Renewed design inside and out, more robust and distinctive appearance, technical and mechanical improvements and additional versatility. These are the main contributions of the new Ford Kuga, a family-oriented SUV that is renewed to enhance the daily adventures of the driver and passengers in a more comfortable, sophisticated environment and with greater equipment options.
Among the most obvious aesthetic changes, its new front part stands out, with a bold grille design that is framed by an LED light bar that runs from side to side, and that flows into the new Full LED headlights. For its part, the rear sports a new design of the pilots, in the shape of an inverted hockey stick. A new rear diffuser and the elimination of the trunk handle finish off a cleaner and more sophisticated look at the rear.
The interior has been simplified with fewer physical buttons to reduce visual distractions for the driver, while still offering key controls and information in a clear and comfortable layout. Both the dashboard and the door trims now incorporate decorative elements and new seat upholstery and stitching to match the specification.
The practicality of the American firm’s new compact family SUV remains a key attribute, with second-row seats that can slide 150 mm to offer more than a meter of rear legroom, or up to 553 liters of boot space. . This way it adapts to the needs of each moment, taking into account that when you want more load capacity you lose space for the extremities of the rear passengers and vice versa.
Another aspect improved in this update is the technological section, which is updated with the latest generation of Ford SYNC 4 – as standard – and which includes functions such as a navigation system connected to the cloud and connected voice control with understanding of the natural language; all of this, managed through a 13.2-inch landscape central screen. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration provides seamless smartphone connectivity, while 5G FordPass connectivity facilitates fast data transfers and Ford software updates.
The Kuga 2024 now also offers greater differentiation between the different finishes in the range. In this sense, the new Active finish joins the offer with specific exterior and interior design elements, among which a front grille with wide vertical bars and an elegant gloss black finish stand out, accompanied by a lower protective plate, which shows his more adventurous character. It also features exclusive 18- and 19-inch alloy wheel designs.
The Kuga Active’s improvements go beyond appearance and equipment. The new Kuga Active Hybrid and EcoBoost benefit from a ride height increase of 10mm at the front and 5mm at the rear, providing additional ground clearance to get off the beaten path, while the Additional Trail Drive mode modifies traction control and throttle response to maintain momentum on soft surfaces such as sand or mud.
The Kuga – which in its plug-in hybrid version is the best-selling PHEV in Europe in 2021 and 2022, (and predictably in 2023, pending confirmation of the closure of the data in the main markets) – has optimized its electrified propulsion systems, achieving significant improvements in performance and capacity.
Thus, both the plug-in hybrid and the hybrid AWD (FHEV) now benefit from an improved power-split automatic transmission, which offers significant advantages in terms of performance. The first accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds; almost two seconds faster than before. In addition, both have the best towing capacity in their class, at 2,100 kg, which represents an increase of more than 30%.
For the variant with external charging, Ford uses a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle gasoline engine, an electric motor, a generator and a 14.4 kWh lithium-ion battery that provide a total of 243 HP. It approves CO2 emissions (WLTP) of 20-28 g/km and fuel consumption of 0.9-1.2 l/100 km, with a fully electric driving range of between 60 and 69 km.
Regarding the self-charging version, with the option of front-wheel drive or intelligent all-wheel drive, CO2 emissions are estimated at 121-146 g/km (WLTP) with fuel consumption from 5.3–6.4 l/ 100 km. In this way, with a single tank of fuel it reaches a range of up to 900 km thanks to the fact that up to 64 percent of driving in the city is purely electric.
The oval firm continues to maintain the 1.5 l EcoBoost gasoline engine for the Kuga without electrical assistance, which offers 150 HP with a fuel consumption of 6.3-7.2 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 144-163 g/km (WLTP).
