Kuga gets powerful 2-litre diesel

The latest Ford Kuga is now available with a 2-litre TDCi Duratorq four-cylinder diesel engine giving 180PS and 400Nm of torque.

According to Ford, the Kuga now has a significant range of upgrades that include the sports utility vehicle’s most powerful diesel powertrain to date.

Improvements to the Kuga's diesel and gasoline engine range also deliver lower CO₂ emissions. Kuga is offered with more advanced technologies as standard that help reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions, including Auto-Start-Stop and Active Grille shutters.

Ford's 2-litre TDCi diesel powered 95 per cent of the Kugas sold in the UK during the first nine months of 2014.

Ford has now increased peak power of the engine by 17PS to 180PS and peak torque to 400Nm, up from 340Nm.

This engine choice will deliver the most pulling power ever for Kuga, particularly when combined with Ford's intelligent all-wheel drive system chosen by most customers.

Ford is introducing its new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine to the Kuga range, reducing CO₂ emissions to 143g/km from 154g/km – an improvement of more than seven per cent over the outgoing 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine.

Ford will also offer a 150PS 2-litre TDCi option that delivers 122g/km CO₂ – an improvement of 12 per cent.

And there is a 1.5-litre Ecoboost gasoline engine 180PS with automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The CO₂ combined figure has been improved by 4.5 per cent to give a value of 171gm/km.

Since Ford's Kuga's launch in the UK, supplied by Ford's Valencia assembly plant in Spain, more than 200,000 vehicles have been sold across Europe.

Ford's expanding range of SUVs in Europe includes the new EcoSport and next year also will include the Ford Edge. And in due course, no doubt, Kuga will also be a candidate to receive the new Panther 2-litre diesel engine once production gathers momentum in 2016.