Ford Kuga SUV 2.5 Duratec PHEV ST-Line X Edition CVT 5d Owner Review

Brilliant car, if you want a car that is a good car to drive, is put together well and really well balanced and you’re not more concerned about the interior looks and flashy things but accept a worse car (as a functional car). The interior is really spacious and great for a family, all the controls work when you need them and when you need them. eg Peugeot 3008 looks more fashionable inside, but the piano buttons are a pain to work for heating and everything else doesn’t work as intuitively - the driver display brightness cant be changed without about 11 presses on the screen - whereas the Kuga has a lot of the main heating controls and vehicle screen controls on the central dash or around the wheel - e.g. the usual dial for the screen. It just works as a car.

The car is a great hybrid, which works best at efficiency. It doesn’t have the outright pace with electric and petrol engine, but the system as a whole works as a hybrid and not a petrol with electric boost. It has more than enough pace to go and overtake when needed and there is no undue delay in acceleration (Sport mode is fun, max electric and engine together with additional regeneration for max regen and ongoing fun). It’s brilliant as a hybrid and spends a lot of the time in electric mode, even when the electricity range is down to zero. Only bought in November, range above 10 degrees around 33miles. Range when constantly below zero around 26 miles. Looking forward to getting into warmer weather!

A lot of the mags say the eCVT is loud, but I don’t find it to be. The drive train is very good and the change from electric to engine is really smooth, unless you’re watching out for it, the only way you know is a very slight grumble in start over and then it purrs again. It’s quiet and cruising on the motorway is better than my wife’s VW. Magazines moan about the eCVT in acceleration, but I test drove the car against a VW Tiguan hybrid and there was not much in it between either of them under hard acceleration. The eCVT has steps that make it more like a normal auto, but you spend so much time in electric mode that it’s not an issue at all. (VW was quicker on outright pace, but it was not a good hybrid).

Inside, the B&O sound system is very good - true adjustable base, numerous stereo and surround sound options to suit everything you need. Panoramic roof is great, It has a 70% stop position which is good for cover over rear passengers heads when they don’t want it fully open - it’s a nice touch.

Annoyance - yes, the boot is a bit smaller than others. However, you rarely use the full boot and there are other options for the occasional use - eg seats down or roof box. If you are comfortable without a spare tire there is quite a lot of storage under the boot floor where the spare tyre should go (at least 8 inch depth around central covered 12 volt battery, which is lined) - so shoes and other holiday items that don’t need to be kept flat or order can all be placed under the floor.

Would I buy another one when it comes up for renewal? Definitely.