Ford is awaiting petrol and auto availability before committing to the Kuga SUV

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FORD says it is being very cautious with the decision to bring the Kuga into Australia.The Focus-based compact SUV is being eyed as a potential replacement for the ageing Escape, which has been on sale in Australia since early 2001.However, the Kuga has been held back until now due to the lack of a suitable powertrain combination for Australia.Until this month, the German-built Ford has only been available with a 100kW 2.0-litre TDCi turbo-diesel variant mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.And although rave reviews have been heaped upon the Kuga in this configuration, it is clear to Ford that Australians must have a petrol-powered and/or automatic gearbox in the model mix.In fact, from December 1, Ford of Europe announced the addition of a Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre in-line five-cylinder petrol engine for Continental Kugas in six-speed manual and five-speed automatic guises, as well as a front-wheel drive TDCi model to complement the existing all-wheel drive versions.It seems certain that Ford is awaiting the introduction of a four-cylinder model with automatic gearbox availability - be it the TDCi with the new Powershift dual-clutch sequential manual gearbox, or an engine such as the 2.3-litre petrol unit with a six-speed automatic, as fitted to the MA Mondeo.