Lazy, I've got a Kuga TitX FWD and my wife the ES 1.0 Titanium. I totally agree with everything you've said about the two cars. I agree that the ES seats are pretty hard, but find them surprisingly comfortable...
I like the diesel torque on the Kuga but the 3-pot engine growl on the ES. I always fumble around to find the Start/Stop button on the ES and usually open the back rather than front window! Another gripe is the steering mounted controls. They are on opposite sides to the Kuga..
The ES bonnet is actually higher than the Kugas, but the Kuga has better forward visibility. Although the cars feel very similar sizes when driving, the ES is noticeably narrower. I don't think there's much difference in rear seat legroom though...
The Sync system on the ES is awful compared to the Kuga and the bluetooth is worse than my old Mondeo. It's forever losing connection to our phones and getting it to recognise speech is a joke! I get so frustrated that I usually park, dial the number manually and then carry on driving. You would have thought Ford would have raided it's parts bin and put the same Sync in all its cars... Economies of scale?
I totally agree with your comments about the DRLs. They should be using the LEDs like the Kuga TitX rather than the fog lamps. I often drive with the LEDs on (sidelights) and the front fog lamps... (Just don't tell the boys in blue...)