Ford Kuga - Interior, design and technology
The Ford Kuga is well-equipped for family life, with lots of handy on-board tech, but quality could be better
The look of the Ford Kuga has been sharpened, with the most notable changes being seen at the front. All versions get a new grille and headlights, plus the refreshed Ford corporate logo first seen on the Ford Transit Custom, which is also featured on the latest Kuga.
If you’re after a sportier look, the ST-Line and ST-Line X trims get a sharper bumper design, with the latter benefitting from the largest 19-inch alloy wheels. The Active trim gets more unpainted black plastic trim around the wheel arches and side sills, along with a small suspension lift to give it the appearance of something more rugged.
Inside the Kuga, you’ll find a cabin similar to that in the revised Ford Focus hatchback, which means you get a functional interior with a pair of large digital screens, but the easy-to-use physical climate controls of the pre-facelift Kuga have now gone, much to our disappointment.
This is a shame because it removes one of the big positives of the pre-facelift Kuga, and gave it a plus point in contrast to its rivals like the Peugeot 3008, which have gone to a touchscreen-only set-up. A certain number of climate control shortcuts are shown at the bottom of the screen when the car is on, like the Volkswagen Tiguan, but this way of doing it isn’t as easy to use on the move compared with a physical dial – like it previously had.
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We would have liked to see the cheap-feeling interior plastics removed, but they still feature heavily in the revised Kuga. Rivals like the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage have come on leaps and bounds in this area, to a point where they challenge more premium offerings like the Tiguan and leave the Kuga trailing. Top-of-the-range ST-Line X models come with contrast red stitching to make it look a little more interesting, but the rest of the Kuga range can look a little dull inside.
All versions of Kuga come with front and rear parking sensors, as well as a reversing camera. Add the Driver’s Assistance Pack to Titanium trim (or go for ST-Line trim and above) and you’ll get a 360-degree camera system, along with a number of driver safety assistance technology. A Technology Pack is available throughout the line-up, and it adds more advanced LED matrix headlights that alter the beam pattern to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. This pack also features a head-up display that projects useful information - such as your speed - onto a display in the windscreen within your line of sight.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The Kuga comes with Ford’s SYNC 4 navigation and infotainment set-up. Sat-nav is standard, as is wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for those who prefer connecting to apps via their smartphone, with a wireless phone charging pad provided near the USB charging points in front of the gear selector.
The infotainment system loads quickly and is easy to use, while the built-in user interface allows fast access to the functions you want. The screen is sharp and responsive, plus the large icons on the screen make it relatively easy to use while on the move. A six-speaker sound system comes as standard, however, the 10-speaker system found on ST-Line and above is much better.
Digital dials now feature on all versions of the Kuga, but these don’t offer the same configurability as you get in some rival systems, and you can’t display the sat nav map on the instrument cluster like you can with the Peugeot 3008, or Volkswagen Tiguan.
