Ford Go Further – All about electrification and new SUVs

Ford’s go further event was massive. Journalists from all over Europe gathered in the Netherlands to see what Ford has been working on. The discussions were certainly there, it was already known that at least the Kuga could very well make a debut, but what about electrification?

Ford has for a long time been lacking tremendously in the game of electrifying their models. The only car that had any sort of electric technology was the Mondeo hybrid, yeah that one.

But now, in 2019, Ford threw a massive curve ball. By offering some sort of hybrid or electric technology for every model in Ford’s lineup, apart from the Mustang, but rumors about a hybrid Mustang in 2020-2021 does not seem that far-fetched. That is truly class leading.

Plug in hybrid, mild hybrid, fully hybrid, series hybrid, PHEV, BEV, parallell hybrid. Yeah the terms were plenty and equally non logical, I would have preferred some sort of level system. Much easier to remember.  But let me make it more digestible. Hybrid comes as three sorts, one that you can charge up, and thus often has a bigger battery, one that has an electric engine coupled to the petrol engine, working as a generator to charge the batteries, and one that does not, meaning the batteries will only charge from the help of the cars brakes. The batteries will have different layout depending on the vehicle, but you won’t care, really.

Ford says that a Mustang inspired fully electric SUV with over 600 km of range will come soon. I am not sure if I should cry or laugh. Rumors about a four door Mustang have been circling the internet but not even the mustang can be free from being mentioned in the same sentence as an SUV. Either Ford is mad, know what they are doing or has made a terrible mistake.

With the release of the new Kuga, Ford is trying to grab hold of the SUV market they for so long didn’t really have anything to compete with. The Kuga looks a lot like a jacked up Focus, but with a bit more attitude, that if you go for the ST-line model, which I would take. The front offers less excitement but still uses the updated Focus and Fiesta looks to the fullest. The new dimensions thanks to the increased ride height seems to work for the Kuga’s favor though, and al in all. I think Ford really succeeded with the design.   

The Kuga will have more than 50 km of pure electric range and is supposed to have a fuel consumption of 1.2 L/100 km. That seems all too optimistic. A combined output of 225 hp does not seem bad at all and with Ford’s motto of fun driving cars, it would not be a surprise to see a Kuga ST in the future. Speaking of future, the Kuga will be released, at least in Sweden in the end of 2019.

I also got a glimpse of the soon to be released Ford Puma, which funnily enough was a performance sedan in the 90s. Oh the times have changed. The smaller sibling to the new Kuga, it is clear that the Ecosports days are doomed.

And one car for the enthusiasts and people with extraordinary large families. The Ford explorer, the second biggest car that Ford makes, and that is saying something. Already existing in the US, Europe will soon to be treated with 450 hp and over 850 Nm of pure presence. The umpf comes from a 3.0 liter turbocharged V6, and an electric engine, where the electric engine will be capable of 40 km of pure electric range, if someone is crazy enough to do that. The prize is not released yet, in fact. None of the presented cars and electrifications had any information about their prizes. But if the Explorer follows the same line as the Edge, it is not unlikely that the Explorer will cost 70-80 k euro. And for that prize, I am not so sure on the interior. But man, what a car. It will be available in Sweden later this year.