• Lots of clever storage bins
• Flexible rear bench seat
• Poor load cover in the boot

How much space is there?

Enough for most families. Three average adults should be able to get comfortable in the rear, as the Kuga offers lots of head and leg room. It also features a split-folding 60:40 backrest – and you can slide the seat forwards and backwards to increase either passenger space or boot space.

Space in the front is equally plentiful. The centre console is quite thin, which leaves front occupants with plenty of elbow room. However, we found that the driver’s seat is set uncomfortably high. Even in its lowest setting, taller drivers might feel like they’re a little too close to the roof.

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Boot space and storage

Boot space isn’t class-leading, with not a great deal more capacity than hatchbacks like the Focus. With the rear seats in place, there’s 412 litres on offer, but you can increase that figure to 1,534 litres by folding the rear seats flat. If you don’t option a spare wheel, you also get a handy storage area under the boot floor.

The Kuga isn’t without its problems, though. The seats don’t lie completely flat when you fold them down, which can make loading larger items a bit of a chore. The fabric load cover also looks and feels cheap, and we’ve seen test cars with ill-fitting upholstery on the rear seat backs (below).

Ford did a good job with the Kuga storage bins, though. There are plenty of cubbies dotted around the cabin, including a lidded locker in the centre console, deep door bins and a smartphone-sized space ahead of the gear selector with wireless charging on more expensive models.

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Is it easy to park?

It isn’t bad – but bear in mind that it’s a family-sized SUV. Visibility of its corners isn’t the best, but Ford does fit every car as standard with front and rear parking sensors, which helps you place the car better. Titanium models and up also have a rear-view camera.

The door mirrors seem a bit small for such a large car, but they’re electrically adjustable as standard which means you can easily angle them down to check you’re not scraping the alloys along the kerb.

Safety

• Scored five stars in Euro NCAP tests
• Loads of standard safety technology
• Few safety-related optional extras

The latest Ford Kuga performed very well in its Euro NCAP crash tests, achieving a 92% score for adult occupants and an 86% score for child occupants. The testers were particularly impressed with the Kuga’s performance in the lateral impact tests, where it achieved a perfect score. Children are very well protected in an accident, too.

Most of the Kuga’s safety equipment comes as standard, too. In addition to its brace of standard airbags, every Kuga gets autonomous emergency braking, cruise control, lane-keeping assist and intelligent speed limit assist. Titanium models and up also feature full LED headlamps, a driver attention monitor and adaptive cruise control.

Ford also offers an improved Quad LED headlight system as a £550 optional extra. It performs superbly well, offering a greater range and width than the standard LED headlights. It’s certainly an extra we’d recommend if you do a lot of driving during the night.

You can also have a Driver Assistance Pack, which adds handy extras like a front camera, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, a blind-spot monitoring system and active park assist, which can automatically steer the car into parallel spaces.

Watch the Ford Kuga’s crash test video