Ford Escape to be replaced by the Kuga?

[EvadeBLUE]

Greetings all,
I wish I could have found this forum sooner, it would've saved me alot of trouble and seems to be a more active place than others, so i'll just jump in on all of the chatter here and make myself at home.

As we all knows the Ford Kuga is pretty well coming over to North America for the 2011 year(Or is it 2010? I forgot!) anyways, whats your opinions on this? I for one, think the Kuga will do rather well here, it has some catchy features and should be great on gas for an SUV as well.

What do you think will happen to the Escape nameplate? As silly as it sounds, name plays a small(and I stress small) role when I decide on a certain vehicles to buy. So is Ford going to replace the Escape nameplate with the Kuga? Or just re-badge the Kuga to an Escape here in America?

I'm hoping they'll just re-badge Kuga to an Escape and import it on in. I don't really see a SUV called "Kuga" doing well here in North America, but I could be wrong. Not to mention they already have a solid foundation in the Escape and it suits Fords SUV line perfectly between Escape,Explorer and Expedition. I don't really see much sounding quite as good as Escape, and I hope it sticks around as long as what the Explorer has.

I forgot what type of engines the Euro Kuga has, which obviously wouldn't work in America to the high price of them. I personally think if they import the Kuga as an Escape, same styling except for a few minor changes to set it apart from the Euro version, and toss an Eco boost engine in it Ford has an instant winner, and it is safe for me to say, I'd purchase one.

Another big feature for me with the Kuga is the interior, I have saw some that looks something like it, but its by far one of the best(to me anyways) Ive saw in quite awhile. Not to mention a manual tranny.

I'll end this here to keep from blabbering about everything. So in short answer these questions if you don't mind:
1) Will the Escape name stay and just be a re-badged Kuga?
2) Do you think it'll be a hit in North America? - And state why.
3) Whats your personal opinion on the vehicle it's self?

All opinions and comments welcome.
Good day,
-EvadeBLUE

[ford_luvah]

Actually from what I have heard it's supposed to be introduced to North America in 2012. I could be wrong about that though.

I completely agree that it should be retitled as an Escape when it is introduced here. The escape is a popular model, and even though you don't buy a car based on the nameplate, some people do. I even find myself doing that sometimes. When looking up new cars and whatnot, I always start my initial search with a car model I already know of.

As far as it being a hit in North America, I absolutely think it will be. It's a nice sized family SUV that is considerably good on gas, and looks sharp inside and out. And with everyone being so hungry for fuel efficient vehicles lately, I'm not anticipating it taking very long for it to become one of the better selling SUV's.

Personally, if I had any need to get a car that size I would definitely not leave it off my list of maybes.

Thanks for the post!

ford_luvah

[theoldwizard]

Kuga is CUV. Escape is a SUV. There is room for both, just like Explorer and Edge. In the future it IS likely will be built off of the same platform and offer the same powertrains.

[crazy96863]

If the name means little or nothing, then why did Ford backpetal from 500 to the Taurus? There is much significance in a name.

Anyway the 'Kuga' may do well if it is marketed towards good looking middle aged women who may or may not have kids; if you know what I mean!

[98 explorer sport owner]

i thought it was either 2010 or 11.

It's a nice SUV but I hope they rename the Edge the Escape and move the Kuga in the place the Escape was.

or if the Kuga is smaller than the Escape just leave it be and market it differently.

[rmmpe]

I just returned from Germany and, as with the Fiesta, I had a chance to go over the Kuga. They were both 5-speeds and, unless they're de-tuned for our market, the Fiesta and Kuga (under any name) should sell fairly well.
While the normally aspirated 4-banger Fiesta was snappy, the 6-cylinder Kuga was downright quick.

[BroncoJoe19]

Its cute!

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by rmmpe

They were both 5-speeds and, unless they're de-tuned for our market, the Fiesta and Kuga (under any name) should sell fairly well.

Kuga is still a few years away, but Fiesta is only about 8-10 months from start up. Unfortunately they will be grossly "detuned" to meet US emissions. The only engine that will be available is the 1.6L gas, no diesels.

Kuga definitely looks interesting. Rumor is that the future generation Escape and Kuga will share the same "platform" and powertrains. Bodies and interiors will be unique.

[burnout]

On a recent chat with Chantel Lenard about Ford’s new small and medium vehicles, someone asked about the Ka. This is her response: We're looking forward to the launch of Fiesta first, and we'll monitor demand for smaller cars like Ka. With the continued growth in B and C size cars, it is an interesting question of whether sub-B's will now start to establish themselves in America. Do you think America is ready for a Ka-sized vehicle?

Too bad no one asked about the Kuga.
SoCalFord | Facebook

[theoldwizard]

Ford has let leak that there will be multiple "C" sized vehicle (Focus) in the US in a few years, including a domestically built version on the Transit Connect. More "B" size vehicles in the US (like Ka) will depend a lot on the success of the Fiesta.