Ford Kuga

[shaun4860]

Seeing as there are a couple of “what are they like” questions bobbing around I want to throw another into the mix.

Ford Kuga.

Looking at 2009-2012ish,

4WD, 

Manual,

Not bothered whether it’s the 136 or 163 bhp,

So come on, what they like? MPG?

Have a muddy track to negotiate in the winter so nothing serious off road.

Prefer the titanium spec over the zetec spec.

Good points/bad points?

Have had xtrails in the past but road tax is killing them at around £300/y

 

 

[Pigeon Shredder.]

Well I have had mine a couple of months now 2009 AWD Titanium 134 model with 80k on the clock.

Had always been independently serviced for the past 4years, so when l got it l had my mechanic go over it, filters, fully synthetic oil, cam belt and water pump, rear brake pads, and a coil spring on the back, so now 100%.

Plenty of space for grandchildren and shooting gear, not at the same time 🤫.

Had to change my driving style due to the extra weight and height of the Kuga but a comfortable ride if you don’t exceed the limits of it’s handling capabilities, if l was going to do anything l would tighten up the suspension and that all.

At cruising speed in 6th gear your running 2k revs, around town it’s 3rd or 4th gear as it’s quite high geared and the torque pushes you forward readily.

With the AWD it certainly holds itself through the corners and will see what it’s like come winter time.

Fuel consumption is running at 41/44 mpg and with diesel at 130 p/lt it’s not that bad compared to my last car.

Just make sure you get it serviced by someone who knows the intricate details of a Peugeot Diesel engine, cos that’s what you’re getting.

Forgot to say check Haldax units, oil and filters, a very expensive error if not up to date with a service, also the gearbox oil and operation.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Pigeon Shredder.
Addition.

[shaun4860]

Cheers 👍

[Spr1985]

I have a 2009  2 litre tdci titanium, had it since the end of 2014, bought it with 82k on the clock it’s now approaching 130k and the only things I’ve had to do are a dpf sensor and the timing belt and water pump (because it was due, not because it needed it)  I run it on Pirelli scorpion verde mud and snow tyres and never got stuck anywhere, it’s been to Lake Garda in Italy and back faultlessly up and down the country on a regular basis faultlessly , I feel it drives like a car handles extremely well for its size, set the steering to sport mode and it tightens it up! Awd means you can throw it round corners and it grips....obviously I don’t condone or encourage “drive it like you stole it “ but you can 😂.

One thing to bare in mind is that a lot of round town driving in a diesel can cause the dpf to get blocked up so give it a decent blast every now and again to keep it clear, apparently a common problem on the kuga,  very expensive fix if the filter becomes blocked. I found that out before the garage checked the sensor and realised they’d Mis diagnosed the problem (thankfully) 

[Westward]

It's based on the Focus platform so have the suspension thoroughly checked out before handing over money. Things to look out for are rear spring breakage (as mentioned above), rear suspension mount failure and wishbone bushes. The 3rd world roads in this part of the country keep the smaller repair shops in business and they are all very familiar with the Focus suspension.

[GingerCat]

They drive quite well, as said above they are like a tall focus. Not sure of the mpg of diesel ones but parents have a 1.5 petrol that manages 35 on a good run. I suspect the bigger diesels will be better. 

[lewis88]

I have a 2014 plate 163 but the 134bhp ones feel a little nippier to me due to the that the 163’s have larger/heavier alloys. I drive kuga’s everywhere in work, it’s main Achilles heal is it’s ground clearance. They will go pretty much anywhere (within reason) so long as you don’t beach them. I’ve driven in over a foot of snow at times and had no issues. Ford say that the haldex is non serviceable but there has been a few ‘AWD Malfunction’ errors on a few leading people to believe that the filters in the Haldex should be swapped. One thing to look out for is Sync 2 over Sync 1 as it’s non interchangeable. Sync 2 has many more features. My AWD 163 does 35ish around town and about 40mpg on a good run. 134’s that I drive in work hover around 32mpg but get abused pretty regularly. They handle rather well for their size and weight though.

They will do snow, ice and gravel tracks all day long but they do lack ground clearance. All in all it’s a decent family sized family wagon with typical family wagon running costs.

[Fuddster]

a guy I sold some furniture turned up in one-got talking and he rated it as a 'van puller and day to day general family car-IIRC it was about 120k on the clock and ran very well. I had a quick over it and it was showing no signs of wear.

nice truck for what its intended use is.

 

hth

 

f.

[shaun4860]

Cheers lads 👍

I did have a gander at the Vauxhall Antara but the 162hp is £325/y in road tax, if I wanted to spend that on tax I would get another xtrail 

[Dibble]

I've got one as a hire car today, I presume it's 2wd as the torque steer is scary.