Ford Kuga TF.I (2013-2014)

Not Reliable. New Transmission Needed @ 36,000 Kms – I submitted a complaint with the ACCC and other consumer bodies. Yes consumers have rights but you have to engage a lawyer to get any assistance. I purchased new a 2014 Ford Kuga Trend, auto, diesel from Jackson Motor Company, Launceston Tas, for $39,690. It has done 36,000 kms and JMC have told me it needs a new transmission. Yes a new… Read more

transmission at 36,000 kms at a cost of $8182. WHOOPS, now they tell me they hadn't added labour costs to that price and it is actually $10,520. They then offered to take $1500 off that. Seriously ! Neither Ford nor JMC Launceston are prepared to rectify the problem. Which I believe to be a faulty product, the transmission.

They claim that car is out of warranty, so not their problem. FORD "GO FURTHER" is their slogan, mine didn't go very far at all. In fact the second hand cars I have owned during my life all went further than my new car purchase. Modern cars are not designed to last, some are in fact dangerous and are just expensive rubbish designed for a throw away world.

I believe the true measure of a business is how they perform when customers have an issue. Some are brilliant at before and after sale, others have no idea at all. Everyone I tell is gobsmacked. I am stunned by the response from what I thought was a reputable company. I also wrongly believed I was purchasing a quality product. I should have saved my $. Feel ripped off big time. Poor form FORD AND JMC. Will never purchase from either again.

Love it looks big but its so compact – Drive to work family transport its a mums taxi. Use my car every day. Love driving it. Service car regularly either the months its due or reach the kms what ever comes first. Show details

Rubbish – Badly built , to many recalls , blown transmission drive shaft in first year of ownership, Ford service team useless, bought to replace a lemon craptiva but ford was no better I wish ford would join Holden and disappear as there is so many better cars out there to buy please stay away from ford cars Bought a Honda CR-V hopefully have better luck with this one Show details

Rev up and down while driving – When reversing or driving forward I notice the car revving up and down, but it doesn't while idle. Any idea on what it could be. Just had service not long ago and mechanic said nothing Show details

Good car when it works!! – Brought new 2013 model Kuga, had serviced by Ford dealer as per log book and many recalls. Last recall I had done was for coolant over heating, replaced hoses, heater fan, reservoir and what ever else. Coolant Recall was done not once but 3 times and many returns to dealership with overheating issues (no warning lights ect, only found out by hot… Read more

engine smell, lift bonnet no coolant) to be told it has a blown head and repair bill of $3k. Rang Ford Aust informed them this issue only started when recall was done and asked for them to cover the costs, they told me ( I of all people who is not a mechanic) to prove it was done due to the recall. My car has been in the dealership 16 times due to the coolant problem! My loyalty with Ford is 23 years, loyalty to me by Ford NIL now considering other brands.

Great to drive but heap of crap! – Bought 2014 model from Victory Ford, Tweed Heads in April and was very happy with the vehicle. Got after market warranty but when I took it in for first service, was told the vehicle has been recalled with an overheating problem. Asked why recall was not mentioned to me or done before I bought the vehicle, Ford advise they did not know although… Read more

the recall was in Nov 2017! Took the Kuga to another Ford dealer who advised all the damage had been done and Ford had to replace the motor. Car off the road for three weeks.

One has a loud bang every now and then from somewhere behind the driver. This fault also causes static through the radio at the time. Have vehicle booked in with Ford on Tuesday and if nothing done, it will be for sale.

Definitely not worth the problems.

I would NEVER buy a Ford again.

Coolant leaks after recall mods – So disappointed with my Kuga... after the so called recalls my car has never been the same. Constant loss of coolant, warning messages, etc. And every time racq had to tow it back to the dealer. No wonder you get free racq membership. This is just an ongoing inconvenience, first the water pump then seals, etc and airlock ( every excuse you can… Read more

think of) . The vehicle has only done 60k and all services done by ford . Definitely not buying a Ford ever again. Hello Mazda....

Great car, expensive repairs – Purchased as a demo (2013 model) in 2014 from a Ford dealer. We were tossing up between a Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Focus and found the Kuga by accident and have not regretted our decision. The Kuga had much more room in the boot, has all wheel drive and a raised ride height, it is also has a conventional gearbox as apposed to a CVT gearbox. … Read more

The good:

All wheel drive has been great to meet the requirements for driving to the Snowy Mountains / extra security in the rain.

Plenty of room in the boot, plus the addition to fold the rear seats down. The rear seats also tilt backwards so you aren't sitting straight up.

If driven carefully, 7.7L/100km is achievable with two people and a full boot.

The bad:

It could do with more power, the updated 2.0L petrol engine would be the way to go.

Recalls. We have so far had recalls for faulty fuel gauge, repairs to upper trim pillar, air bag warning and two of three coolant recalls completed. When the second stage of the coolant recall had been competed we noticed a check engine warning came on some days later. Ford diagnosed the issue as a coolant error and said we would need pay for it to be fixed as it's out of warranty. The local Ford dealer would not accept that they had broken an item during the recall and in the end we lodged a complaint with Ford Australia with little movement. It wasn't until we mentioned we were lodging an application with the ACCC that Ford Australia agreed to cover the cost of fixing the coolant issue. The cruise control failed with Ford clearing the clock spring under warranty, the fixed the issue for a couple of months and again failed. This time the cruise control module required replacement at a cost of $500 - out of warranty.

Regarding parts, Ford have been hit and miss. A replacement battery was quoted at $220 installed, which in the Kuga is a bit of a mess around due to it's location. To replace the front wiper blades we were quoted $140 for a pair - no thanks.

The high beam is crap. 55w globes are to blame here and are some funky style so finding upgraded globes is almost impossible.

Overall we have been happy with the vehicle and have driven roughly 90,000 since purchasing. We would most likely purchase a Kuga again albeit the Trend model, the Titanium is just too expensive and you're almost looking at Everest money. It's a great car, but being European based means spare parts are hard to find and expensive.

recall – performance is great.. interior excellent.. seat height excellent dashboard easy to reach ..fuel running cost is not too bad road handling is great as i expected previously owning a ford xr6 perfect female car to drive ,love the saftey equipment an gadgets its got. highly recommend as I bought it due to had an baby at the time , all the safety for my family is what counts  Show details

bought second hand...pleased with the design and features.. only worried how the previous owner used – performance is great.. interior excellent.. seat height excellent dashboard easy to reach ..diesel running cost is low.. road handling is great as i expected previously owning a ford escort..the wife loves to drive it..  Show details

I love this car! – I have only had my Kuga for a couple of months now and it’s perfect for me. Drives well. Smooth. Comfortable. There is only one thing that I wish was different and that’s the petrol usage. They advertise the petrol usage at 8litres per 100km however this is untrue. There is an electronic gage in the dash which adverages out your fuel… Read more

consumption and mine constantly is over 10 litres although usually sits between 11 and 14 litres .

No, I have kids and I’m a mum, my foot is not heavy at all.

I spoke to a service technician for Ford and he told me that “It will never only use 8 litres because the way they test the petrol usage is in a controlled unrealistic environment.

Wish I had of known that earlier because I would’ve chosen a Focus, as the petrol usage was a big thing for me when it came to choosing the right car for me.

glad I purchased – Test drove heaps of cars in this class before I decided on the trend. Love the leg room & the fact I can fit 3 car seats in the back. The extra wide dash was off-putting at first but soon got used to it. Only issue it has is sometimes the reverse camera in the mirror flickers. Great drive with power to spare. I do find it abit more thirsty than it states in the stats but not overly expensive. Love the look of the car overall.  Show details

Lemon – A quite car with guts, great interior with user friendly layout features. I found the Kuga Ambiente to be fuel efficient. Love performance & handling until going up hill. On a steep hill this car would lose power with service alert on dash. I was told dirty fuel was the problem. Now it is in getting an engine. Someone told me last week tjis was… Read more

the second engine. I do not know if this is factual, however I was told that the last owners had it for 3 months, lived in a hilly area. In workshop twice and each time it was for a month, they had the vehicle replaced.

Practical but thirsty for a diesel – Road feel/handling and suspension is reasonable for an SUV. Road noise reasonable but some wind noise present. Plenty of power from the diesel, after turbo kicks in ( which can take a while). The 6 speed dsg seems more tuned for petrol as it hangs onto gears unnecessarily long when accelerating. Deisel consumption averages 8.8l per 100km. Love the… Read more

DAB+ radio, could not go back to standard am / fm now. Lots of cargo space and adjustable rear bench. Pity about the space saver spare wheel. Has been very reliable for the last 3+ years and fixed price servicing a plus.

Love my Kuga – I bought my Kuga after the 2nd hand Cherokee transmission failed. At the time my fuel bill was $110 every 4 business days. I moved to the Kuga and my fuel dropped to $40 every 10 business days. Bought the Titanium with he safety pack (extra $5k) but with a 16 yo starting to learn was happy with the investment. No issues at all with the car . … Read more

Had to reset all of the electronics settings twice after a manufacturer software update which is a pain. Android phone works much better than Apple with the integration of text etc., but that is the price of Apple, not Ford's fault.

My other car is a 2016 Santa Fe. The electronics on the ford are far superior especially around the use of mobile whilst driving. My hour commute is my catch-up time with friends and family, so this is important to me.

Never been happy with the 4" screen, but this was addressed in the newer models. Also sat nav lacks any real-time feedback to avoid snarls, although the manual and buttons indicate it probably works wonders in EU. Happy with my Spain built car. Drive-train great, fuel usage great (7 to 7.3 L/100km in Sydney peak hour!!) Have looked around for an upgrade recently to hand car down the chain but not found anything compelling enough to make daughter happy.

Done 75k in 3.25 years.

Awesome Car – This is a really great car. Its very economical for a SUV and it is amazing to drive. Runs like a dream and comes with a bunch of awesome features. The AWD is really good and you can take corners better than ever. I have not tried on demand 4wd yet but looking forward to it.  Show details

Love Our Kuga – We had been looking at the Ford Kuga for a while to upgrade our car. We could not be happier. It is a great car to drive. I love the parking sensors and the cruise control. The fuel economy is great. We can quite comfortably fit 2 car seats and an adult in the back seat. Plenty of boot space for shopping and other items. We also have a tow… Read more

bar and it tows our trailer well. There is lots of room and doesn't feel cramped. Very happy with our Kuga!

Fantastic Car – I have had the Kuga for 8 months now and it is by easily the best car I have bought. The power is spot on and the fuel economy is great, we average 7.5 litres per 100km mixed town and highway driving. Aircon is superb and safety features are very intuitive. The screen may be small but has a clearer display than many of the larger screens in… Read more ·  1

other vehicles. I actually the additional buttons on the stereo system rather than flicking through menus.

I would reccomend this car to anyone.

Good but Not Great – I have the Titanium 1.6L Turbo top of the range with the full moon roof etc etc.. It's a good car and the engine is not as bad as some make out - yes it needs to rev high but thats what its designed for - it gives you maximum power at higher rpm. The inside is damn nice compaired to the first edition of the Kuga. The stereo is some what… Read more

average - I swear the amp/sub does not kick in untill volume is set to 6.

One thing I can't stand about this car is the lack of storage space - i never have anywhere to put anything!!

Apart from that it looks good and when run on 98ron fuel I get ~ 580/600kms from a tank at aroun $80 @1.50 per L.

CAN RUN ON E10 Fuel - IT IS CHEAPER but you DO NOT get as many kms as the 98 ron fuel FYI.

:)

I still give this car at least a 7/10

Good vehicle for its type – Purchased a Kuga Titanium diesel back in October with 8000km on the clock this was an ex Ford Executive car and it was some 9 months old. We have now done 20,000km and after getting the computer reset due to rather high fuel consumption the car is now a very nice vehicle to drive and now also fairly economical as well. The only regret is it… Read more

doesn't have the technology pack consisting of adaptive cruise, auto brake application, lane departure warning, auto high beam ETC which we have become used to on my Wife's vehicle, the car rides well and quietly ( possibly to do with the top end Continental tyres fitted which I have been told are $500 each to replace )considering the extra height it sits off the ground it doesn't lean much in the corners at all. I can never understand why this vehicle doesn't sell better than it has to date as we compared nearly all the other models available and thought this and the Mazda CX-5 really were streets ahead of the other comparable vehicles from other manufacturers and it all came down to deals from Mazda or Ford and disappointingly Mazda dealers were nowhere near as good as their products in this department. All up very happy with the Kuga and the little extras that it has and would not hesitate to suggest people have a very good look at this vehicle before purchasing in this class may surprise a lot of people.

EVERYONE DESERVES A KUGA!!! – Mine is a Ford Kuga Titanium with turbo Diesel engine 2.0l.. One word to described is just AWESOME!!! Everyone looking into buying a car should consider the Ford Kuga, it's not only an SUV but is smoother, faster and more powerful than many hatchs, sedans or even its own competitors, not to mention how cheap is to run it, it does 6.4lt/100… Read more

combined , 7.8 lt/100 urban! This in unbelievable ....

Before buying this car, I test drove Mazda CX-5, jeep Compas, Toyota Rav4 and Honda CRV and non of them get even closer to the performance of the Ford Kuga

Its interior looks great, very well designed and extremely comfortable, easy access to all controls, great visibility to the 4 corners, and lots of interior space, (trunk is the biggests of the competitors) not to mention that this car Park in parallel for itself, taking all the hassle from you!

Love SYNC system which is the voice activated computer, is very clever and allow you to perform hundreds of tasks, more than many other 'hands-free' systems in other brands.

If you can afford it, go for the Technology Pack which makes your drive REAL SAFE, with intelligent cruise control, city auto breaking, blind spot and line keeping, with all of these features, this car is not far from driving for itself!

Hope this review help your decision process !!!

Great car – This is a great car ! There's room in the back for the kids it's amazing to drive sticks to the road & hardly any wind or road noise! & for a 1.6l engine it's got a lot of grunt  Show details

great car – i just bought a 2013 poverty pack(ambiante) kuga. its the 6 speed auto. in all truth, people who buy a kuga, don't buy buy it to tow a boat, or anything really. if you want to tow anything get a territory. the handling is very good, inspires confidence in its abilities. the kuga as reliability is an unknown as this is the first time the 1.6t… Read more ·  1

engine has been used in australia, fairly economical, surprisingly quick, i blew away a v6 commodore in it. for what i paid, its an ex demo, it was a deal i couldnt refuse. also the colour i got, ink blue is the best looking colour ive seen.

Great Drive! – I recently bought a 1.6 ecooost Titanium model. I believe it is a better car for round town driving compared to the TDCI, as the ecooost has more zip. It is so sharp to drive for an SUV, while also being comfortable. The seats are very supportive, plus they are heated! Most reveiws say the controls are 'overwhelming' and 'cluttered' but after a… Read more

couple of days of owning the car you know them off by heart. The headlights are awesome, as they are xenon and have LED daytime running lights, the interior lighting is also very cool. I compared this car to the Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportsge, 2014 Jeep Cherokee, Subaru Forester, and the Hyundai ix35. The ford offerd a sharper drive, heaps of kit for the money, and in my opinion it looks better then these other cars. Sharp to drive, good value, supportive seats, hudge sunroof, xenon headlights, electric boot. Only 3years warranty compared to the Kia and Hyundai's 5years. Fuel economy only average.

Kuga terrible name great car – I have driven fords for years and have a bit if a soft spot for them despite Australian build quality standards. Now this Kuga is a very nice euro ford indeed, despite the daft name. Picked a demo Trend Diesel up today and so far really impressed with the motor. The diesel pulls well not V8 power or speeds that I'm used to but pretty good… Read more

regardless. Interior comfort is fantastic with nicely bolstered sports front seats. There is a lot of gadgets and buttons inside that become very intuitive quiet quickly. Rear visibility is not a strong point and the wing mirrors could be slightly larger. Rear leg room best in class as far as I could see and certainly miles in front of Holdens captiva. I'm Irish and Sync understands me 95% of the time that's 100% improved on my voice recognition when I order take away over the phone. As for comments about cheap interior I will agree it's no BMW or AUDI but you know that when you buy it. It is however significantly better then any Korea or Malaysian import for performance safety and build quality. This is a global vehicle designed for an international market, this is a vehicle produced by a company that weathered the GFC and is now producing some fine vehicles, it's a ford and it's a good one. Euro styling. Focus like drive. Busting with safety features and Sync understands me Can't figure out the reverse sensors properly. Owners manual lacking detail with lots of don't do this and don't do that

Great SUV best car I have driven – This SUV seems to have it all lots of power, no turbo lag, great ride, very quiet, excellent handling even on winding roads, great fuel economy 7.8L /100km, good rear seat space very comfortable for 4 adults, good luggage space, looks fantastic. Many people have driven the car (over 15 people) and I have not recieved any bad comments as yet every… Read more

one is amazed at how good it really is. I love it. Great ride, excellent fuel economy, looks great, very comfortable, lots of safety features, lots of room, heaps of power, fantastic dual climate control air conditioning.

Great diesel and auto but overall not very impressive – Driven the 'Trend' $40k mid spec turbo diesel auto for a few days - brand new. Yuk what a terrible car. The diesel, transmission and overall on road performance are fine - a good drive in fact from that point of view. Visibility is great with a large wide windscreen and commanding view overall. Nothing else is good though. You have to duck… Read more

a lot to get in under the drivers pillar though headroom is excellent once inside. The dash is very old school Korean - it just screams cheap. The headlight switch panel near the drivers knee (!) is loose and in just an odd place. The steering wheel controls are poorly laid out and the voice command system rarely gets it right. The instrument binnacle rattles and squeaks. The tailgate has to be slammed shut (hard!) at least 2-3 times to close. The cruise control is where the phone controls should be and are just a pain to use. Honda, Mazda and many others which have it under your thumb actually on the steering wheel are far easier to use.

The seats are perhaps the worst I've ever sat in - I'm not overweight and 6'1" / 183cm tall. The seats bases are unusually narrow and very short so there is absolutely zero under thigh support. There is no shoulder support whatsoever though the lumbar support is good. After 20 minutes I had backache and my legs hurt and would rather walk than drive this over an kind of distance.

There is no reversing camera or nav. The Sony audio is good but not great - the factory audio in our Civic VTI-LN hatch is at least as good or better and the seats are worlds apart in comfort.

The back seats aren't any better - OK for kids but adults will hate it. Not as much room as you would expect in something of this size in terms of rear leg room or cargo spare. I think for $40000 there are far better buys (I've recently driven a Kia Sportage diesel and Mazda CX5 2.5 petrol and diesel and all three are in a completely different league - fit, finish, equipment, styling, driving experience .....) Excellent diesel engine and automatic transmission. Great visibility. Poor build quality, terrible seats, poor switch gear layout and steering wheel controls, dodgy voice command system, cheap looking dash, average audio, overall dated styling