FORDKuga 2008 - 2012

　　Ford ramped up its game and introduced the Kuga crossover on the market in 2008, offering a better alternative for those looking for a hatchback-sized vehicle with the interior space of a minivan.

　　Customers started to understand the advantages of crossovers and moved away from the minivan segment. These vehicles provided enough interior room for a family with kids, bicycles, trampolines, special seats, and many other luggage while still being able to park in tight spots where just regular hatchbacks could fit. Ford had wide experience in building off-road vehicles and compact-sized cars. As a result, it mixed them and introduced the Kuga in 2008, a crossover that it produced on the same platform as the second generation of the Ford Focus.

　　When Ford designers were tasked with this mission, they tried to replicate the same design language of the Focus and the Mondeo. As a result, the headlights featured a similar shape to the headlights and the three-slat grille adorned by a chromed trim above it. Still, that led to a taller front bumper to cover all the lower side of the front fascia, where the automaker installed an additional trapezoidal-shaped grille and two side scoops that flanked it and sported the fog lamps. From its profile, the Kuga resembled the five-door Focus greenhouse, with a third row of windows mounted between the C-pillars and the tailgate. Still, they had to install taller door panels since the car had to be taller. At the back, the automaker installed light-gray plastic shields under the bumper and flanked it with two exhausts.

　　Inside, the Kuga featured high-mounted seats to help drivers get a better view of the road. They also got an instrument cluster similar to that installed in the Focus and a tilted-forward center stack adorned with a light-gray trim. The engineers, then, had to find a solution to place the gear stick higher so the drivers feel like in regular hatchbacks. As a result, between the front occupants was a tall center console that housed a pair of cup holders neatly concealed under a sliding cover. In the back, thanks to the tall seating position, there was enough legroom for three passengers with a low transmission tunnel. The split-folding (60/40) bench seat offered customers the possibility to expand the trunk space from 360 liters (12.7 cu-ft.) to 1,370 liters (47.8 cu-ft). That was a massive difference.

　　But Ford played it even smarter and offered the Kuga with either all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive systems. Thanks to its experience in the American market, it knew that most of the time, customers drove their vehicles on dry or wet roads, not on snowy ones. But thanks to its European experience, it also knew that buyers from the Old Continent were leaning toward diesel engines. As a result, it offered the Kuga with either front- or all-wheel drive systems, a wide range of turbo-diesel powerplants, and manual or automatic transmissions. In addition, a 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated powerplant completed the engine lineup for those who didn’t want an oil-burner vehicle.

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