Click above for high-res gallery of the UK Ford Kuga
The Ford Kuga is a terrific-looking little ute that combines the sporty nature of the Euro Focus chassis with an uber-efficient 2.0-liter Duratorq TDCi common rail diesel powerplant. The best part for inhabitants of the UK is that all that kinetic design goodness and a combined 44.1 mpg will set them back just £20,495 for the Zetec and £22,495 for the Titanium model. Standard features include keyless start, 17-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, stability control and ABS. The Titanium model adds blue-tint glass, partial leather seating surfaces, and dual-zone temperature control. If the Brits want to raise the amenity bar even higher, they can check options like a panoramic roof, high end DAB stereo system and rear-facing camera.
If every glance at an unattainable Euro Ford puts a damper on your otherwise normal day, we apologize. If you feel cheated for not being able to purchase a sexy crossover that averages the same overall fuel economy as the Toyota Prius minus the batteries and door jam aesthetics, you're not alone.
[Source: Ford]
PRESS RELEASE
THE NEW FORD KUGA PRICES ANNOUNCED
• On sale June 2008
• Two trims available - Zetec and Titanium
• On-the-road prices from £20,495 for Zetec and £22,495 for Titanium
• Distinctive 'kinetic design' styling gives personality and presence
• Impressive on-road driving dynamics with substantial off-road ability
• Best in class CO2 figure of 169g/km
• 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi 136PS diesel engine
The all-new Ford Kuga, Ford's first entry into the growing crossover segment, will go on sale in June 2008. Prices start from £20,495 for the Zetec and £22,495 for the Titanium.
The Ford Kuga is based on Ford's acclaimed C-car architecture – well proven in both the Ford Focus and the Ford C-MAX. Distinctive design, intelligent AWD system, and impressive on and off-road ability make the Kuga an attractive proposition.
"I'm really excited about moving into this growing segment with such a stylish and capable vehicle. I'm confident that Kuga is going to give the competition a run for their money!" said Roelant de Waard, Chairman and Managing Director, Ford of Britain.
Powered by the 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi 136PS diesel engine with standard particulate filter and six-speed manual transmission, Kuga comes with full-time Haldex intelligent AWD system. The engine provides 320Nm of torque at 2,000rpm and 340Nm in transient overboost. With combined fuel consumption of 44.1mpg it also achieves class-leading levels of CO2 – 169 g/km.
Kuga is available in two specifications - Zetec and Titanium. Standard features include - keyless start, 17-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Ford Easy fuel, Thatcham category 1 alarm and MP3 connector.
Titanium adds rain sensing wipers, blue tinted glass, partial leather trim, cruise control, automatic headlights and dual electronic air temperature control. Additional premium options available include, rear facing camera, panoramic roof, USB connectivity and DAB radio.
New features to the segment and to Ford include a dual split-tailgate design - offering flexibility and convenience with separate access to either the glass upper tailgate section only or both sections simultaneously.
The car is available in a choice of nine body colours including two brand new metallic colours – 'Chill' and 'Electric White.'
The eye-catching Kuga interior incorporates cloth or fine leathers and gloss finishes with a choice of shades. Colour-matched details of the interior design and integrated trim colours highlight the instrument panel and door trims, creating a complete, unified look of design-led quality and premium sportiness.
Kuga offers comfortable and spacious seating for up to five adults. The second row of seating has a 60/40 split and can fold completely flat to maximise the load space. Underseat storage beneath the second row with further storage under the floor of the luggage compartment area offers maximum practicality. The Kuga has a generous luggage capacity of 1,355 litres when in two-seat mode, while the enclosed luggage compartment achieves a volume of up to 410 litres.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
compy386 @ Feb 20th 2008 8:38AM
First it's probably imerial rather than US gallons so we're looking at 35 MPG US. Also European fuel economy figures seem to always be higher than US estimates. For example the Mazda3 MPS is rated at 24 MPG combined in Europe whereas it is rated 20 MPG combine in the US. I'm not sure if that's due to higher octane fuel in Europe, but at least part of that has to different methodolagies of estimating fuel economy. If you assume another 10% decrease due to different standards you're at about 32 MPG. Still pretty good considering the FWD manual Escape gets 24 MPG.
rschaefer @ Feb 20th 2008 9:05AM
Isn't 22,000 British Pounds like $40k?
is there a VAT added in there or something??
sweet vehcile, but painful price.
geo.stewart @ Feb 20th 2008 9:49AM
from what I've seen, taking out the VAT and other issues, the US price is roughly equivalent to a 25% bump on the pound price; ie 20K Euro is 25K US./
so, yeah, for a Ford in the US 28K for an Escape size vehicle would not go well. 28K-32K (say 35 l-o-a-d-e-d) for a Mercury that competes with an RDX and an EX where the base on a EX is 35 and you might start to have something.
Many (including me) have said it before and I'll say it again. Alan, use Mercury as your vehicle for bringing the Euro Fords to the US. They are more upmarket in the Euro market so they would not be readily accepted as Fords at the price point they would come in at. But as MErcury, it would revitalize the brand name and give you a venue for lower inventory numbers.
psarhjinian @ Feb 20th 2008 1:19PM
@compy.
I'd like to highlight the validity of your point about European or UK mileage figures. It's funny (or disturbing) to watch people compare EPA results to UK ones and conclude that diesels are signficantly more efficient, despite the two test cycles being fairly different.
For the record, the comparable UK mileage for the Prius is _65 mpg_.
Yes, 65mpg. Not close to the 44mpg of the Kuga. So no, the Kuga isn't going to beat it. It doesn't beat the Prius in g/km of CO2. Finally, the 320Nm figure about equals the Prius' electrically-assisted torque figure, but the Kuga wieghs more.
Can we stop dumping on the Prius, Autoblog?
sitruc @ Feb 20th 2008 9:06AM
Round 2...
steve @ Feb 20th 2008 9:27AM
that thing looks so much nicer than VW's tiguan. Probably comes with a manual shift also and gets really good mpg instead of low 20s.
nardvark @ Feb 20th 2008 9:27AM
Bad Autoblog. Don't encourage the "blah blah blah...Ford Europe....blah blah blah...Mullaly hates me...blah blah blah...I have no life so I whine about product lines in other countries that I've never driven being better than American cars I've never driven..." crowd.
Dausman @ Feb 20th 2008 9:34AM
Good for Ford for powering the Kuga SUV for the UK with a diesel .
Why is the diesel continually shunned by U.S.automakers building vehicles for U.S. consumers????
You would think meeting new CAFE goals would be a lot easier with the use of diesel power...it may be old, it may still use a petroleum based fuel(in most cases) but is a proven power source with a fuel supply system in place.
U.S. automakers seem to be betting longterm on unproven technology that will still take many years before reaching full fruition....
until that time, why not utilize technology we have while re-inventing the wheel ?
Stringfellow Hawk @ Feb 20th 2008 9:37AM
Ford needs to start bringing these vehicles to the US if they want to survive. The Euro Focus and Mondeo should replace our Focus and Taurus.
Craig @ Feb 20th 2008 1:26PM
Ford needs to start BUILDING these cars here in the U.S. Forget about importing them... they'd cost too much to import. Does Ford realize how much money they're NOT MAKING when they sell crap cars like the "Taurus-hundred" and the U.S. Focus in the states?
Jimbo @ Feb 20th 2008 9:40AM
Damnit Ford, wake up! Bring this to the U.S.
Polly Prissy Pants @ Feb 20th 2008 2:01PM
You can price a Ford Escape well over $31,000 today so assuming the added 25% is accurate then $28,000 for a Platinum level Kuga is a bargain. The only difference is that the Kuga would sell significantly better and bring in a whole new type of customer to Ford dealerships. Nobody wants that.
calebe @ Feb 20th 2008 10:00AM
I think AutoBlog writers have this little sadistic fetish for waving Ford of Europe products in the faces of "we that cant have".
paul @ Feb 20th 2008 10:18AM
Hey Ford, how many CRV's & RAV's are sold here in the states. That little wagon would take a big chunk out of their total.
Drewboy @ Feb 20th 2008 10:28AM
No kidding. And it hurts. This is an awesome looking vehicle.
Polly Prissy Pants @ Feb 20th 2008 1:58PM
I was just thinking the same thing. Can a day not go by where we're reminded how much better Ford of Europes cars are than the junk they peddle in the U.S.?
American Fords suck, European Fords rock, we get it already.
Fabri91 @ Feb 20th 2008 10:40AM
If it only had a gasoline engine...but I'm sure it will come with the new turbocharged plants ford is developing (I hope).
Cire @ Feb 20th 2008 11:01AM
This should have been the Mercury Mariner replacement in the U.S., but oh well. Enough said.
DRFS Rich @ Feb 20th 2008 11:05AM
I don't get why they went with the name "Kuga" when they sold the US Mercury Cougar as the Ford "Cougar" in the UK just a few short years ago...
- R
Mattias @ Feb 20th 2008 11:18AM
To compare prices please do not just calculate exchange rates. Take a similarily equipped car from the competition and then look how much prices differ. You'll soon notice that this cars price is maybe a bit higher than an RAV 4, but a little bit lower than a VW Tiguan.
Then you can start comparing: "If this vehicle was priced in the same range as a RAV4 in the US, how would it sell here?"