Ford hasn’t had much to offer in the compact SUV segment of late, with the old Escape languishing in decrepitude and the previous-generation TE Kuga simply too expensive for most punters.

So just how serious is the Blue Oval with the second-gen Kuga?

Well, it isn’t as enormous inside as, say, a Honda CR-V, and its turbo petrol engine can get thirsty when pushed, but show it a set of corners and it rises to the occasion like few others.

Here we try out the base Ambiente auto in 1.6 turbo AWD guise.

Click Our Opinion for the full review…