The 2016 Ford Kuga has come up with a slight facelift, better dynamics, and an increased power to try to stay on top of the segment. But is this enough to beat the leading Mazda CX-5? We have tested and review the 2016 Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi to find out.
The new Kuga comes to complete the new range of Ford SUV and stands right in the middle. With 4.52 meters, it is 51cm longer than the Ford Ecosport and 29 shorter than the new Ford Edge. In any case, one could say that it is the perfect blend of the two top-selling Ford cars making it one of the most sought out SUV in the market.
The Kuga TDCi 180 is the most powerful of the range of diesel and, with 1,716 kilos, is the heaviest with the 150 hp diesel Powershift version, according to WhatACar. However, despite this generous power figure, it just gives the comfortable feeling of driving which is good but one can wish for more power. Its four-cylinder is linear, stretch well and has a cheerful side from the 3,000 laps.
One can not say that the 2016 Ford Kuga is slow. In fact, it lets its driver forward with ease and thanks to the Powershift changes makes quite softly and provides a kick down just when you need it and engaging gears going forward speed in a perfect way. Ford always know how to find that little point which makes their models have a firm touch, but never becomes too hard to be heavy. Just balances its behavior with its 17-inch wheels.
One of the peculiarities of the Ford Kuga Powershift is that it have a specific position for the lever if you want to handle manually. You simply have to act on it. To return to D, you stop pressing the button again climb up and returns to automatic mode. Still, if you force a march, you have the "kick down" available if you calculate wrong overtaking and suddenly you accumulate speed.
The Ford Kuga 4x4 offers very interesting traction system, according to AutoExpress. It is basically the same as the previous version (the first generation rode a mechanical Torsen) and its operation is "smart". That means that its measuring sensors are 20 every 16 milliseconds adhesion and, if necessary, send all the power to one of the two axes within 100 milliseconds.
All in all, the 2016 Ford Kuga remains a decent choice in the SUV section and is quite as impressive as the better-rounded Seat Azteca and Mazda CX-5. However, it still needs some improvements
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