I recently had the opportunity to spend the December holiday behind the wheel of the Ford Puma, and was very impressed by what it had to offer.
From its spirited performance to its lengthy spec sheet, the Blue Oval’s crossover has a lot to offer, and is well worth a look the next time you visit a dealership.
Sleek styling
The Puma is a great-looking car that manages to find a balance between its muscular proportions at the back and its sleeker lines along the front, which is particularly the case when looking at it from the side.
The LED daytime running lights and studded grille help to give it a distinct front profile, and it even comes with Puma-themed puddle lamps in the door mirrors which add an awesome cool factor.
The grey colour scheme on the review model also turned out to be stunning in person, though I wouldn’t say no to one in blue, either.
Fun to drive
A pretty car is all good and well, but it’s all for nothing if it isn’t fun to drive.
Happily, the Ford deliver on this front in spades, thanks to a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 92kW and 170Nm.
While this may be on par with a number of hatchbacks, the Puma’s torque delivery and seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox elevate the experience to another level, resulting in a thrilling time behind the wheel when you have the roads to yourself.
All of this is made even better by the sport-tuned suspension (on the ST-Line Vignale trim) and Sport mode, which makes the throttle that much more sensitive for when you really want to put your foot down.
When you’ve had your fun, the crossover is also rather good as an economical commuter, with my fuel consumption averaging around 6.2l/100km over the time I spent with it.
Practical
The Puma is not a big car in the grand scheme of things, but it goes above and beyond what you’d expect in a hatchback-based SUV.
There’s a pad in the centre console to leave your phone, reasonably sized cupholders and door bins, and an accommodating glove box for all your smaller items.
Even better is the boot, as the floor can be set to two different heights depending on whether you want easy access or more space, and there’s a separate storage compartment below the boot floor that’s perfect for items like towels, costumes, and other things you’d rather not put on the leather seats or carpet floors.
Lots of features
The Ford’s spec sheet is on the high end of what you can expect from a car in this segment.
This includes six driving modes, a digital driver display, climate control, and an infotainment screen with onboard navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
You can even get a stellar Bang & Olufsen stereo, a sunroof, and massage seats, all of which are very nice to have on a long journey.
User-friendly
A lot of cars tend to over-rely on touchscreens these days, and it can be very obvious when other aspects of the design have been neglected, too.
However, the Puma thankfully still has a number of physical buttons for most important actions, meaning you hardly ever need to dive into the screen to change something.
For example, the crossover has very handy Auto Stop/Start and lane-keep assist functions, but both of these can be turned off with a button at a moment’s notice should you no longer require them.
The build quality is solid, and the cabin feels ergonomic with comfortable seats and a textured leather steering wheel, and there are voice commands that give you a hands-free way to control the navigation and media settings.
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