Mention “major automaker” to almost anyone in Singapore and Ford would likely be one of the last names that comes to mind, even though it is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Many motorists can easily rattle off brands from Germany and Japan, but few will bring up the American company.
Frankly, when I was told that I’d be attending the regional media drive of the second-generation Ford Kuga, my immediate thought was: Did the first version even make it to our island?
A check with local Ford dealership Regent Motors revealed that the compact SUV did indeed reach our shores, but only in late 2010, some two years after the first Kuga’s international debut. Hence, there was no big launch event or marketing campaign to announce its arrival back then. Less than 30 units were sold in Singapore.
Roomier and better-equipped than the old Kuga, but the build quality is generally unimpressive.
The new Ford Kuga gets off to a much earlier start this time round – it’s slated to arrive this month. And when it lands in the showroom, the first thing that will catch the eye is not the car’s styling, but its list of standard equipment. Our local market will be getting the titanium-spec Kuga, which is packed to the brim with everything.
This Ford will alert you the moment sleepiness sets in, brake automatically to avoid rear-ending another vehicle in low-speed traffic, straighten the steering if you wander from your lane, and apply braking to the inside wheel to make cornering safer. And if a collision is unavoidable, up to seven airbags will deploy to protect all occupants on board.
For mums and dads on the weekly supermarket run, the tailgate can be opened with a deft swing of the foot (similar to kicking a football) under the rear bumper, provided the key is in the pocket or within one metre of the car.
The Kuga will be the first compact SUV to offer this as standard, and it works a treat. It is even clever enough to open only when the sensors detect the kicking action and the presence of your shin. So, there’s virtually no chance of it opening by accident. An automatic parking feature (with rear camera) also makes life easy in a carpark.
If you ever have a chance to catch the Kuga’s predecessor, you will notice that both sport similar styling – and this is no bad thing. Ruggedly handsome with an injection of sportiness, Ford’s latest compact SUV features a silhouette which mimics that of the Range Rover Evoque.
Slim glass areas at the sides tapering as they extend to the rear, a sloping roofline, sleek bi-xenon headlamps (with strips of LED daytime driving lights), a lower ride height (“dropped” by 8mm) and large alloy wheels work together to make this “soft-roader” look very much at home in both the city and the countryside.
Speaking of rural areas, our 200km test-drive route across the outskirts of Adelaide in South Australia included a few stretches of hard-packed trails that the Kuga took to without much fuss.
The tail-gate is no longer a versatile two-piece affair, but there’s 46 litres more cargo space, with split-fold expandability.
Most of the driving was done on a mixture of highways and winding hilly roads. Equipped with a turbocharged 1.6-litre 4-cylinder sporting Ford’s award-winning EcoBoost technology, this motor is less powerful than the turbo 2.5-litre 5-cylinder it replaces.
But its outputs of 180bhp and 240Nm are still pretty decent, on paper anyway. Low-end performance is a bit of a downer (most probably because of its almost 1.7-tonne kerb weight), but once the Kuga gets a move on, it feels sprightlier.
This 1.6-litre is weaker than the previous 2.5-litre motor, but far more economical and with much cleaner emissions.
Ford claims that the Kuga can do over 12km per litre, which is economical considering its heft. Helping the car to achieve this is a clever lower grille, which closes at higher speeds to improve aerodynamic efficiency.
The powerplant is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission that sends every Newton-metre to an intelligent four-wheel drive system. While not as slick-shifting as a VW DSG dual-clutch, the gearbox fares well in most driving situations.
Gears can also be manually selected – but the way to do it, quite honestly, irritates me. While other gearboxes make use of paddle-shifters or steering wheel buttons, the Kuga’s utilises a single-toggle diamond-shaped switch located on the right side of the transmission lever. Why anyone would place it there is beyond me. Thankfully, there is hardly any delay between depressing the switch and the gearbox engaging the chosen gear.
I drove two variants of the 4WD Kuga – one with 19-inch wheels and the other with 18-inch wheels. On the larger alloys, shod with Continental CSC3 tyres, the ride is definitely fussier but grip is in abundance, which makes the car surprisingly agile around meandering hilly passes. The 18-inch wheels, with more “pedestrian” Continental ContiPremiumContact rubbers, feel less assuring – I could feel the flexing of the tyre sidewalls during fast cornering. However, ride comfort is a shade better than on the 19-inch footwear. Regent Motors will be equipping the Kuga with the smaller wheels, so it’ll be interesting to see how the car rides on our roads.
Inside, the Kuga is solidly put together, and comes with a plethora of storage compartments and no less than three 12-volt power outlets. The cockpit’s overall feel, however, still falls short of its German rivals. The seats are supportive, with padding in the right areas, but the seat squabs are too short.
The rear doors also feel too plasticky. On a brighter note, the cabin is more spacious than before (despite the unchanged wheelbase of 2690mm) and boot space has been increased from 360 to 406 litres. Rear passengers are also able to recline their seat-backs over a 10-degree range.
This “cat” has a good ride on its 18-inch paws, not only in the outback but also inside the busy city “zoo”.
There are plenty of on-board goodies to keep everyone happy, but it’s the driver who’ll get the most “goods” (and rightly so) – integrated voice control to call up various functions, Bluetooth telephony, keyless push-button ignition, a nine-speaker hi-fi, USB and aux inputs, and a multi-function display with attractive animated graphics.
The new Ford Kuga is a welcome addition to the compact “Euro” SUV segment and boasts some class-leading technology. It would be a sure-fire hit here, if not for the dominance of the 1.4-litre Volkswagen Tiguan. The Kuga’s market success in Singapore will hinge greatly on its pricing, which should be as close as possible to the VW’s listed $162k (at press time).
This story was first published in the June 2013 issue of Torque.
2013 Ford Kuga 1.6 (A)
ENGINE 1596cc, 16-valves, inline-4, turbocharged
MAX POWER 180hp at 5700rpm
MAX TORQUE 240Nm 1600-5000rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 9.7 seconds
TOP SPEED 200km/h
CONSUMPTION 12.5km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 186g/km
Check out our review of the latest Mazda CX-5 here
The Ford Kuga 1.5 turbo takes on the Mazda CX-5 2.0 here
