Ford’s stylish crossover worked hard to impress in its six-month stint with CAR. Gareth Dean provides insight in our final update of the Puma.
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Time spent: Six of six months
Distance covered: 12 503 km
Average fuel consumption: 7.21 L/100 km
We like: Engaging dynamics; stylish looks; packed with features
We don’t like: Not as frugal as claimed; steep pricing
When the Puma arrived in CAR’s garage at the tail end of last year, it probably had little idea of just how jam-packed the next six months of its tenure as a long-termer would be.
Its engine having barely cooled from an impressive showing in a February 2024-issue road test, the Desert Island Blue ST-Line Vignale saw its belly filled with unleaded and its nose pointed towards the Eastern Cape for a 2 000-odd kilometre round trip as part of editorial intern Siya Mbaduli’s festive season travels.
To briefly recap our road test findings, the Puma – underpinned by Ford’s Global B platform that formed the foundations of the outgoing Fiesta hatchback and powered by the company’s award-winning 92 kW/170 N.m 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol ‘three – proved stylish and entertaining to drive. The Puma’s driving manners are pure Blue Oval; those of us who’ve sampled Ford’s non-SUV models can attest to a satisfying ‘chunkiness’ and heft to the steering allied with a supple chassis that often make them so pleasurable to drive, and that’s present and correct here. Our only misgivings centred pricing in excess of some very capable rivals (VW Taigo, Opel Mokka, Mazda CX-3 and so forth) and the ST-Line’s occasionally choppy ride over broken surfaces, owing to its model-specific 18-inch rims and firmer suspension.
Although the road trip occasionally saw severe road scars and announcing themselves with a thud through the cabin, the Puma acquitted itself admirably. The punchy engine never felt out of its depth on the motorway and proved impressively refined at motorway speeds. But while motorway driving returned a reasonable 7.2 L/100 km, we seldom came close to Ford’s 5.3 L/100 km claim. Even with the five-mode drivetrain management system in its ‘Eco’ setting (more modulated throttle and gearshift mapping), the Puma seldom dipped below the sevens in its six-months with us.
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Our time with the Puma also allowed us to sample some of its neat ‘easter egg’ features; namely its modular boot and FordPass connectivity. The former comprises a two-tier boot floor under which valuables can be hidden, and incorporates a removable rubberised tray that can tidily accommodate wet or muddy items. FordPass features an onboard modem that hooks into the Puma’s ECU, allowing you to monitor and control certain aspects of the car via the proprietary FordPass smartphone app. It has a wealth of features; using GPS to locate your car remotely, locate Ford service centres, schedule vehicle services, and basic diagnostics. Its handiest feature, though, was the ability to remotely start the car to pre-cool the cabin on hot summer days.
The Puma then had its work cut out in a June 2024-issue comparative test face-off with the VW Taigo. While it very narrowly lost out to its rival, primarily owing to its service plan being an optional item and perceived initial pricing. The test did, however, go some way to dispelling the latter to some degree. Many of the Ford’s active safety features – not to mention some unusual-for-the-segment ones such as massaging front seats and a B&O audio system – aren’t standard on many rivals, and when these less generously equipped cars are brought up to the Ford’s specification, the gap between them isn’t as pronounced as initially thought.
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Our last month with the Puma afforded us the opportunity to tackle some gravel roads, and get a better account of the drive modes. Although the FWD drivetrain and 164 mm of ground clearance preclude anything resembling off-roading, there’s fun to be had on unsealed surfaces nonetheless; the Trail preset nixing the traction control, and sharpening up the ABS and steering, opening up an engaging driving experience that lets you throttle-balance and adopt a little slide into your gravel driving.
Overall, the Puma is a deeply pleasing addition to the crossover fold. Some may baulk at the price, but it pays to look at the standard equipment that outlay affords compared with rival offerings, and take into account the overall driving experience, which few of them can match.
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Find the full feature in the August issue of CAR Magazine.
