Ford Kuga - Boot space, comfort and practicality
The Ford Kuga offers great family practicality, although it’s not the most spacious in its class
As well as offering good all-round visibility, the Ford Kuga is full of neat, practical touches that make life a bit easier. All versions feature a heated windscreen, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, and a sliding and reclining rear seat. Ford’s Easy Fuel system is also included, which makes it virtually impossible to fill up with the wrong fuel. It’s a capless set-up – useful because you don’t have to handle a grimy fuel cap at the filling station.
During our own testing of the Kuga, we found the sports seats to be fairly uncomfortable. While they have plenty of adjustability, the seat base is almost completely flat, which will impact comfort – particularly on longer journeys. From ST-Line models and above, the front seats get 12-way electric adjustment, with the driver’s side having memory settings. It’s a little odd that only the most expensive ST-Line X model comes with the contents of the Winter Pack, which is available as an option on lesser trim levels. It does include heater rear seats and a heated steering wheel.
Size
The Kuga is 4,626mm in length, 1,690mm in height and 1,882mm wide (without mirrors). In comparison to the Toyota RAV4, it’s a little bigger in all areas, while the Kuga is noticeably larger than its Skoda Karoq rival which is 4,382mm long, 1,841mm wide and stands 1,603mm tall.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
There’s plenty of room upfront in the Kuga, and although overall space isn’t as good as the Skoda Karoq or Toyota RAV4, it’s more than adequate for a family of four. Accommodating another passenger in the middle rear seat might be a bit of a squeeze, but head and leg room are generally fine. Rear knee room is fantastic, and with the versatility of a sliding (and reclining) rear seat, the Kuga is one of the roomiest cars in the class. The rear doors open fairly wide, but not to the 90-degree angle of the Nissan X-Trail, though.
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Family car buyers will be pleased to find the rear door opening is sizeable, and there are two ISOFIX points on the outer positions of the rear bench.
Boot Space
The amount of boot space in the Kuga can be extended from 412 litres up to 645 litres (628 litres in the case of the FHEV and PHEV hybrids) by sliding the rear seat forwards. The former isn’t much more than a Ford Focus, but the latter does at least outshine the Skoda Karoq’s 521 litres.
If you fold the Kuga’s rear seats flat, you’ll be able to access up to 1,534 litres of load space, although this is trumped by the Karoq’s 1,605 litres (1,810 litres if the Skoda’s VarioFlex rear seats are removed). There’s no lip to load heavy items over, though, and the empty spare wheel cavity gives more space to stash things away, or you can fill it with an optional space-saver wheel.
Towing
The towing capacities of the Ford Kuga have all been increased as part of the facelift, but the amount it can pull still depends on which engine you choose. The maximum braked trailer towing capacity ranges from 1,600kg for the 2.5 FHEV hybrid with two-wheel drive, rising to 1,730kg for the 1.5 Ecoboost. The maximum towing capacity of 2,100kg is for the 2.5 PHEV plug-in hybrid and the four-wheel drive 2.5 FHEV. The latter is mighty impressive, beating similar hybrid versions of the Hyundai Santa Fe or the four-wheel drive Toyota RAV4, both of which can only tow up to 1,650kg.
If you need a more capable towing vehicle, you’ll want a traditional diesel-equipped SUV, such as the diesel versions of Santa Fe and Kia Sorrento, which can tow up to 2,500kg.
Some helpful features in the infotainment system can assist Kuga owners when towing, such as a feature in the satellite navigation that’ll plan an easier route for towing a trailer, or a handy checklist to make sure you’ve covered off all the important towing safety checks before setting off. While the latter might not be useful to experienced hands, it could prove useful to those who haven’t towed before, or haven’t done so for a while and need a refresher.
