Around the world: Ford Puma

The Ford Puma was designed in Europe and is sold there, in the UK and Australasia. Photos: Ford

Ford New Zealand has just launched its new compact SUV, the Puma, with a starting price of $33,990 and $4000 more for the ST-Line model.

The Puma exterior is distinguished by 17in,10-spoke alloy wheels, which sets the style direction for the detailed yet cohesive exterior aesthetic. Up front, Chrome grille elements emboss the front grille and fog light surrounds, adjacent to the LED headlights, with these elements continued for the side skirts.

Fittingly applied across the Puma range is the award-winning 1-litre turbocharged EcoBoost three-cylinder engine, teamed with a seven-speed automatic transmission and offered exclusively in front-wheel drive. With 92kW and 170Nm, the Puma’s EcoBoost engine includes high pressure direct fuel injection, twin-independent variable cam timing and fuel saving cylinder deactivation.

So, as Kiwis get a chance to test it in showrooms, what do global motoring writers think about the Puma?

Top Gear

The styling is softer than the previous era of Fords.

“The Puma is at heart a taller, longer Fiesta. And that’s pretty much how it steers and rides. But there’s more to it than that, because as runaway sales of the existing small crossovers prove, dynamics have barely registered in buyers’ priorities.

To stand out among rivals, the Puma needs more than just driving smarts. And it has. Number one, it has some really rather clever ideas around its rear end. Yeah, Top Gear doesn’t normally home in on the boot this far up a road-test. Because boots are boring. But having to leave your stuff behind is boring too. And so is cleaning out the wet carpet of a boot that’s been soiled by muddy gear.

So the Puma has a big deep rubber-lined box below its boot floor where you can carry your mess. And when the box itself gets too wet, well you can simply open a plug-hole and sluice it out [in UK models]. Even when dry, it’s the biggest and most convenient boot in the small crossover class.

The styling is softer than the previous era of Fords, with gently curved sides sitting below a waistline that’s visually lengthened by a black strip at the base of the screen pillar. This draws your eye back horizontally from the bonnet, rather than up to the roof.”

Carwow

The Ford Puma’s suspension in the ST-Line is a little on the firm side.

“You sit higher in the Ford Puma than you do in the Fiesta on which it’s based, so you should get a good view out. But you don’t sit up as high and look down on other cars like you do in boxier SUVs like VW T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq.

That’s not to say the Ford Puma’s tricky to see out of – the pillars beside the windscreen are pretty narrow and you can see more out of the rear windscreen than in either the Nissan Juke or Toyota C-HR. The light steering makes it easy to manoeuvre in town and you can get a reversing camera to help you squeeze into tight parking spaces.

The Ford Puma’s suspension is a little on the firm side – especially in ST Line cars – so it doesn’t soak up bumps in town as well as a Kamiq, T-Cross or Peugeot 2008, but neither does it feel overly bouncy.

Even with the Ford Puma set to its most chilled-out setting, it isn’t quite as relaxing to drive on motorways as a T-Cross or Kamiq. You’ll hear a little more wind and tyre noise than in these cars and the three-cylinder petrol engines are a touch noisier when you accelerate. 

Head out onto a twisty country road and the Puma feels more nimble than the likes of a T-Cross or Kamiq. It’ll nip from corner to corner with the enthusiasm of a small hatchback with barely any body lean – so passengers shouldn’t feel car-sick after a few hours on the road.”

CarAdvice

The Puma has a big deep rubber-lined box below its boot floor.

“The entry-level Ford Puma isn’t uncompetitive for equipment in its segment, though, and navigation, wireless smartphone charging, auto high beam, rain-sensing wipers, and LED ambient interior lighting are features not found on every rival around its pricepoint.

Yet while it won’t set any segment presentation standards, the Puma’s cabin quality is in another dimension when compared with the EcoSport’s interior.

Rear-seat space isn’t generous, with knee room for a 5ft 8in occupant sitting behind their own driving position sufficient but no more. Leg room is slightly better than in a CX-3, but behind the Juke and T-Cross.

Head room isn’t overly generous, though our test car featured the optional panoramic roof that is tempting for the extra illumination it brings to the cabin (with manual blinds front and rear for when the glaring sun is too much).

The bench is comfortable, with good under-thigh support, and for some storage there are netted seatback pouches and door sections for holding small- to medium-sized drink bottles.

There’s just a slight delay on kickdowns for full-throttle acceleration for scenarios such as overtaking, but overall it compares well with the T-Cross’s similar drivetrain, and the dual-clutch is significantly better than the Juke’s equivalent.

An inbuilt hill hold also ensures the Puma won’t roll back when parking or starting off on a hill – a particular issue with the Juke.”

Cars Guide Australia

The running lights are modelled to resemble the ones on the Ford GT supercar.

“Now the Puma is here, and while it too is quirky, it’s not quite as ‘anti-social quirky’ as the others might be. No, the Puma is cute and stylish with hints of a Porsche SUV from the front, thanks to those large headlights, the pontoon-like wheel guards which bulge up into the bonnet and that smiley grille.

By the way, the French designer who styled the Puma wants you to know that the running lights are modelled to resemble the ones on the Ford GT supercar – and they do, it’s hard to make out in the images and video, but they look great.

Back to the grille. Have a look at the images and check out the difference between the grilles on entry Puma and the ST-Line cars. They have completely different shapes. Do you know how rare that is within a model range? Very rare. 

From the rear the Puma looks tiny, because well, it is. See at 4207mm (4186mm for the entry grade) end-to-end, 1930mm wide and 1548mm (1550mm for entry grade) tall the Puma is about the same size as a Nissan Juke but about 180mm shorter in length than a Toyota C-HR.

Apart from the ST-Line having a different face to the entry Puma it comes with the car equivalent of a superhero outfit made up of tough looking ST-Line body enhancements. There’s the ST-Line matt black grille, ST-line front and rear aprons, the side skirts, integrated rear spoiler and those ST-Line 17-inch wheels. That’s all cosmetic, apart from the wheels, but actually improving performance is the sports suspension which is also standard on the ST-Line.

The top-of-the-range ST-Line V doesn’t get the tough body kit. Instead, it has more premium looking enhancements such as the grille studded with chrome buttons, chrome surrounds to the fog lights and windows and chrome bumper inlays. Pssst… none of it is real chrome.”