Focus u Mass dot Org

Explorer who? Ford’s best SUV is Europe-only, for now.

BY NICK KURCZEWSKI

“She is very pretty,” said the middle-aged Frenchman, with a smile and polite nod. “So, are you happy with her?” Even allowing for any vast cultural differences, this isn’t what we expected to hear while standing outside a gas station in the north of Paris.

Lest you feel offended on our behalf, know that in French the word for “car” is feminine. The “she” our admirer was referring to just happened to be the diesel-powered Ford Kuga crossover that we were refueling. The Kuga’s fat-fendered and aggressive exterior earned lots of compliments and envious stares during our weekend together—although the gas station conversation was by far the strangest of the bunch.

Good-Looking and Good to Be In, Too

After four days and hundreds of miles driving in France, we discovered that the Kuga’s beauty is more than skin-deep. Based on the same rock-solid C1 platform found lurking beneath the latest Euro Ford Focus (which finally arrives in the U.S. for 2011), the Kuga’s ride and handling shames many family sedans, not to mention most small sport-utes and crossovers.