These are the first official pictures of the new Kuga, Ford's forthcoming Focus-based 4x4 which goes on sale in June, from £20,495.It will be launched with just one engine - the 134bhp 2.0-litre diesel, which is coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox and permanent Haldex four-wheel drive system. Ford is claiming the Kuga has best-in-class emissions, at 169g/km, and fuel consumption of 44.1mpg. It’s also maintaining that the Kuga will offer ‘surprisingly good’ off-road ability. Which is a good thing, as the competition at this price is going to be difficult for it to beat. The impressive Honda CRV 2.2 i-CTDi, excellent Toyota RAV4 2.2 D-4D - even the TD4 Land Rover Freelander 2 will be among the cars it has to beat.Inside, the Kuga has fold-flat rear seats, storage areas under those seats and under the boot floor. There is 1355-litres of luggage capacity in it with the rear seats down and 410-litres with the seats up, and a dual-split tailgate makes filling up the space that much easier. Trim levels are kept simple, too, with just two on offer; Zetec and the range-topping Titanium.The Ford Kuga makes its official debut at next month’s Geneva show; watch this space for more information on it on March 4.
