The all-new Ford Kuga benefits from a new intelligent automated all-wheel drive (AWD) system, perfect to handle a mix of road, mud, snow and ice conditions which its latest driver, skater Christopher Dean, is very familiar with.
Christopher Dean, of Torvill and Dean, has enjoyed the Ford Kuga when driving to Elstree Studio to film the new series of “Dancing on Ice”, letting the car cope with all weather conditions when he steps off the ice.
The all-new Kuga’s Ford-engineered system evaluates road conditions every 16 milliseconds – about 20 times faster than the blink of an eye – and adjusts the power split from the front wheels to back to give drivers a precise blend of handling and traction at all times, reducing wheel-spin, yaw rate error and torque steer.
During snowy, icy and wet conditions that cause excess wheel-slip, the intelligent “torque on demand” system can send up to 100 per cent of available drivetrain power to the front or rear axles, and determines the power distribution by measuring wheel speed differences in correlation with driver steering input and throttle position.
Anthony Ireson, Ford of Britain marketing director said: “The all-new Ford Kuga’s intelligent all-wheel drive system, complete with a handy information screen displaying the torque demand on each wheel, offers improved ride and handling. Complemented by the Torque Vectoring System, Electronic Stability Programme, trailer sway and roll stability control, it is also easy to understand how the Kuga has achieved its five star Euro NCAP rating.”
British ice dancers Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, are former British, European, Olympic and World Champions, with wins including gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and bronze in Lillehammer 10 years later. Their five-month schedule of choreography, teaching and rehearsals transforms a cast of celebrity novices into skating superstars for the “Dancing on Ice” show, which reaches its grand finale this Saturday on ITV 1.
The all-new Ford Kuga is available in dealers now, priced from £20,895 on-the-road.