Ford Kuga Titanium 2012 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $44,490
Options fitted (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP, pre-2009)
Fuel: 95 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 10.6
CO2 emissions (g/km): 249
Also consider: Audi Q3; Land Rover Freelander; Subaru Forester; Volkswagen Tiguan

Nearly four years after motoring.com.au first sampled the Ford Kuga — in Belgium — the Focus-based SUV has finally reached Australia. At the time we tried it out, briefly, we applauded the Ford's driveability and overall refinement.

But four years... that's a long time for any car design to remain relevant. Never more so than in the current market, with no lack of sophisticated new compact SUVs arriving here — principally from Asia.

So the Kuga has its work cut out for it, although Ford stresses that the current model — available in just one drivetrain variant but two grades — is being sold here merely to familiarise buyers with the name before an all-new model arrives in around 12 months. That new car is expected to offer a lower-grade entry level. In the meantime, if Ford can sell as many as 200 units a month that will do nicely, the company says.

Even 200 might be a stretch though. More and more buyers of smaller SUVs are expecting diesel or some sort of other magic elixir to save fuel. The Kuga doesn't offer that, and for the money being asked the equipment list is a hit-and-miss affair. At $44,990 Kuga Titanium is not only well beyond the price of the top-spec petrol variants of Hyundai ix35 and Skoda Yeti, but is even more expensive than the Volkswagen Tiguan 155TSI.

In fact, down to the last dollar, it costs the same as Toyota's RAV4 SX6 — with the turbocharged 2.5-litre Ford failing to match the 3.5-litre atmo V6 in the Toyota for power, torque or fuel economy. And while the Kuga is nearly as heavy as the Toyota, it won't tow as much. The Ford does come with snazzy-looking 18-inch alloy wheels and an eight-speaker stereo however.

If there is one reason for choosing the Kuga over anything else comparable in the market it's the Ford's combination of cornering dynamics and straightline performance. The turbocharged five-cylinder is an excellent engine and sounds superb right throughout the rev range, while boasting a level of refinement not always encountered in SUVs at this price point. There's a performance spike around 6000rpm, but mostly the engine delivers its power in a linear way across the rev range — and there was negligible turbo lag encountered during the week in our possession. The Kuga wasn't especially economical though; the trip computer posted a figure of 13.2L/100km for the week. That did include a lot of commuting in high-density traffic, with just a couple of brief freeway runs to offset the high-consumption travel.

The engine drove through a five-speed automatic transmission that generally went about its business seamlessly, but was caught out when the turbo engine fell off boost from higher revs, dropping into the next gear with a heavy thump. Kick down was slow, but the transmission would change up automatically at the redline, even in manual mode.

With cruise control set to 80km/h on a hill the transmission wouldn't drop out of the long-legged fifth gear until the vehicle's speed had fallen away significantly and the engine was beginning to labour. Dropping back a couple of gears, the Kuga recovered the lost speed, but not very gracefully. Our first hill start in the Kuga was another surprise, because the driver elected to ease off the brake pedal without having the handbrake applied first. Unlike other cars with a torque converter the Kuga rolled back on hill starts — on moderate slopes too. Being an SUV, perhaps the Kuga should have been packaged with a feature such as Hill Start Assist, which is available in the cheaper Subaru XV, for instance.

At open-road speeds NVH in the Kuga comprised a whisper of wind and some road noise — in approximately equal parts. On country roads the tyres were noisier, but not unduly so. In our launch review, the Kuga was marked down for noise, but the difference may be due to the NZ market's 19-inch wheel and tyre combination fitted to that particular vehicle.

Contrary to our findings with other European Fords, the Kuga's steering was light at the straight-ahead and felt artificial at times, but it provided better feedback than most of its market rivals, particularly once the car was pitched into a corner. That's when the Kuga got its act together. The Ford's cornering power was remarkable. Grip was at least as good, on the road, as practically any other rival in the market segment, and handling was always tidy. On a trailing throttle the Ford kept to a very tight line through a corner, and planted itself neatly once the power was applied. The whole chassis was communicative and the Kuga (eventually) let the driver know when too much was being asked of it by the gentle moaning of the tyres. There aren't too many competitors that would compare with the Ford in this sort of driving, although this writer feels the Tiguan 155 TSI is just slightly ahead for 'fun factor'. Kuga's ride was well controlled, with comfort scoring an 'above average' mark over smaller bumps. The springs proved capable of absorbing some heftier hits without caving.

Off the road, the Kuga was a mixed bag. In addition to the lack of Hill Start Assist, as mentioned already, the Kuga didn't come with anything like Hill Descent Control either. There are cheaper SUVs than the Kuga that do offer Hill Descent Control as standard (ix35, Sportage, X-TRAIL and RAV4 among them), but the Ford does come with roll mitigation, which owners will hopefully never witness in action.

The 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder develops strong torque at low revs to propel the Kuga up steeper tracks -- in marked contrast with the Subaru XV recently tested. Kuga's traction control, the Haldex final drive and tyres will all give up the ghost long before the engine will. On one bushy track that had defeated some softer (crossover) SUVs, the Kuga shrugged off the climb, thanks in large part to the Haldex system, but on another ascent it failed to proceed on a slippery section of rock. The rocky surface was greasier than usual, thanks to a week of inclement weather and prevailing fog on the day. At the summit of one grade, the car turned off the track, lifting the left rear wheel off the deck. The Kuga was able to move forward again, with some of the torque being diverted to the remaining three wheels in contact with terra firma. Perched with the wheel clear of the ground the taut body exhibited no torsional weakness; the reviewer being able to open and close the driver's door easily without any creaks, groans or grating sounds from the car.

With just occasional underbody grazing through ruts at least 20cm deep, the Kuga's ground clearance, approach and departure angles were up to par for the vehicle type. The Kuga also coped well with a relatively shallow water section on one track, although the track was also firm underneath. Nonetheless, with all four standard road-going tyres immersed, the Kuga was able to move off without the traction control system going crazy.

Chances are even that if you want an SUV that will actually head off the beaten track, you will want to tow as well. The Kuga is rated at just 750kg with a braked trailer, a long way short of the 1900kg rating for the RAV4 SX6 already mentioned.

Another point to consider about the Kuga as an offroader is the spacesaver spare in the boot. A lot of buyers would expect that to detract from the Kuga's ability to get to more remote locations and back safely. It does little to enhance the luggage capacity either, since that's meagre, even compared with the Tiguan's — 360 litres for the Ford, versus 395.

But, as is true of the Tiguan, if you're not hauling more than the weekly shopping payload, the Kuga is more than adequate for your needs. And the seats do fold flat for through-loading of much larger objects — provided you don't need to cart kids at the same time. Folding the seats is simple enough, but the head rests have to be removed first for flat and flush deployment.

Rear-seat accommodation was adequate for adults (there was even sufficient headroom between the top of the reviewer's bonce and the full-length glass roof). Legroom was close but not ultimately in the same league as the Tiguan's. At least the Ford — like the VW — offered easy access to front and rear for people of any stature, courtesy of the Kuga's user-friendly H-point.

Considering the price of the Kuga Titanium, its lack of HVAC vents in the rear was another surprise. Frankly, a majority of Aussie buyers might have preferred having rear-seat air vents rather than the full-length glass roof. At least there was a roll-out shade to keep the sun from roasting the occupants on hotter days. The fold-up picnic tables on the rear of the front seats would benefit parents and also incorporated cupholders for the little ones.

In the front the Kuga was a pleasant place to stay. Seats were comfortable and supportive enough, although larger occupants might find they lack under-thigh support and, indeed, the seat felt physically small. Side bolstering in the backrest provided a snug fit, but the base felt short and flat, plus it could have done with independent tilt adjustment — as opposed to height adjustment that tips the whole seat back as it lowers. There was no indication the seat wouldn't hold the occupant in place, however.

While the trim materials met a reasonable standard of quality, the overall ambience looked old-fashioned and spartan, despite the undeniably sophisticated audio system and dual-zone climate control. Instruments and controls were straightforward to use (barring the keyless start button) and attractive to the eye, but mirrored that Ford Euro look from 2007.

Unlike keyless start buttons in other cars, the Ford's was located between the vents in the centre fascia. It's an unusual place for it when other companies are placing start buttons near the steering wheel, on the dash. Also unlike similar systems in other cars selling for around the same price, the Ford's button needed to be held down until the engine fired. And the Kuga wasn't packaged with a keyless entry system. Doors would only unlock with a press of the remote central locking button on the key fob.

The headlight switch caught out this reviewer, who flattened a battery on a previous occasion driving a different Kuga. Failing to notice that the lights were operating in a mode other than 'follow-me-home', the driver left the car standing for a day with the light switch set to the 'park' position rather than 'off'. That the central locking wouldn't unlock the car was the first sign there was a problem. And if you have to jump start a Kuga, best be aware of the means of opening the bonnet. It's not at all easy without a conventional key. Why Ford chooses not to use a conventional bonnet unlatch lever under the dash is a mystery — and we hear that owners are unhappy with the system in the Kuga.

So the upshot of 'owning' the Kuga for a week is this: arguably it's too expensive given it lacks some of the equipment Aussies want (diesel, hill start assist, rear-seat air vents), but over delivers otherwise (glass roof, for instance). Furthermore, there are some points of its design and packaging that will have buyers scratching their heads — but they'll forgive it for its safety and awesome on-road driveability.

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