At home in America, Ford is producing and selling two crossovers of the same size, and yet they're still doing great – the rugged Bronco Sport is actually hot on the heels of the fourth-generation Escape. The latter, which received a neat little refresh for the 2023 model year, was the 25th best-selling vehicle in America. A more mainstream offering than the Bronco Sport, it reached almost 141k customers last year in its home market.
Over in Europe, its third-generation Ford Kuga twin was recently spied on by our spy photographer partners in two flavors – and it looked mostly identical to the refreshed Ford Escape. Well, as it turns out, now that the cat is out of the bag and the Blue Oval company has officially unveiled the facelifted 2024 model year Kuga, that is not a bad thing at all.
A big competitor of the all-new Volkswagen Tiguan, among others, the 2024 Ford Kuga will have more leeway in attracting customers from now on thanks to the updated design, upgraded hybrid powertrains seeking "to suit all needs and deliver best-in-class towing ability," and its new embedded technology.
Ford's Kuga PHEV is on track to becoming Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid model for the third year in a row in 2023, and the refreshed model offers up to 69 km (43 miles) of zero-emissions driving; the Kuga Hybrid boasts "the convenience and comfort of an electrified powertrain, with up to 900 km (559 miles) of driving range on a single tank of fuel and up to 64 percent pure electric driving in the city." The company also offers a wide array of latest-generation driver assistance systems "that make it the ideal companion for everyday adventures."
Without giving us all the technical details just yet, Ford says the 2024 Kuga Plug-In Hybrid and Kuga HybridAWD have improved acceleration times and up to 2,100 kg (4,630 lbs.) of towing capacity. The new design is fresh and riddled with unique features for the Titanium, ST-Line, and new Active trims, says Ford. Meanwhile, inside the cabin, there is a standard 13.2-inch landscape touchscreen display boasting the latest version of SYNC 4 with 5G connectivity, cloud-connected navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Alexa Built-in, and functionalities like the Trailer Connection Checklist or Trailer Tow Navigation.
The advanced driver assistance technology bundle includes the new iteration of Adaptive Cruise Control with enhanced braking function or a 360-degree camera system, among others. The facelifted Kuga is easy to recognize thanks to the new full-width LED light bar at the front, and practical features include the sliding second row. Of note, there is a new Active trim included in the range for those seeking a rugged experience, and Ford promises the new Kuga will reach dealerships in its main European markets later this month.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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