Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi Titanium review

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Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi Titanium 4WD Road Test

Test date 21 May 2008 Price as tested £25,658

For Chunky good looks, cabin quality, good handling for a soft-roader

Against Cramped rear cabin, relatively stiff ride, lack of oddment space inside

The history of Ford SUVs that have been sold in the UK can be described as short and inglorious. There was, of course, the Maverick, based first on the Nissan Terrano and then Mazda’s Tribute, and then came the best-forgotten Explorer.

More encouragingly and, to be fair, more directly related to the Kuga was the Iosis X concept car, first unveiled at the Paris motor show in 2006. Ford called the Iosis X a ‘crossover’ vehicle and would like to see the same qualities in the Kuga, but, to us at least, it seems hard to separate the concepts of recreational SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Land Rover Freelander 2 with that which inspired the Kuga.

It is a matter of on-going astonishment in the Autocar office that while Ford’s European operation seems unable to produce a car that doesn’t automatically assume a position at or near the top of its class, over in the US its mainstream cars remain about as popular as botulism. Happily, the Fords we buy are almost entirely born on this side of the Atlantic, and you have only to look at its most recent efforts to know that Ford could scarcely be more on top of its game.

Quite where the new Kuga fits into all of this excellence is what we’re here to discover. It’s not a typical Ford, the Blue Oval finally having decided the recreational off-roader market is a niche it can no longer leave to its rivals.

The Kuga’s positioning within that niche could not be clearer and is to serious off-roading what Celine Dion is to thrash metal. Like its rivals, the Kuga is more about perception and image than harsh reality.