attractive styling, decent space and good traction on slippery surfaces. The 1.6 turbo petrol engine provides decent thrust but it’s a thirsty little bugger, and the Kuga turbodiesel may turn out to be a better alternative in terms of performance and running costs. -Mercury Motoring