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The Ford Puma looks an interesting package for buyers in the small SUV segment searching for something a little more fun. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.
Market and Model
Puma pricing reflects current figures at the upper end of the small SUV segment - which Ford feels justified in asking given this car's relatively sophisticated mild hybrid tech. To be specific, that means a starting point of around £21,000, with figures rising to around £27,500 at the top of the range. Trim levels are based around familiar 'Titanium' and 'ST-Line' badging. Standard equipment includes heated and massaging seats, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and a rear-view camera. The Puma is also the first vehicle in its segment to offer hands-free tailgate and Lumbar Massage Seat comfort and convenience technologies.
Advanced driver assistance technologies include Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Speed Sign Recognition and Lane Centring, for easier negotiation of highway and stop-start traffic. There's also a 'New Local Hazard Information' feature, which can inform the driver of hazardous situations in the road ahead before they become visible to the driver or vehicle sensors. And helping Puma drivers reverse with greater confidence, Ford's Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert can provide a warning when reversing of vehicles that may soon be crossing behind them. The system can apply the brakes to avoid or mitigate the effects of collisions if drivers do not respond to warnings.
Cost of Ownership
Being based on Fiesta engineering promises decent efficiency, as does Ford's latest EcoBoost Hybrid technology and that's how it turns out. The extra electrification apparently improves combined cycle WLTP-rated economy by around 9% over what you'd get from an ordinary 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine. For the 125PS variant, Ford is talking about CO2 emission readings from 124g/km (NEDC) and a combined cycle WLTP fuel return of 52.3mpg. For the top 155PS derivative, the figures are 127g/km and 50.4mpg. Obviously, the 1.5-litre diesel will be more frugal still - and is expected to return 123g/km of CO2.
This is all aided by what the brand calls 'Torque substitution', which deploys the electric motor functionality of the hybrid system's 'BISG' 'Belt-driven Integrated Starter/Generator' to provide up to 50Nm of torque - reducing the amount of work required from the petrol engine. The 'BISG' is also able to aid the powerplant's stop/start system in urban traffic, restarting the engine in approximately 300 milliseconds - about the same as the blink of an eye. And the 'BISG' also enables the Puma EcoBoost Hybrid's Auto Start-Stop technology to operate in a wider range of scenarios for even greater fuel savings, including when coasting to a stop below 10mph, and even when the vehicle is in gear with the clutch pedal depressed.
Summary
Having moved its third generation Kuga SUV a little up-market, Ford needed a car to plug the gap down to its entry-level EcoSport Crossover model and this Puma fills that role very well. It delivers the fashionable looks, trendy media connectivity and efficient engine tech that buyers in the small SUV segment tend to look for and delivers it all in a package that the brand reckons sets fresh standards for the kind of driving enjoyment a little car of this kind can serve up.
Which puts Ford back in the hunt in this growing market segment. It was becoming increasingly difficult to recommend the EcoSport to a customer in this segment already charmed by the Juke and Captur market leaders. This Puma though, is good enough to give those segment stalwarts a great deal to think about. As enthusiasts, we still can't help wishing it was a small coupe. But as pragmatists, we reckon Ford has probably hit its intended target here.
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