Ford Kuga

Good looking outside and nicely finished inside the Kuga drives with Ford's usual excellence. The petrol engine is fast, but really it's impossible to ignore the rounded, economical performance on offer from the 2.0-litre TDCi turbodiesel. Of the two trim levels Zetec offers all you need. There's a front wheel drive only version, which is good to drive and lowers prices further still.    

What is it like to drive?

Among its tall, off-road inspired competition the Kuga drives with unusual precision, making it the driver's choice among its plentiful SUV rivals. The 2.5-litre petrol engine offers hot-hatch rivalling performance, but you pay for that with poor fuel consumption. The Kuga combined with the 2.0-litre TDCi turbodiesel strikes a better balance, giving decent performance combined with impressive economy - 44.1mpg possible on the official combined consumption cycle. Choose the front-wheel drive model and you'll improve that by around 2mpg, but you may regret it when the snow starts falling in winter.  

Is it comfortable?

The Ford Kuga might be more driver focussed than its competition but it's not at the expense of comfort on the road. The suspension is firm, but not uncomfortable. The interior is well considered up front, with supportive seats and an easy to read, clearly laid-out dashboard. Ford has even cut out a portion of the top of the door trim to make resting your arm on it comfortable. Wind noise is apparent at speed, as is some roar from the tyres.  

Is it practical?

Practicality is the Kuga's achilles heel, with Ford's lifestyle orientated model offering less boot space than its Focus hatchback relative. The rear seat space isn't very generous either, with taller passengers short of legroom. If carrying capacity is a priority then cars like Nissan's X-Trail make a lot more sense.  

Quality, safety and reliabiltiy

Every member of the the Ford Focus based Kuga family gets traction control and  electronic stability control as standard, plus front, side and curtain airbags - and the car scored a full five points in its Euro NCAP crash test.

It hasn't been around long enough to score on the 2009 Driver Power survey, but Ford's drive towards greater quality is demonstrated by the Mondeo managing 11th in the top 100 cars of 2009. The Focus with which the Kuga shares much of its mechanicals with scored a credible 43rd position, too.

Is it value for money?

At its launch Ford boldy announced its Kuga would be aiming squarely at Volkswagen's Tiguan  - and the it's priced the lifestyle off-roader accordingly. That does make it look a bit expensive compared to some mainstream rivals, but Ford has equipped it to compensate. Smart items like keyless go, an MP3 audio connection and alloy wheels feature on all, while Titanium specification adds leather trim and dual-zone climate control.  

Running costs

The Ford Kuga in turbodiesel guise is among the cleanest and most economical cars in its class, meaning lower road tax and less frequent trips to the pumps. Sensible service pricing helps too, as will the expected high residual value of it when you come to sell it. For maximum economy the front-wheel drive 2.0-litre TDCi turbodiesel model boasts official combined fuel consumption figure of 46.3mpg and a lower tax band thanks to CO2 emissions of 159g/km.

YOU'LL LOVE

•    Good looks, smart interior, plentiful equipment
•    Fun driving character
•    Impressive fuel economy

YOU'LL HATE

•    Small boot and limited rear legroom
•    No good off-road
•    Expensive compared to mainstream rivals