Hello and welcome back to another video.
Today we are in the Ford Kuga, specifically the ST-Line X plug in hybrid.
We're currently en route to the highest point
of the highest road in the U.K.
The Cairnwell Pass is a section of road between Braemar and Glenshee.
At it's highest point you reach the Glenshee Ski Centre.
And we can't wait to get the Kuga up there.
OK, before we get too excited with that,
let's firstly look at this Kuga and its design.
Firstly, let's talk about the front end.
From the front, the Kuga actually looks a little bit like the Ford Focus,
it's just a little bit more pumped up and aggressive.
The front grill
actually changes in design and colour depending on what model you spec.
The Kuga comes in Zetec, Titanium,
St-Line, Vignale and the ST-Line X like we have here today.
This is probably my favourite trim level on the Kuga
because it combines sportiness and those creature comforts together.
Around the front we've also got full LED headlamps and LED daytime running lights.
With this being the ST-Line X, we've also got the full ST-Line body kit.
That also means we get these upgraded 19 inch machined
alloy wheels and you get the red calipers which really sets the car off.
So before we look around the back of the Kuga,
let's have a look under the bonnet and talk about engine options.
One thing I'd like to mention is one of my favourite features
actually of the Kuga,
is if you double pull on that latch it actually releases the bonnet catch
meaning you dony have to do that
annoying thing when you are fumbling around
like other manufacturers to try and release it.
So we'll pop this open and have a look inside.
Current offering of engines start at entry level
with 1.5 litre Ecoboost, producing 150 brake horsepower.
Then there's two 2.5 litre options like we've got here.
Firstly, a full hybrid which is four wheel drive
which is quite a nice feature which self charges whilst you're driving
or this variant the plug in hybrid which is probably my favourite
configuration producing 225 brake horsepower.
So in the Kuga you get a 14.4 kilowatt body
that'll take around 3 hours to charge on your proper plug wall chargers
and It'll take around 6 hours on your three pin, which isn't too bad
if you just plugging it in and charging overnight.
What that will do is it will give you anywhere between 29
to 40 miles of pure electric range or when you use it
combined with just the petrol engine, you get some fantastic MPG's.
So to the rear
we've got this really nice aggressive back end.
Big fan of the large Kuga lettering across the back and the two real exhaust pipes.
Got a real sense of sort of sporty SUV from here.
This Kuga also got the optional extra
fitted electric assisted tailgate that you can open with your foot.
Love this feature
especially if you've got the Kids., you've got the shopping in your hands.,
you're coming you can just swipe your foot and get yourself in.
As you can see, once we've opened up in here we've got huge boot space,
which is fantastic.
One of the really nice features as well.
Is that when you lift this boot floor
there's space to fit your electric charging cables.
Not a lot amount of manufacturers consider that and I love that feature.
Also, we've got plenty spaces here to tether things to if you want to.
We've got a nice flush boot floor so you can pull things out
without any hassle, which is really nice as well.
We've also got a wee
12v over here and wee hook if you want to hang anything on.
One of my other favourite features about this boot,
is you don't have to lean over like you do in some cars
and try and drop the rear seats you just pull these handles here
and the boot opens up into a massive space.
It's not entirely flat, but you're going to get tons of stuff in there.
So as we jump into the back of the Kuga
first thing I will say is this is a really comfortable place to be,
but my favourite feature is got to be in relation to the boot
where these rear seats actually slide forward,
giving you that extra space without having to recline the chairs down.
Also for like a road trip like today you can actually
also recline these rear seats and get yourself super comfortable.
In terms of storage.
We've got pretty decent sized bins in the door cards
got a couple of drinks holders in here as well, which is pretty good.
And an armrest.
And probably one of the best features is you also get rear heated seats.
Also this car
being the ST-Line X features the pano roof.
Normally in cars with pano roofs you tend to find that the head height in the back
pretty short, I'm not far off six foot and I've got plenty of head height in here.
Let's jump in the front and have a look there.
OK so up front here in the Kuga feels very familiar.
It's almost like a Ford Focus actually.
Just everything's a little bit chunkier, with it being an SUV, with this being
the ST-Line X, we've got some really nice finishes in here.
We've got the half leather and Alcantara centres with the red stitch.
That's also followed up onto the steering wheel as-well,
your perforated sides and your red stitch also.
Again seat itself is really comfortable, electrically controlled for the driver.
So you can get that really nice sort of driving position that you'd like an SUV.
With this being an SUV obviously, you kind of want to sit a little bit higher up.
See right over that bonnet, which is great.
Also got plenty of steering wheel adjustment.
So you really get comfortable.
In the centre console,
we've got our analog controls down here, which I'm a big fan of.
Dual climate control, which is really cool.
Also that's being the ST-Line X, we've got heated seats and heated steering wheel.
On a day like today the heated steering wheel is amazing.
So cold outside and it's so nice to just have warm hands when you're driving.
In terms
of storage, down here we've got two drinks holders which is really nice,
got some storage under the armrest, got a wee cubby here
which you can keep your phone in.
To be honest, I don't think you'll ever really use that
because down here you've actually got wireless charging,
which is a really nice feature.
And you've also got a couple of USBs down here to.
Favourite part of storage in this car though has got to be the door bins.
These things are huge.
This is a one and a half litre water bottle
and it's slots in there quite nicely.
In terms of tech in this car.
Got a few nice features.
First up, it's got to be the Ford Sync 3 Nav.
This has got built in Nav really nice and easy to use.
Also got Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and DAB radio which is fantastic.
We've also got digital dash
which again has been spec'd which is just fantastic.
I don't really see why cars wouldn't have digital dashes these days.
You can make this kind of look however you like.
And when you're changing between modes like Slippery or Sport,
the colours change.
And in the menu system, you can customise what you want to show up in the centre,
which is quite cool.
This car's also been spec'd with a heads up display.
Absolutely love this feature this displays your miles per hour when you're driving,
which is so nice
because when you're driving on days like today, roads are a bit snowy
you never have to take your eyes off the road.
Anyway, enough of that. Let's get back on the road.
First things first.
What I would say is the Kuga handles itself really well.
For a big SUV it doesn't really feel big at all.
It's quite nimble it's neat.
You can get into corners and out of them pretty well.
Obviously outside's freezing.
And I have to say, in here at creature comforts are absolutely brilliant.
When you're on a trip like this.
This probably is the ultimate getaway SUV car.
And that's why I wanted to take it to somewhere like this.
There's so much room in this car.
You can find the whole family.
And get it, hopefully the top of Glenshee
for a little ski trip.
So we're getting close now
to reaching the summit 2000 feet above sea level.
And this car is not missed a beat.
Been absolutely perfect.
Been nimble, been neat, been tidy, been smooth
and ultimately being unbelievably comfortable.
To be honest, I'm not sure I want to get out in the cold.
And here we go.
We've made it to the summit.
Glenshee
Ski Center.
Absolutely beautiful.
Looks like the people up here have had a great day.
There's loads of snow.
What a dream it was to drive up here.
OK, we made it.
We are at the top.
You can see everybody skiing and it's -6.
It's absolutely freezing.
And I'll be honest, I can't wait just to get back inside the nice, lovely,
warm Kuga.
What a drive it was in this.
Absolute perfect for this sort of scenario.
So smooth, so comfortable, and it was great to drive in.
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I'm going to go get warm.