The Ford Puma

Introduction

The Ford Puma, like the Ka, is based on the mark four Fiesta, although in the Puma’s case, it originally used a different engine. It also has a different appearance - it’s certainly edge styling, and from some angles you can see that the Puma and the Ka share some genes. They are also reasonably similar to drive, to a point.

Unfortunately the Puma has now been phased out of production.

Engines

The Puma has used three engines, all petrol and all Zetec-SE units, and I’ll detail them in size order, with the smallest 1·4 litre first. This engine, shared with the Fiesta, produces 89 PS and 124 Nm of torque, which is enough to give the Puma reasonable performance, if hardly shattering. The engine offers decent power across the entire rev range, and also deliver just over 38 mpg on the combined Euromix cycle.

The next engine up is the 1·6 litre, which is shared with the Fiesta Zetec-S and the Focus, and replaced the 1·4 in the Puma. Although only offering slightly more power and torque (the 1·6 is rated at 104 PS and 145 Nm) and only takes 0·4 seconds off the 0 - 60 acceleration time, it is in the mid range that the larger engine excels. It is also a smoother, more refined engine, and has a combined Euromix figure of almost 39 mpg. This engine is a big improvement over the 1·4.

Finally, the largest engine in the Puma, the 1·7, is (sadly) unique to the Puma. It’s the best engine of the Puma range, if not the engine Ford engine. In headline figures, the engine produces 126 PS and 157 Nm of torque. However, these figures do not provide the full story. This donk features variable camshaft timing, which essentially means that the engine produces lots of torque low down, as well as has a rev-happy nature, and relishes the upper end of the rev range too. Furthermore, this engine matches the 1·4 for fuel economy, with a Combined Euromix of 38∙2 mpg! For the record, the 1·7 Puma hits 60 in 8·6 seconds, and manages the 30 - 70 dash in 8·7 seconds. What’s more important than these headline figures is that the engine delivery very healthy and respectable acceleration from around 2,000 rpm to the red line.

Finally, Ford released the Racing Puma, which used a modified 1·7 litre engine with around 150 PS. I’ve not had the chance to test the Racing Puma, however, I have been followed by a few examples, and overtaken too, such as this one. A Racing Puma can be identified from the normal Puma by the wider wheel arches, the colour (which is shared with the Mondeo ST200), and the exhaust, which is a larger oval shape which looks like it has a metal vane in the middle.

Ride & Handling

All Pumas (apart from the Racing) share the same suspension set up, and this is essentially very similar to the Fiesta and Ka, but rather stiffer. The ride is slightly firmer than the Ka, and the handling is slightly sharper, but they do drive very similarly. Like the Ka, you can get the tail to hang out under braking, but the Puma drives very well indeed. It is smooth and supple, but has huge reserves of grip in normal circumstances. It rolls less than the Ka, has even more grip, all the better to cope with the additional power.

Exterior

The Puma makes most other small sporty coupes look dated. Like the Ka, it features integrated headlights (that also have a disappointing dipped beam), but here it stops. The Puma is curvaceous, even animal-like from some angles. It’s not as useable as the Ka - rearward visibility is quite restricted out of the small rear windscreen. The Racing Puma adds wider wheelarches and a few bits here and there, such as spoilers.

Interior

You can tell that the Puma is based on the Fiesta from the interior, but you do have to look closely. There are lots of nice interior touches, such as the alloy gear knob. It feels a bit snug, and the rear seats are rather tiny - but who buys a sporty coupe for carrying people in the back (Calibra owners excepted).

Verdict

The Puma may be a Ford, and it may be related to the Fiesta, but it is a very entertaining car. It is not the quickest, but the 1·7 version has a reasonable turn of speed. Perhaps more importantly, you won’t have to slow down much for the twisty stuff, either. It’s a car that is quiet, smooth and refined on the motorway as well as great fun in the twisty stuff. The 1·4 looks, handles and rides as the larger engine variety, but is not such a good car. The 1·6 is better, but rather shown up by the brilliance of the 1·7.

My final observation is that the only reason why we don’t run one is because the insurance is a little steep when we add my wife on the policy.