Ford Kuga TDCI

[fflyingdog]

Hi all looking for some help,am thinking about buying a Kuga and i wanted a diesel but heard some stories that if you only do short journeys (as in Mrs Fflyingdog taking baby fflyingdog to school about a 4 mile round trip) the particulate filter can end up being shot at great expense as the filter really will not reach operating temp.Can anyone shed any light on this ?

[roscozs]

Yeah this is correct. We have had quite a high volume of cars fitted with DPF filters comming into our dealership that are only used occasionaly or on short journeys. They require oil changes beween as little as 3000 miles as well as severely shortening the life of the DPF. On the other hand though they are fantastic cars.

Edited by roscozs on Tuesday 5th October 19:22

[fflyingdog]

Thanks for the info,is the V6 particularly thirsty?

[Roop]

They don't make a V6 Kuga, it's a turbocharged inline five. Same motor as in the Mondeo and S-Max and fundamentally the same as that in the Focus ST and RS.

I've just bought a Kuga with the turbo petrol (before they replace it with the 4-cylinder EcoBoost (EcoBore?) unit). It should arrive this week.

[peeves]

Can't say I have ever came across this at our place although we don't have a massive client base owning a Kuga. Pretty reliable cars I'd say!

However, I would advise anybody a Kuga. If I was slightly older I would have one in a heartbeat! Brilliant to drive and hold the road really well, just awesome. Finally spoke my old dear round to getting one, the new 163PS with power shift. She ordered the top spec and it all came in at a decent price - the equivalent Q5 would be a good £10-15K on the Kuga I'd think.

Like said, there is no V6 - only the 5 cylinder Volvo engine - what a combination this is on that vehicle! Whether or not it is worth the difference in fuel consumption is another matter

[Roop]

peeves said:

Like said, there is no V6 - only the 5 cylinder Volvo engine - what a combination this is on that vehicle! Whether or not it is worth the difference in fuel consumption is another matter

True. My Focus RS does about 25mpg - I expect the Kuga to be similar...

[neiljohnson]

The DPF filter is an issue on a lot of modern td engined vehicles. As long as the regenaration process is followed regular enough it wont be a problem but if it is not followed it will quickly clog the filter causing an expensive repair!

[Karlos69]

In fairness, a good 20 minute motorway stint would normally be enough for a DPF regen every now and then, but if you're only doing short journeys, then a diesel doesn't make a lot of sense.