Riga-Tallinn: Road trip with the new Ford Kuga

With a fleet of brand new Ford Kuga models across Europe from Greece to the North Cape. A pretty crazy idea. The journey, which lasted several weeks, was divided into stages and journalists, bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers had the opportunity to test the new vehicles extensively on each section.

Living in the middle of Zurich, I have a driver’s license, but I don’t have my own car. After hardly traveling with cars for a few years, I have come to appreciate it over the last three years on road trips and for transporting goods at large photo shoots. And so I was happy about the opportunity to try out the Ford Kuga, whose Swiss market entry is planned for the beginning of 2017, on the Riga-Tallinn stage as part of this presentation tour. A road trip along the bay of Riga to the capital of Estonia awaited us, which inspired us during a short visit three years ago.

Day 1: Riga – Pärnu

After a rainy weekend in Gothenburg, the boyfriend flew back to Switzerland and I hopped across the Baltic Sea to Riga. The joy on arrival was due to the large amount of fresh snow, which Mother Hulda organized punctually on our road trip. As is well known, I particularly enjoy driving on snowy roads. After a short night at the Radisson Blu in the middle of the city with a great panoramic view of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity opposite and a short presentation of the vehicle fleet and the sections, we are divided into carpools. Mark from Italy and I grab a white premium “Vignale” model with automatic transmission. Even though I’ve been on the road in different cars over the past three years, they had one thing in common: I always rented automatics. Among all these car journalists, I was probably the only one who thought about one thing in the run-up to the event: what if I had to drive with a manual transmission? Of course, ten years ago I did my car test with manual transmission. But would I still be able to find the “grinding point” right away after five years of automatic… I doubt it.

Fast-paced pit stop

The road trip takes us from Riga inland to Sigulda aka “Latvian Switzerland”. The navigation system at first (of course in the middle of Riga’s morning traffic), but after two laps of honour we catch the right exit from the city. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much of the beautiful hilly landscape due to the cloudy sky. For this, a test of courage is on the agenda in Sigulda. Roller coasters and the like are a horror to me, but my co-pilot Mark is able to convince me to take the ride on the Sigulda bobsleigh and luge track anyway. Between the training rides of the Chinese, Kazakh and Latvian professional athletes, we enter the ice track equipped with a helmet – as if it were a cool running shoot. As we race down the 1,200 m and 16 corners at 125 km/h, there is no time for fear. It is important to keep the immense acceleration forces in line with all concentration.

Today’s destination: Hedon Spa in Pärnu

After 45 seconds, the goal is reached. We get out of the sled with wobbly legs and are all secretly happy to return to the comfortable car seats. The road trip continues towards Estonia. The day’s destination, Pärnu, is located 170 kilometres north of Sigulda by the sea. We leave the highway and follow the snow-covered country roads towards Saulkrasti. This is where the integrated intelligent all-wheel drive comes in handy. I don’t have to press a special button, it runs automatically and supports the wheel drive depending on the situation. Without slipping, we reach the coast, where we look out for the famous white dune. It’s white far and wide – but unfortunately we miss the real white dune by four kilometres. Even though I’m not a car professional, I appreciate the good visibility in all directions with the Ford Kuga. The sensitive reaction of the brake pedal took some getting used to at the beginning. Copilot Mark takes over the DJ job on this stage and maxes out Sony’s sound system. Conclusion: Last Christmas at full volume sounds excellent. Between Saulkrasti and Pärnu there is a lot to see along the coast. However, the biting wind and the lack of sunlight keep us from exploring for too long. We make a short detour to the village of Vecsalaca, which is idyllically located on the banks of the Salaca River, and explore Häädemeeeste, where a beautiful church stands.

Shortly before dusk, we arrive at the Hedon Spa Hotel in Pärnu. The hotel complex is located in the middle of a large park directly on the beach. The old building complex was supplemented with a successful new building. I was pleasantly surprised by the modern rooms and the generously designed foyer. I would have lasted two or three days longer. On warmer days, Pärnu’s seafront promenade attracts many visitors.

Tag 2: Pärnu – Tallinn

After a good night’s sleep, I wake up with a slightly stiff neck. Bobsleighing has to be learned. Today we are assigned a Ford Kuga of the sporty ST-Line. “Unfortunately” it is with manual transmission. So I leave the steering wheel to Mark and take over the DJ booth. In terms of interiors, it is more pared-down than the Vignale model. The dead straight 130 kilometres from Pärnu to Tallinn do not offer the ideal terrain to exploit the driving dynamics. I would have liked to try the car on a winding pass road (but only if I could first approach the grinding point in a deserted parking lot).

The conclusion after these two days on the road with Ford:

• I officially heard “Last Christmas” for the first time this year.
• My Italian co-pilot Mark drove surprisingly modestly.
• The Ford Kuga scores with me with comfortable seats, plenty of space and a good road overview.
• It drives well and stable on snow-covered roads (ideal for a winter road trip).
• Blind Spot Assist with integrated LED warning lights in the exterior mirrors is very helpful.
• With the exception of the overland route from Sigulda to Saulkrasti, the road layout reminded me of Finland: lots of fir trees and dead straight stretches
• Unfortunately, there was no time to discover Riga. We will be back!

Note: I took part in this press trip at the invitation of Ford Switzerland. All impressions/opinions are, as always, mine.