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New Car Road Test | Ford Kuga PHEV

PLUGGING THE GAP

The Kuga PHEV was Ford's first plug-in model and in this improved form offers all the usual virtues common to this kind of technology, plus a few of its own. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

It seems you can't have a cutting-edge mid-sized SUV of any kind these days without having a plug-in hybrid version, so Ford continues to offers that tech with this improved version of its third generation Kuga crossover. EV driving range and tax-beating overall CO2 efficiency have been considerably improved with this updated model, which also gets a sharper look and a rejuvenated cabin. Plus it's much faster and can tow heavier loads. Worth a second look then.

Background

Perhaps being a market leader is about following established trends rather than pioneering new ones. Ford certainly seems to work that way. The Blue Oval brand didn't really establish any sort of real presence in the SUV sector until the second generation version of its mid-sized Kuga crossover model was facelifted in 2016. And it took the company until the 21st century's third decade to launch its first volume made EV (the Mustang Mach-E) and its first plug-in car, the Kuga PHEV model which is our focus here.

This is the third generation Kuga, moved subtly up-market to make space for the Puma crossover which slots in below this model. In early 2024, Ford updated this MK3 Kuga with a smarter look, a redesigned cabin and a bit more sophistication. And gave this PHEV version more power, greater towing ability and a longer EV range.

Driving Experience

As you'd expect, this PHEV variant is petrol-powered. Ford didn't have a Euro-market green pump-fuelled engine that was suitable for plug-in tech, so has borrowed for this installation a 2.5-litre unit that it uses with the US market 'Escape'-branded version of this car. As before, there's a CVT automatic gearbox but for this revised model, the engine is now paired with a more powerful electric motor (taking total power to 243PS) and a revised 14.4kWh battery that now allows for a much longer EV driving range (almost 43 miles). A 30-35 mile range expectation is probably more realistic. Ford's improved towing capacity to 2,100kgs.

You'll need to get your head around all the drive modes. As well as the usual 'Normal', 'Eco' and 'Sport' settings, there's also a 'Slippery Deep Snow/Sand' mode - which is curious because this Kuga PHEV can only be had with front wheel drive. It can now though, be had in a more SUV-orientated 'Active' trim, which has a ride height raised by 10mm at the front and 5mm at the rear. Back to drive modes; there are also four further settings for the electric drivetrain: 'EV Now' focuses the drivetrain on all-electric output; 'EV Charge' (rather inefficiently) tops up the battery using the engine; and 'EV Later' holds the current state of charge so that you can save it for urban driving you might want to do later in your trip.

Most of the time though, you'll simply leave the car in 'EV Auto', where clever electronics determine the most efficient use of engine and battery power. You can boost brake regeneration (and therefore energy harvesting) by clicking on an 'L' button on the gear selector. And in theory, it's possible to drive at up to 85mph on battery power alone. With the full powertrain working, 62mph from rest now takes 7.3s (almost 2 seconds faster than before) en route to 124mph.

Design and Build

There are no really obvious visual giveaways that this plug-in variant is the PHEV model in the range - unless you're sharp-eyed enough to spot the extra flap for the charging point. The visual changes made to this improved model go a little further than the usual facelift wash and brush-up. The most obvious differences are at the front, which features redesigned headlamps and a reprofiled grille. Smarter tail lamps, different alloy wheel designs and a fresh palette of colours complete the exterior changes.

Arguably of greater significance are the updates inside. As part of the media upgrade to its latest SYNC4 infotainment set-up, Ford has added a much larger 13.2-inch central touchscreen. It has fewer physical buttons flanking the monitor and includes cloud-based navigation, over-the-air updates, a 5G data connection and wireless 'Apple CarPlay and 'Android Auto', along with Amazon Alexa. The 12.3-inch digital instrument display you view through the wheel is also new, featuring graphics that change with the selected drive mode. Not so good is the fact that all physical climate controls (bar the windscreen demister) been moved to the central touchscreen. That demister's function button now sits alongside the switchgear that was previously on the centre console (for the rear view camera and drive modes). Which has freed up space for an extra centre console cubby.

As before, for rear seat passengers, the entire second row of seats can be moved backwards for best-in-class 1,035mm rear legroom, or forwards to increase boot space by 67-litres. A remote release function enables the second row to be folded flat with ease. Luggage space is significantly reduced by the plug-in package - down from 475 to 411-litres. Slide the rear seat forward as far as it will go (in which case there'll be very little legroom for back seat folk) and there'll be 581-litre of room (down from 645-litres normally).

Market and Model

Pricing from the launch of this revised model sat in the £40,500 to £42,000 bracket and there are three Kuga PHEV trim levels - 'ST-Line', 'Active' and 'ST-Line X'. Even the base 'ST-Line' variant is well equipped, with 18-inch alloy wheels, full-LED headlamps, LED tail lamps, silver roof rails, power-folding mirrors, rear privacy glass, keyless entry, a 'Quickclear' heated windscreen, cruise control, all-round parking sensors and a rear view camera. Inside, you get the full media upgrade - a 13-inch SYNC4 centre touchscreen and a 12.3-inch instrument cluster. Plus Electronic Automatic Temperature Control and second row sliding seats.

Plus you also get black roof rails, a hands-free powered tailgate, a 360-degree camera, extra camera safety features and power-adjustable front seats. The 'ST-Line' grade also gives you red brake calipers, sports suspension, a body styling kit and power-adjustable Sensico-upholstered sports seats with black neosuede inserts and red stitching. 'ST-Line X'-spec adds larger 19-inch wheels, a power-opening panorama roof and heat for the front and rear seats and steering wheel. The 'Active' version gets active lifted suspension.

Cost of Ownership

We normally start this section with fuel and CO2 stats but perhaps of greatest interest to a potential Kuga PHEV buyer will be this model's Benefit-in-Kind taxation rating. From launch, a 40% tax payer would be BiK-rated at just £108 a month - it would be over £370 for the Hybrid and over £420 for the 1.5 EcoBoost unit. This PHEV model's improved tax showing is thanks to a WLTP-rated CO2 emissions figure of up to 21g/km. To give you some perspective here, the alternative Kuga 1.5 EcoBoost petrol model emits 145g/km of CO2, which translates into a lofty 36% banding. In short, it's not difficult to see the appeal of the PHEV drivetrain.

Particularly when you take into account the quoted WLTP-rated combined cycle economy stat - up to 313.9mpg (up from 282.5mpg with the pre-facelifted model). As with any plug-in hybrid, this fantasy figure reading has no actual relation to what you'll achieve in day-to-day driving reality, which probably won't be that much different to what you'd have got from the old Kuga diesel variant. And obviously, if you neglect to charge the car up, you'll simply be driving a heavy petrol-powered SUV, in which case you'll be lucky to see around 35mpg in regular use. But a typical Kuga PHEV owner will want to get to grips with the charging regime that will make the sums add up here. There's no quick-charge capability as there would be in a full-EV. The quickest you'll be able to recharge from empty is in 3.5 hours from a 7.4kW garage wallbox. A standard 3-pin plug will charge the car in around six hours.

Summary

Adding the weight and complexity of a PHEV system doesn't do the Kuga any favours in terms of either its handling or its price positioning. Ford though, is hoping that target market customers will think these drawbacks an acceptable trade for the not inconsiderable benefit of being able to slash taxation payments and being able to conduct almost exclusively electrified mileage. Which this car does even more impressively in this smartly improved form.

This car's growing array of mid-sized SUV plug-in rivals all have much the same appeal of course, but this Kuga should feel a more interesting steer than any of them, despite its near-1.9-tonne kerb weight. Which is important. Just because your next family car might need to be in some way electric, it doesn't have to feel like some kind of domestic appliance. Ford knows how to create something better. And it shows with this car.

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