Replacement tow vehicle.

all depends on what your towing weight wise.

Current caravan is 1500 kg which is close to the limit as recommended by Caravan and Motorhome Club. As we often do long distance caravan trips (eg. Costs Brava) not sure if this will be the best replacement towcar.

Kia Sorento auto would  IMHO be a better choice

agree, or the Santa Fe.

I drive the 2015 manual version of your Kuga and it will pull our Series 7 Bailey weighing in at 1435kg max all day at 60mph. So far never had a problem with it. Furthest it has been is Venice one year and Carcassonne another so has had long drags in hot temperatures. One possible down side is the relatively small boot but there's only the two of us and virtually everything goes in the van. 

I would have thought 180 bhp is enough for towing the weights mentioned but torque is also relevant. You need a good torque figure for decent performance and not sure what the Kuga will have.

Haven't got the hand book errrr handy but just looked at the Parker Guide on line and its quoting 400 Nm, 295 ft-lb. 

To be honest I have no idea if that's good or bad but its more than adequate for me. 

400Nm is fine in my book if its achieved at low revs

Our caravan has an MPTLM of 1436 kg, and I have pulled it without power problems for several years with a VW Touran TDI 105 PS.

Last year changed to a VW Caravelle with 150 bhp and the pulling power was even more impressive, so your 180 bhp should be a doddle, Doug.

Thanks folks for your replies, I'll probably be going for the kuga. Incidentally I will be replacing a Discovery Sport. I've had nine land rovers over the years but this one is the worst I have ever had. It's been back in the garage more often than all the rest put together since buying it new in October 2015. Judging from other forums I am not alone in having a bad experience with Land Rovers over the last few years.

Doug