Ford Kuga makes a powerplay to be ‘most stylish’

Published on 3 October, 2021

Overview

It’s rare enough when driving a Ford (unless it’s a Mustang), that someone will come up and tell you “that’s a lovely car you have there”.

I’ve heard that sort of comment recently for a Lexus, an Audi, a Mercedes, and a Mazda. Even the Toyota C-HR I was driving a few weeks back got the accolade. But a Ford? Hardly ever.

Yet that’s how it was with the Ford Kuga ST-Line X PHEV I had recently. OK, it helped that it was dressed in lucid red – but there’s no doubt the designers have really worked their socks off to make Ford’s family SUV incredibly good looking.

Lots of panelling, cut-away lines and discreet folds go into giving the Kuga a distinct personality, in which style is as important as size. In fact, when you see one in the street you are surprised it actually is a Kuga. But step inside, and there’s all the room you want – front, back and rear – for full, family-sized motoring.

There’s a lot of power on board too, courtesy of a 2.5-litre Duratec 225 PS PHEV electric/petrol engine, in which the 14.4kWh battery gives an electric-only range of at least 50kms. This brings emissions down to 32g/km, putting it in the lowest band.

The ST-Line X has lots of special touches, from red brake calipers, large rear spoiler, front-painted skid plate, LED fog lights with front cornering, Sensico sports seats with red stitching, and the usual alloy pedals, black roof rails and 18” rock-metallic alloy wheels.

It all makes quite a package – but the test model also came with an excellent driver assistance and parking pack, technology pack and that lucid red premium metallic paint.

It lifted the test car to a fairly hefty €49,482 – which is more than €14k above the Kuga entry model, and €4.6k above the ST-Line X PHEV basic price.

However, for all the great comments and admiring glances I got, many will think it worthwhile. Especially as the Kuga does really deliver where it counts – on the road.

It was a confident joy to drive, especially as I hardly went out of EV mode. There’s no quick charge system, so you will need more than three hours from a home wallbox to fully pump up the battery, but it’s worth it.

The EV driving is brilliantly quiet and assured. The FWD steering is sharp around town and there’s a lot of comfort with much better suspension than before. When the big petrol engine jumps in, the CVT automatic gear system is rather clunky and noisy – and is the car’s main weakness, along with the quite heavy weight that you feel impacting on country corners.

The interior is functional without being plush. However, everything is simple to do. There was also an inspiring background of mountains and clouds behind the main display. But don’t take it too literally. There may be a number of driver modes available, but the Kuga PHEV isn’t a fully formed off-roader.

I have come a bit late to this third generation Kuga – but after some pretty poor SUV attempts over the years, I think they have really got the right blend between looks and practicality with this PHEV model.

It’s a very safe and practical family car which, if used properly with regular charging, will be massively economical to run. It definitely holds its own with the Hyundai Tucsons and Toyota Rav4s.

Who will bring law to the e-scooter Wild West?

The day after I gave back the Kuga, I logged into a roundtable discussion on how e-scooter schemes can safely interact with other road users.

It was hosted by Spin, the micro mobility unit of the Ford Motor Company, which currently operates dockless scooter-share programmes across the USA. Nearer to home, Spin is running e-scooter trial schemes with a number of local councils in the UK.

It’s a subject that really interests me, as the unregulated growth in the use of the scooters on our pavements and roads is very worrying.

Only a week back I was struck on the elbow by one that whizzed past on the pavement as I came out of a shop after buying a paper. I was quite shocked – even more so when the rider then started cursing at people who were in his way.

E-scooter share schemes are a much better way forward than the total Wild West system out there at the moment – where anybody of any age or ability can buy one and then go out where they want.

It was good to learn that Spin in the UK insists everybody has to be at least 18, have a licence of some kind, and do at least an hour’s training. Outside the specific trial schemes in the UK, the scooters are still illegal. They can be – and are – confiscated by the police.

The next generation of scooters they will be rolling out will have a camera up front, which will memorise routes and take control by limiting speed in certain areas. They will also disable the machines if they are being used on pavements. Oh bliss.

There is a future for e-scooters as a real part of a sustainable transport system. The awful scenes in Britain recently over panic-buying of petrol shows how many people are still crazily wedded to their cars. Everything has a place – but it needs regulation quickly.

At the Spin discussion it was sobering to hear how people with disabilities are in total fear of scooters when they can neither hear or see them.

Sweet memories of those Saabs of yesteryear

I’m just finishing reading A Song for the Dark Times, the latest John Rebus thriller from Ian Rankin, which was a Christmas present last year.

While much of the story is set in Edinburgh, a lot also centres around two deaths that take generations apart in the very north of Scotland. Specifically the area between the Borgie and Naver rivers.

This was where my mother’s family originally came from, and to where my parents retired when things went sour at the Cornish hotel they had bought.

Now they rest in a lovely graveyard in Torrisdale Bay while the water from the Borgie’s estuary laps around them twice a day.

What made the Rebus book even more special was that the retired detective still had his trusty old Saab for that long, long journey up the A9 from Edinburgh to Sutherland.

I have done it many a time, and in a Saab too.

Oh please, can someone bring back those lovely Swedish cars?