Express & Star

How ironic that Ford should launch a potential rival to the Freelander 2 within days of signing the deal to dispose of Land Rover.

So perhaps it’s just as well that that the Blue Oval firm decided not to make the new Kuga a fully-fledged mud plugger - otherwise there really might have been more than a few anxious faces at Gaydon.

Instead, the new Kuga debuts as a 4×4 ‘crossover’ with the likes of the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, VW Tiguan and four-wheel drive versions of the Nissan Qashqai in its sights.

And the new five-seater Ford is likely to prove a strong competitor, as it’s a strong all-round car with good looks, decent performance, and the lowest CO2 emissions in its class.

The Kuga range, when it arrives in June, will be straightforward and targeted towards the premium end of this market segment, with prices in the £20,500 to £22,500 range.

There’s one 2.0 litre diesel engine, one manual gearbox and just two trim levels: Zetec and Titanium.

The latter gets more toys but Zetec models are attractively finished and some may even prefer its brighter, though far from garish, internal trim. Colour panels are restricted to blue and orange but both look good.

The car is the latest to benefit from Ford’s ‘kinetic design’ corporate look. This is most evident in its front end with its sculpted bonnet, large swept-back light clusters and prominent double trapezoidal grille.

The front wings are plastic which helps keep weight down and should be cheaper to repair. The sides have a prominent shoulder line, while the rear is probably the most distinctive of all with its curvy light clusters and exhaust pipes set into a chunky skid plate.

There’s also a ‘tailgate within a tailgate’ which is useful for quickly dumping bags in the back. One hopes the shut lines will prove water-tight.

Inside, the look is very ‘corporate Ford’ with the familiar four-pronged steering wheel and metal-look centre panel housing the audio, air conditioning controls and colour display screen - and, unfortunately, the odd rattle.

Titanium models get premium features like aircraft style trays on the back of the front seats, part leather seats, tinted glass, and climate control air con - but Zetec models are well-equipped too.

There’s a variety of appearance and convenience packs which offer features like parking sensors and bigger alloys, while the Titanium X pack provides full leather trim, panoramic roof, electric seats and bi-xenon lights for £2,000.

While the Kuga can cope with muddy tracks and light wading, Ford has concentrated on its on-road performance. As a result the Kugai is nice to drive - and it’s even nicer if you select Sport from the steering set-up menu, which sharpens up turn-in noticeably.

The car’s underpinnings are based on the those of the C-car platform (Focus) but the track is wider, the wheelbase is longer and some tweaks have been made to the suspension.

It has ‘intelligent’ four-wheel drive which means that it effectively operates in front-wheel drive until the electronic sensors detect that more power needs to be directed towards the rear wheels.

The 136PS diesel is nice and torquey and the Kuga acquits itself well on the road. There’s less roll than you might expect from such a high-sided car and it rides very well. A diesel auto option would suit the car but will not be available at launch.

Ford is looking to shift around 7,000 of these a year and should do so fairly easily.

By Peter Carroll