“Our customers say that they are ready for an even more emotional design, and in this respect the new Kuga comes right up to expectations. More elegant, lower and roomier, it thrills you from the very first glance”. The words of Amko Leenarts, head of design at Ford Europe, describe some of the stylistic features of the new Kuga, placing the emphasis on the emotional coefficient and the new forms. The same that, at first glance, make it look almost more like a saloon than an Suv. “The feeling is correct. Applying the same human-centric stylistic philosophy used for our new models, we have created a car that looks more compact than the previous Kuga, but is actually 9 centimetres longer and 4 centimetres wider. All of this benefits the interior roominess, which has increased”, says Nico Tonello, head of exterior design. “A result achieved by working on surfaces and silhouettes”, continues Tonello
The longer bonnet, the more inclined windscreen and the curved roof line give the Kuga a more energetic, agile and distinctive appearance. “Most customers who buy this type of car hardly ever use it off-road. So we removed all the aesthetically very strong elements typical of the big Suvs, leaving a high driving position to feel safer”, Tonello goes on.
The Kuga aims to meet different aesthetic and functional needs depending on the trim level chosen. The ST Line is sporty, the Titanium classic and the Vignale luxury oriented. Each of these configurations has different aesthetic features, from the design of the front grille to the wheel arches painted in the same colour as the bodywork in the most elegant version, or in a contrasting shade in the more “country” incarnation.
The digital revolution has arrived inside and the layout follows the new stylistic direction inaugurated in 2017 by the seventh generation of the Fiesta citycar. The main functions of the infotainment system are controlled from the digital display at the centre of the dashboard, with the screen not sloping to improve the ergonomics. The instrument panel is digital and uses a 12.3-inch display that employs “free form” technology, which allows you to shape the contours of the display without any constraint resulting from the rectangular shape, since all circuits are integrated into the panel. “The interior has been designed as a friendly space to facilitate everyday life”, continues Tonello, who insists on underlining one last detail: “On the tailgate we chose to put the word Kuga in single, capital letters because of the recognition factor in foreign markets, and because we are very proud of the final result”.
