Boys, Cars and Toy Trains { An Honest Ford Kuga Review}

‘This honest ford Kuga review is in paid partnership with Vertu Motors. However all thoughts, words and images are entirely my own.’

Although we’ve never pushed gender specific toys on the twins — always offering them a choice — like an inherent magnet, they’re inexplicably drawn to cars and trains.

Ever since they were very tiny, they’d choose diggers over dolls; or spend hours playing with their little cars or wooden train-set.

My little apples certainly haven’t fallen too far from the family tree though; their dad is equally mad about cars and trains.

Lucky then that, last weekend, we were able to kill two birds with one stone and give all three of my boys a bit of a treat.

Big Boys and Their Toys

We were asked by the lovely folk at Bristol Street Motors Ford if we’d like to test drive a Ford Kuga for the week.

We’ve reviewed a few cars in the past — a Nissan Leaf, an electric BMW i3, and more recently a Land Rover Discovery Sport — but I’ve never driven a Ford before, so I was very excited to put the Kuga through it’s paces. 

And so, it seemed, was my big man-shaped boy.

But wouldn’t you be tempted; with a face like this?

Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
Grrrrrrrrrr… easy Tiger Kuga
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Our Ford Kuga Review

The Kuga is a great family car.

It’s not quite as large our Discovery Sport but it’s still a really good size and we had no problem fitting all our weekend clobber in the boot.

Plus it’s good looks certainly turn heads; it absolutely lives up to it’s title of ‘Sophisticated Utility Vehicle’ — SUV for short ;)

Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
The Kuga is one good looking cat.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
But as well as being good to look at, the Kuga has a large boot — perfect for family weekends away.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

It was a really comfortable ride — plenty of room for a growing family.

We road-tested a 2L manual diesel which — as well as being a lovely car to drive — is perfect for adventuring families like ours; as the diesel engine gives better fuel economy than it’s petrol counterpart.

The state of the art Ford engine has much lower emissions than old fashioned diesel engines too so, as well as being kinder to your monthly out-goings, it’s much more gentle on the environment too.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Lots of room inside too; the Kuga felt spacious and we didn’t feel too cramped — even on a long journey.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

The Kuga had a fantastic in-car computer, offering a brilliant sat-nav (which I felt was much better than the one in our own car to be honest) plus Bluetooth compatibility, which meant we could hook our phones up to the audio, and listen to Spotify through the surround-sound speakers.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

We’d decided to take the Kuga up to my parents’ home for the weekend; it’s just far enough to really test the car out and get a feel for it.

We drove up on the Friday night; with the Kuga making light work of the journey.

The miles don’t seem quite so long when you’re travelling in comfort.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Saturday morning dawned, frosty and bright.

Dickie, the twins and my dad all went on a boys’ outing in the Kuga —as there was a model railway exhibition on at the nearby County Showground.

I’ve always been a bit of a petrol-head but I’ve never really seen the fascination with trains; so my mum and I bid them a fond farewell and stayed cosy indoors.  

Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
Saturday was so cold! Good job the Kuga has climate control so everyone inside was warm and toasty
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
Just look at that frost on the taillights!
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

The boys loved the model railway exhibition.

(Albeit, I think the two big boys loved slightly more than the two little ones!)

The little houses and people were even smaller than the ones we saw at Bekonscot.

Cosmo looks vaguely unimpressed in some of the photos — although his daddy assured me that he was having a brilliant time; he was just cold.

Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
Tiny trains at the Staffordshire County Showground
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
The boys with their Poppa on the miniature steam train
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Needless to say, the four of them came back bursting with enthusiasm about the model railway; regaling my mum and me with tales of the tiny people, in their the minute landscapes; and the little steam train they’d ridden on.

Dickie and my dad also came back with plans of how they’re going to create a model railway at home; how they’re going to build a miniature town, complete with a track that’s going to fill an entire room.

Hmm?

I just smiled and nodded at this point.

Boys and their toys eh?

It just goes to show that — big or small — boys love playing with cars and trains.

Our Ford Kuga Car Review | by The Listed Home
My boys love playing with cars — the Kuga was a big hit with all of us!
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Thanks you to Vertu Motors for letting us to test drive the Ford Kuga.

This is a paid post but all thoughts, words and images — as ever — are entirely my own.

Caro Davies editor of The Listed Home
Website | + posts

Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.

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4 thoughts on “Boys, Cars and Toy Trains { An Honest Ford Kuga Review}”

  1. You can’t beat a decent family SUV with a good amount of space in the boot, can you? I’ve never tried a Ford SUV, though. The Kuga looks like a good option – I’ll be checking it out when we decide to trade in our current SUV ?.

    Reply
    • Totally!!! It’s so nice to go away for the weekend, knowing that you haven’t left anything behind cos you can’t fit it in!! I’d never driven a Ford before but I really rate them! :)

      Reply
  2. Ah sounds like a fab, fun weekend. We used to have a Kuga but switched to a mondeo as the boot was so much bigger on the mondeo. Hubs missed being up high though. Personally I could never get used to the side to side bouncey type feeling. I think hubs said it was the 4×4 and suspension. Plus the fact I’m just weird lol.

    What a fab opportunity though. Glad you all enjoyed it. My 4 years old loves sitting in and testing out new cars in the showroom.

    Reply
    • WOW! An even bigger boot!! That must be GINORMOUS!! It’s fabulous having lots of space in the car, isn’t it? Kids come with such a LOT of clobber :)

      I definitely have never felt a ‘side-to-side bouncy feeling’ driving a 4X4!! LOL!! I would imagine that would come more from the suspension possibly? I would imagine that having a two axled car driving all 4 wheels — as opposed to two — would give a smoother ride if anything. Fab description though — I’ve definitely felt that with some cars I’ve driven in the past. Thankfully, these days, most modern cars are lovely to drive :) We loved the KUGA!

      Reply

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