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Sometimes, you have to wonder if Ford really favors Europeans over Americans. After all, look at the product portfolios. Sure, we have the Mustang and the trucks, which are great, but Europe wins pretty much everywhere else. The Mondeo tops the Fusion, their Focus is worlds better than the bizarre-looking thing we're about to get, and now they've announced that Europe's receiving a small crossover that's likely to make Escape look ponderous by comparison. Obviously derived from the Iosis X concept, that car is the Ford Kuga, and while the name's not the greatest (sounds like a Bostonian saying "Cougar"), the sketch above shows a very sporty-looking ride that applies the Ford of Europe "kinetic design" philosophy to a 4x4 crossover. Assuming it's similarly-sized, Kuga is to Escape what Mondeo is to Fusion. That means the Europeans win and we lose. Again.

The car will debut in September at the Frankfurt show and go on sale throughout Europe in 2008. Follow the jump for Ford's press release. We've also included a gallery of the 2006 Iosis X concept below.



[Source: Ford]