Ford Kuga PHEV – raising the bar

THOSE of us who rue the demise of the Ford Fiesta and Focus – two of the most popular cars ever to grace UK roads – can feel understandably aggrieved.

But the attributes that made that dynamic duo so successful have not just disappeared into the heavens, far from it.

They have been used to help make the latest Ford Kuga, facelifted for the current model year, a serious contender for top honours on the medium-sized SUV scene.

Make no mistake this is an ultra-competitive area of the market, which is why Ford has had to raise its game with a car that’s available as a petrol model, full hybrid or – in the case of our tested variant – a plug-in hybrid.

Opting for the latter has its benefits in that, providing you remain disciplined and keep the battery topped up, there’s a potential 42 miles of pure electric power to be had.

That’s on a good day though and realistically you’re looking at closer to 39-40 miles, otherwise average miles per gallon is pretty much bang on the 50 mark.

Power comes from a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing a handy 240bhp and the capability of accelerating from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds and on to a potential top speed of 125mph via a six-speed CVT automatic transmission.

In tried and trusted Ford manner the PHEV is a top notch car to drive – near matchless among SUVs – feeling well balanced, smooth and strong, with a raised driving position and optimum visibility.

We can’t overstate how agile and dynamically balanced this model is – beautifully poised, smooth through bends and with nicely positive steering.

There are also the five driving modes of Eco, Normal, Sport, Slippery and Deep Snow/Sand allowing drivers to adjust the likes of steering weight and throttle response to optimise control.

The fact that the Kuga is fairly low-slung and streamlined to look at doesn’t mean there are any compromises on passenger or luggage space either.

On the contrary, there’s bags of space up front with durable, supportive seats including 12-way powered for the driver.

A sliding rear bench allows for an extra metre of room and two adults in rear can stretch their legs out, though a centre rear passenger has to contend with the nuisance of a transmission tunnel.

And a 450-litre boot means there’s plenty of luggage capacity, even before you flip down the 60/40 split-fold back seats.

As for tech there’s now a 13.2-inch infotainment display including Ford’s latest SYNC 4 operating set-up with sat nav, 5G connectivity, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay while standard kit includes the likes of a 360-degree camera, blind spot monitor and a powered tailgate.

Four trims grades are up for grabs and while our tested Active model, from close to the top of the range, came comprehensively kitted out, there were still £4,250 worth of extras that hiked the Kuga’s price up to £45,205.

They included a power panoramic roof at £1,000, a retractable towbar (£708), 19-inch black machined alloy wheels (£500) and a technology pack for £750.