FORD PUMA

F o r d P u m a S T L i n e M H E V

What is it?

The Puma makes another appearance within the Ford range, though not the fun, small coupé from back in the late 1990s that was based on the Ka, this time it’s a chunky crossover.

Does the world need another crossover?

Apparently so. Some motoring pundits might be dismissive at this craze, but you can’t argue with the numbers, as it’s the biggest sector in the motoring industry, just look at the new Aston Martin DBX, Lamborghini Urus and the offerings from both Rolls Royce and Bentley. However, unlike those cars, the Puma is a tad more affordable!

On Road

If you enjoy driving, you’ll get on well with the Puma. To be fair, even if you hate driving and only see it as a necessary evil, I’m fairly confident you’ll still find it quite agreeable.

My Puma for the week was the 48-volt mild hybrid ST-Line with the 123bhp 1.0 litre and 6 speed ‘box, and from town centre driving to having fun around country lanes, it was super nimble, by small SUV standards of course.

I’m not going to say that it’s the most softly sprung vehicle in its class, but sports suspension on the ST-Line model offers a slightly stiffer ride that makes it hold the road better than most.

Adding to the enjoyment is the steering, it gives you a real sense of connectivity with the road, whether you’re nipping to Tesco for some frozen peas or driving along some fun country lanes just for the hell of it.

As is typical for some mild hybrids, take your foot of accelerated and the Puma slows down quicker than a ‘normal’ car as it regenerates energy to the battery.

The Puma’s 6 speed manual ‘box is equally precise, as are the brakes, in all, Ford have done a really good job of making the Puma sensible, yet fun to drive.

Off Road

I know it’s not a 4x4, but when I was flicking through the different modes I came across ‘Trail’, and I thought what the heck, let’s see how it will handle The Old Coach Road near Penrith. From what I gathered from the salesman at my local Ford dealership (who Googled it), selecting Trail and Slippery switches off the traction control system. I’m sure it does something else more technical…

Anyway up on The Old Coach Road, credit where credit's due, apart from a couple of ruts that I had to avoid due to a lack of ground clearance, the Puma handled it with ease. Granted, it scrambled a bit to gain traction on the odd loose incline, but within moments it regained its composure and remained sure footed throughout.

Selecting Slippery mode, the Puma handled a particularly wet and muddy incline by the side of my house with ease, it was quite impressive, really.

Interior

The interior of the Puma is a nice place to be, the infotainment system is easy to use and navigate, and there are proper dials for the heating controls. It’s quite roomy, too, with plenty of headroom, and with around a metre between you and the base of the windscreen it gives you that ‘big car’ feel.

There are a couple of negatives, of course, the ‘stuck-on’ infotainment screen is a personal annoyance of mine, such a lazy design feature and always looks out of place. I didn’t find the seats particularly comfortable, either. Tall drivers may find that there’s no real support for under your thighs. Other than that they’re wide enough, and on the ST-Line at least, have good lateral support.

On the subject of seats, opt for the Titanium model and you have a massaging function, as well as adjustable lumbar support, you won’t find that in many small SUVs.

All trim levels come with an 8” touchscreen infotainment system, with DAB radio, built-in sat-nav and a couple of USB ports, there’s also a wireless charging pad.

There’s plenty of stowage space for all your gubbins, and rear seat passengers aren’t as squashed as you may think.

In the boot, I’m led to believe that you can fit six carry-on-sized suitcases, I didn’t try it, but it did fit my huge Peli 1650 Protector case with room to spare. It’s big case, and fairly heavy with all my cooking gear inside, so I was quite please that the Puma’s boot floor only has a very small lip at the boot entrance when the height-adjustable floor is set to its highest position. Another neat touch is that because the parcel shelf is attached to the tailgate, it lifts up when the boot is opened to give better access.

The Puma’s party trick is having a large well underneath the boot floor in which you can throw dirty boots, towels, and you can even stand two sets of golf clubs, or a couple of pot plants, upright in the well. To enable you to hose it out when you get home, it even has a removable plug at the bottom.

Engine ‘n’ transmissions

All of the engines are 1.0 litre petrols, and all but the base unit have 48-volt mild hybrid (mHEV) technology. The base 123bhp version returns a maximum 48.7mpg, with 132g/km of CO2, while the same unit with 48-volt mildhybrid assistance ups that to 51.4mpg and CO2 levels of 125g/km. The more powerful 153bhp gives you 50.4mpg with emissions at 128g/km.

Conclusion

Taller and longer than the Fiesta, Ford hasn’t simply gone where the money and created ‘just another crossover’, nope, the Puma is a well thought out, small SUV that’s joyous to drive and packed with ingenious and practical solutions that we didn’t know we needed.

Website - https://www.ford.co.uk Price - £24,090 (test car, incl options)