Ford’s trendy crossover labored exhausting to impress in its six-month stint with CAR. Gareth Dean gives perception in our closing replace of the Puma.
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Time spent: Six of six months
Distance coated: 12 503 km
Common gas consumption: 7.21 L/100 km
We like: Partaking dynamics; trendy seems; full of options
We don’t like: Not as frugal as claimed; steep pricing
When the Puma arrived in CAR’s storage on the tail finish of final 12 months, it most likely had little concept of simply how jam-packed the subsequent six months of its tenure as a long-termer can be.
Its engine having barely cooled from a powerful displaying in a February 2024-issue street take a look at, the Desert Island Blue ST-Line Vignale noticed its stomach full of unleaded and its nostril pointed in direction of the Jap Cape for a 2 000-odd kilometre spherical journey as a part of editorial intern Siya Mbaduli’s festive season travels.
To briefly recap our street take a look at findings, the Puma – underpinned by Ford’s International B platform that fashioned the foundations of the outgoing Fiesta hatchback and powered by the corporate’s award-winning 92 kW/170 N.m 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol ‘three – proved trendy and entertaining to drive. The Puma’s driving manners are pure Blue Oval; these of us who’ve sampled Ford’s non-SUV fashions can attest to a satisfying ‘chunkiness’ and heft to the steering allied with a supple chassis that usually make them so pleasurable to drive, and that’s current and proper right here. Our solely misgivings centred pricing in extra of some very succesful rivals (VW Taigo, Opel Mokka, Mazda CX-3 and so forth) and the ST-Line’s often uneven trip over damaged surfaces, owing to its model-specific 18-inch rims and firmer suspension.
Though the street journey often noticed extreme street scars and asserting themselves with a thud by the cabin, the Puma acquitted itself admirably. The punchy engine by no means felt out of its depth on the motorway and proved impressively refined at motorway speeds. However whereas motorway driving returned an inexpensive 7.2 L/100 km, we seldom got here near Ford’s 5.3 L/100 km declare. Even with the five-mode drivetrain administration system in its ‘Eco’ setting (extra modulated throttle and gearshift mapping), the Puma seldom dipped beneath the sevens in its six-months with us.
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Our time with the Puma additionally allowed us to pattern a few of its neat ‘easter egg’ options; particularly its modular boot and FordPass connectivity. The previous includes a two-tier boot flooring below which valuables will be hidden, and incorporates a detachable rubberised tray that may tidily accommodate moist or muddy objects. FordPass options an onboard modem that hooks into the Puma’s ECU, permitting you to observe and management sure facets of the automobile through the proprietary FordPass smartphone app. It has a wealth of options; utilizing GPS to find your automobile remotely, find Ford service centres, schedule car providers, and fundamental diagnostics. Its handiest characteristic, although, was the flexibility to remotely begin the automobile to pre-cool the cabin on scorching summer season days.
The Puma then had its work lower out in a June 2024-issue comparative take a look at face-off with the VW Taigo. Whereas it very narrowly misplaced out to its rival, primarily owing to its service plan being an non-obligatory merchandise and perceived preliminary pricing. The take a look at did, nonetheless, go some solution to dispelling the latter to a point. Most of the Ford’s lively security options – to not point out some unusual-for-the-segment ones corresponding to massaging entrance seats and a B&O audio system – aren’t commonplace on many rivals, and when these much less generously geared up vehicles are introduced as much as the Ford’s specification, the hole between them isn’t as pronounced as initially thought.
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Our final month with the Puma afforded us the chance to sort out some gravel roads, and get a greater account of the drive modes. Though the FWD drivetrain and 164 mm of floor clearance preclude something resembling off-roading, there’s enjoyable available on unsealed surfaces nonetheless; the Path preset nixing the traction management, and sharpening up the ABS and steering, opening up an interesting driving expertise that permits you to throttle-balance and undertake a bit of slide into your gravel driving.
General, the Puma is a deeply pleasing addition to the crossover fold. Some could baulk on the value, but it surely pays to take a look at the usual tools that outlay affords in contrast with rival choices, and keep in mind the general driving expertise, which few of them can match.
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Discover the total characteristic within the August problem of CAR Journal.
