Ford Kuga review - Reliability & safety
The Kuga has a full five-star safety score, but Ford’s overall customer satisfaction rating is poor
The old Kuga was pretty durable, although it always seemed to lack the reputation for reliability held by its Japanese rivals. The third-generation Kuga did place a decent 15th out of 75 models in our 2024 Driver Power survey though, with owners praising Ford’s easy-to-use navigation system and the car’s effective brakes. In contrast, Ford itself came a meagre 28th out of 32 brands in our manufacturer list. Owners slated the brand’s car’s build quality and practicality but gave credit to its range of punchy engines.
Safety
Independent testers Euro NCAP put the Kuga through its paces before it even went on sale, and it passed with flying colours. Receiving a five-star score, the Kuga scored 92% for adult safety, 86% for child safety, 82% for pedestrian protection and 73% for the array of safety kit on board.
Standard safety features include lane-keeping assist, hill-start assist, autonomous emergency braking and an automatic speed limiter. A Driver's Assistance pack costs £1,000 and adds kit such as blind-spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and front and rear cameras.
