Ford Kuga... opinions?

Hi all,

I am thinking about getting a Kuga. Have been looking at SUVs for quite a while and I think it's one of my favourites apart from the CRV and some Jeeps etc. In terms on consumption, it seems better than most others and is still very spacious.

I decided on such a car as I like travelling overland and would like to take Congo (in pic) with me sometimes. Must admit I always liked such cars.

Any opinions? Are there any others which are worth considering? Nothing that has a big consumption though (not less than B class).

Is maintenance of such a car very expensive? Wheels etc?

It is a FORD; enough said!

Can't say that I see the attraction in an SUV or a sub-SUV. What does "travelling overland" mean? Can you drive where there are no roads in Volketswil??

I have been driving Ford for the last 5 years, and I have not

had ANY problems whatsoever. I do not own a Kuga though.

Never Mind

Lucky You.

Lucky You.................again

Dear CashBoy and AbFab,

I appreciate opinions but your sarcasm is unappropriate and rather silly if I may say so!!

Travelling overland means going to other countries like all the way down to south Italy, south France and Spain by car!!! It is called travelling overland as far as I know, and if I am wrong, sorry!

I have also had a Ford before which I drove for 11 years with no problems ever.

The use of this theead is to get some useful opinions about SUVs, comparisons that you men (and also women) out there might be able to do better than me. Example value for money, fuel consumptions, services and maintenance costs etc

My last car was a Ford Fiesta, the only reason I had to get rid of it was it was due for the inspection and I knew there would be no way it would pass with the cancer (rust) raging through it's panels. It was a shame because mechanically the thing ran like a clock and I never once in the 3 years that I owned the thing had a problem with it..!

Well, the reason I would not by a Ford is:

Poor reliability compared to a VW

Small bits fall off compared to a BMW or VW ; so maintenance cost are higher

Long distances (Spain, Italy etc); the seats are softer in a Ford and therefore when you get out of the car you feel more tired. I used to drive London to Milan in 16 hrs and I tell you, you notice the difference between say a Ford or Fiat and a BMW when you get to your destination.

When you come to sell your Ford, it will have depreciated in comparison to a VW substancialy more. Therefore NOT value for money

VW are ahead on engine development with Direct Fuel Inject system so better fuel consumption

The Ford has no class if you are worried about neighbours and friends.

I do not think you see many Fords compared to VWs in Switzerland. I believe the VW Golf to be the best selling car in Switzerland but might be wrong.

SUV's is a fashion fad in my opinion. It stands for Sports Utility Vehicle.

They are heavier and not so aerodynamic so again not great on fuel.

Nice marketing exercise for motor manufacturers.

How the hell can it be considered sporty when the car is normally higher off the road and it is heavy with all the crap bits and pieces in it.

You would be better off buying a normal estate car or VW Golf type of car.

Obviously you have it in your mind that you want this Ford and wanted people to come on this web site and tell you what a great choice of motor it is.

Unfortunately, not everybody agrees with you, otherwise we would all be driving the same boring vehicles.

Thanks for the more constructive comments.

I don't know how many in your family or your budget; but say you had two kids; I would buy an Audi A4 Estate with a 2.0 TDI or 2.0 Petrol Engine depending on mileage.

I have owned and driven BMWs and Mercedes and know at present, I would only touch vehicles from the VAG range (Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi, Lamborgini, Bentley, Bugatti) as I believe they have the best products on the market in terms of build quality and relaibility and even innovation. They probably have the best design and engineering team in the world at the moment with a lot of design work from Porsche.

Just go and look at the panel joins on a Ford compared to a VW.

Go and read the crash test figures. i think VW wins every time against Ford. Dont quote me on that because I am not so concerned about that but might consider it if I had a family.

Look at how the rain runs off the body panels on a VW compared to a Ford (because the panels are better made and there is more paint and better finished).

The Swiss buy quality and value for money and I am amazed at the number of VWs and Audis on the road and that includes Ticino towards Italy.

One of my busineses in the UK is selling genuine BMW parts and "the quality of BMWs is getting better in the last year" I have been told by parts/service managers.

I would not touch a Mercedes at the moment. The quality has been poor for the last 10 years for the price of the vehicle. The ML (4 Wheel drive) was built in the USA, so is a pile of rubbish and if you look under the sump of the older vehicles, you will even see "Chrysler" written on the parts.

I would not touch anything Italian or French though I admire some of the designs.

If you want a dead boring reliable car then buy Japanese (Honda then Toyota) but then give Japanese cars built in the UK (Civic, Micra...etc) a miss.

Personally, I would never buy brand new. I would let someone else take the financial loss of Depreciation for the first two to three years. It doesn't apply to you but in the UK where most people Lease-Purchase their vehicle but can't afford the balloon payment at the end of the 3 year lease agreement, there are some good second hand buys.

If you wanted a 4 wheel drive (can't see the point myself) a second hand VW Toureg 3.0ltr diesel.

Swiss roads in villages are quite small, so I would not buy anything physically bigger than a Audi A4 / Passat floor plan.

Attitudes Change. To give you an idea; I have been looking at buying either a Porsche Carrera S or Audi R8 for the last year. I was opting for the Porsche in the end on the grounds that it is narrow for the roads, less pretentious and probably hold its value better in the long term. Now I am reluctant to even buy the Porsche on the grounds of what is the point; speed cameras and Switzerland does not have any race tracks to use it on, unlike the UK.

I would just never ever buy a Ford or Vauxhall/Opel.

My opinion. I am sure others will disagree and I will respect their opinions but not necessarily agree.

Here is a road test of Ford Kuga from the Times Newspaper.

Go to www.timesonline.co.uk

Then: Driving

Then: NewCar Review

Then look up your Ford Kougar on the list

Not much of a Road Test; but it basically tells you the sort of person that would buy it.

I don't share others' opinions here on Fords. If there were such rubbish, they would have gone bust years ago. They are made to a price and clearly you are not going to get VW quality. The current range of Fords handle oustandingly well.

As to driving to Italy, France & Spain etc: unless your route is over fields, why do you need a 4WD? The suspension is (or should be) for driving over ploughed fields, not the billiard table surfaces of autoroutes, autostrades and autobahns. You will simply be using more fuel and giving yourself an unnecessarily hard ride and stopping more air in a SUV and listening to more road and wind noise.

With a dog, an estate/hatchback would be much more useful vehicle...

I second the idea that an estate car (like an audi A4 or volvo V70) would be better than an SUV. I have a VW Transporter van, the disadvantage of having a rather high car is that you have a lot of 'lean' when driving curves in the mountains. This feels rather uncomfortable, the effect on me is that I am very slow going up and down mountains (or the Albis for that matter). And estate car would easely accommodate you and your dog in total comfort while being much better to drive than a SUV (economy will probably also be better)

After having electrical problems with VW,Opel and Mercedes - I turned Japanese. Due to the huge write-off perhaps you should consider a used car.

We bought a 3 year old Lexus rx300 for a third of the sticker price. Quality is excellent.

If all else fails - use your gut and just buy the Kuga....it looks pretty cool!

In other words, here's a direct link to the article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle4044352.ece

Another good source for car reviews:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/

In my opinion a Ford is like an Economy Loaf of bread.

It is bread - a Ford is a car

Bread fills you up - Ford gets you from A to B

Economy Bread tastes winey after a couple of days - Ford starts to have things break off and rattle after while.

BUT do you want a plain Economy Loaf of Bread?

All those point are valid. You would even find the Ford Kougar would be poor over fields.

When I tested this link last night I had ERROR 404 on screen, that was the reason I gave the details how to get there.

I can see the point of having a 4x4. I live up a very steep street and every winter there are (a few) evenings I have to make it up the street with slipping/spinning wheels. I have only front wheel drive and would like 4x4. Especially when you want a car for daytrips, you want to be able to go up mountains in the winter (Flumserberg, Amden) without clenched buttocks . 4x4 offers just that.

Friends of mine have Mercedes as well, and they have horrible electrical

problems. Several friends of mine have turned theirs back in for other

cars.