[silo24]

Hi All,

Great forum you folks have going here!!

I'm currently about to try and order a Kuga 2.0TDCi AWD Titanium however I am struggling with a couple of options that may or may not conflict.

I basically want to order the Car with the following options:

Panoramic Roof
Xenon Headlights
F+R Parking Sensors
USB Input
18/19" Alloys
Leather or Half Leather Interior WITH SPORTS SEATS (ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL!!!!)
Privacy Glass

Based on those Options, I figured I needed the Individual Pack as the X Pack only has the 'Comfort' Leather seats with less lateral support and that I would then add the Xenons and Roof. Guess what? You can only get the Xenons and Roof with the X Pack!It just won't let you do it, so I spoke to my dealer and he was about as useful as a chocolate teapot (strangely frequent occurrence, seemingly).

If the configurator on ford.co.uk is right, it seems that you can only have Bi-Xenons and Panoramic Roof if you DON'T have the Individual pack. I realise that you are essentially paying for a leather interior twice by specifying both, but i'd happily do this if it let me get the car I want.****, I'd even happily pay for the X Pack in full if they would give me the standard seats from the Titanium!! I just can't get on with the X pack seats as there isn't enough lateral support in the bolsters for me!

I'm even prepared to retrofit afterwards, but obviously I quite like the look of the individual interior and the 19" rims!

It all seems crazy to me that you are so limited on a factory order, but I was hoping some of you Kuga Experts could clarify this for me or suggest a way to get the ticks in the right boxes!

Cheers in advance,

Gareth

 

[bobuptown]

Hello silo24 and Welcome. I had much the same dilemma back in April/May this year. I had three possible vehicles on mylist,Ford Kuga, VW Tiguan, and theHonda CRV, the latter had most of the items on your list as standard (EX) and I have to say I was very veryimpressed, however unfortunately for me (or not) Honda had ceased production of the CRVbackin January 09 (factory closure)and as a result there were no RHD Honda CRV'sEX's built, all had been sold aside fromtwo inWhistler Silver, so after driving the Tiguan, the Kuga was my second choice which quicklyturned into my first choice by default. Value for money the CRV is still exceptional if you want full leather, electric seats, front rear sensors, privacy glass, panaramic roof, built in rear camera DVD/Sat Nav, no standard Zenons but the only extra as an option was there Crash Mitigation system, oh yes sorry 18" alloys were standard, 19" were an option. I suspect that if you costed these up (as clearly you have ) it would be in excess of £25000 unless of courseyou work for Ford, and quite a few on this site appear to do so. The days of Ford's famousAdSlogan "Ford give you more" sadly arewell and trulyover. Regards. Bob.

 

[Snowman]

Welcome silo24! (from a fellow newbie)
Have you had a long test drive in the comfort seats? I am used to the Recaros from the ST but found the comfort seats quite good in the long run. (Have ordered much the same spec as you indicate)
Bob -how did you find the Tiguan to drive?

 

[bobuptown]

Hi Snowman Once inside theTiguan I found it a very lonely place, nowwhat's the word? insideit was plain, soul less, it was how you would imagine a two year old would design an interior, very very simple, very bland. It was a typical VW but if you are really after a challenge take a trip in a Touran a car that time was more than happy to forget. CRV I raved about only because it had a lot of stuff, but the Kuga really is, so now as far as design is concerned, Tiguanin comparisonhas been touched by the ugly stick I'm afraid. Bob.

 

[Rampman]

Just been test driving a Tiguan ( Sat ) - while I agree its not a patch on the Kuga looks wise I found the driving ' experience ' quite similar.
The inside of the one I tested was quite nice - until I researched it & found out it had about £4K worth of extras fitted. I would say that , imo , it has got a tad more rear seat legroom than the Kuga though ( which is quite important to me - 2 daughters - eldest 6ft tall & youngest rapidly heading in the same direction ....)

 

[kenefc]

Hi again Rapman,



My sons are 6ft 5ins and 6ft 4ins and neither have difficulty in the back of the K. Having said that, I believe the pan roof nicks a little headroom.



I too looked at the Tiguan and liked it, just couldn't get the deal I could from Mr Ford.



Never considered the CRV, just didn't like it's looks - to me it looks like someone's smashed a smaller car down on top of a bigger one from the front and I hated the big plastic rear undertray.



Cheers



TK

 

[Rampman]

Thanks Tk - I will be dragging both daughters down to the dealership to make sure we all fit - last action before placing the order.

 

[bobuptown]

Rampman I will give you that you are correct, definately more leg room front/rear but it was empty, nothing whatsoever to get excited about, VW's are well built, but sadlywhen compared to the Kuga it just did not "Shake My Tree"

 

[Rampman]

Bob - although there was nothing wrong with the Tiguan & in a few areas it was better than the Kuga ( bit more space , slightly comfier seats & quieter ) it just didnt quite match up to the Ford as an overall package. As most of the KOC members already know the Kuga has that extra little bit of magic ( looks , handling , get up & go feel ) which puts it above the competition - I thought even the CRV was made to look ordinary by it ( excellent car that it is apart from the styling ). As part of the Kuga test drive I practised parallel parking outside my house ( soooo easy to park !!!! ) & half the street came out to have a look at it !

 

[bobuptown]

Oh Rampman, by the way did you try outVW's "Park Assist" on the Tiguan? Clearly an amazing bit of technology but very, very scary. Had aHonda FRV 2.2TDCi( Discontinuing? ) which is why I put the CRV on list, plus of course, all that kit andonly one which isUK built, once again Yes! Yes! I agree, CRVa tad dated, but as far as ride quality was concernednot very much in it, at the end of the dayit was alldown to the Kuga's stunning good looks.

 

[Rampman]

Bob - the demonstrator was fitted with it but I didnt bother - just parked the old fashioned way . Did you know they are updating the CRV for January 2010 - new front grille ( looks much better but its the back end that needs the work imo ) - the ES model now gets half leather & 18 inch alloys as standard - the local Honda dealer , who have been brilliant by the way , told me it was to stop losing sales to the Tiguan & Kuga !!

 

[bobuptown]

Rampman- I actualy did not mind the CRV rear, the front was odd, very odd, pity Ford don't wake upandtake a closerlook the competition, Kuga could so easily become a world beater, well once theyget some build issues sorted, just change existing Vauxhallto the Ford name and I bet Ellesmere Port could build a brillaint Kuga.