I had one of my regular days out in Germany yesterday. I usually a book the cheapest hire car in can find that isn't group A = Small Economy. Earlier this year I got a BMW 118d and yesterday I got a 3 week old Kuga. Not easy to work much out in 8 hours and with the handbook in German but it was avery pleasant drive.
It was a 2.0dci. Hard to work out how to start it; the 'key' is just a remote with three buttons on it Open/Lock/Boot only. On the dash there is a button which could be related to the ICE, marked Power. When this is pressed, with the clutch depressed. the engine starts and it is stopped by pressing it again. The ICE has an oblong screen which appeared to also handle and display sat nav and telephone information and there was a slot for an SD card, MP3s and/or sat nav maps I suppose.
It drove and handled very well, good acceleration, 6 speed box, and very little body roll. Seats were comfortable, elbow movement obstructed slightly by a very large centre armrest/storage box. Excellent foot rest for clutch foot when cruising; good cruise control filled with small paddles on the steering wheel boss.
Knew about the split rear tailgate but never found out how it worked. Whole car had a good solid feel and the interior trim all matched well and didn't sqeak or rattle, nor should it at 3 weeks old! Rear view mirror appeared to be permanantly tinted or dimmed which was slightly annoying.
A nice day out on a crisp clear autumn day and a good superficial impression of the car. Off to pick up my KA today - I shall notice the difference!
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AS,
I had a look at a Kuga, but had a spot of bother levering myself up into it.
There's not as much room inside as there could be, and I think it was going to be more money than the CC3 I eventually bought.
As you say, the Ford cruise control is simple and the steering wheel controls work well.
My car has the same auto-dim mirror as the Kuga.
Early impressions are it works quite well, but I've not been through a full winter with it yet.
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I think the Kuga looks funky.
Is the CC3 the Focus convertable?
My Mondeo has an auto dim mirror, it works really well and the auto dim function can be turned off.
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Cheddar,
Yep - coupe convertible - bought it in March when I traded in a 2002 Focus diesel hatch which I'd had since new and which had done 80,000 trouble-free miles.
Didn't know the auto dim could be turned off - how is that done?
Edited by ifithelps on 20/10/2009 at 11:01
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Didn't know the auto dim could be turned off - how is that done?
Mine has two buttons on the mirror, Off and Auto, when Off the little green light goes out.
I have an ST-2 being delivered this week so will see how the auto dime works on that.
BTW, cruise control works brilliantly on the Mondeo, I have driven a number of cars with cruise though none with as seemless take up from throttle to cruise, a Peugeot 607 was the worst.
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I had a sit in a Kuga on a dealer's forecourt a couple of weeks ago.
I agree the exterior styling is funky, but I found the seats too hard and unyielding to be comfortable.
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>> Didn't know the auto dim could be turned off - how is that done? >> Mine has two buttons on the mirror Off and Auto when Off the little green light goes out. I have an ST-2 being delivered this week so will see how the auto dime works on that.
ST doesnt have auto dim, my mistake.
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...Mine has two buttons on the mirror Off and Auto when Off the little green light goes out...
No on/off switch on the auto dim mirror on the CC3 - must be the cheapo version. :)
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Cheddar - it could on my recently departed 307; a small green light on the mirror rim to say it was active and a button to turn it off. I was in Germany on a very bright autumn day and the mirror was a bit too dark for me but I couldn't find any means of undimming it. Perhaps it was tinted, in the way that windows are?
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>>No on/off switch on the auto dim mirror on the CC3 - must be the cheapo version. :) >>
>>and the mirror was a bit too dark for me but I couldn't find any means of undimming it. Perhaps it was tinted in the way that windows are? >>
Yes the Mondeo has Off and Auto, I think the new ones switch off when reverse is selected to assist reversing at night.
Edited by cheddar on 24/10/2009 at 18:04
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