Ford Puma 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 2020 long-term review

Опубликованно 29.08.2020 04:00

Why we’re running it: To find out if the class-leading crossover is as good to live with as it is to drive

Month 1   -   Specs

Life with a Ford Puma: Month 1

Welcoming the Puma to the fleet - 29 July 2020

I’ve had a soft spot for the Ford Puma since I first set eyes on one back in 1997. Blame Steve McQueen. The TV advert featuring him charging round the streets of San Francisco completely sold my 18-year-old self on the Puma’s cool credentials.

Twenty three years later, I finally find myself the custodian of a Puma. Except, much like that McQueen ad, all is not quite what it seems. That commercial used clever CGI to turn the Ford Mustang from the epic Bullitt chase scene into a Puma, while Ford has now used the nameplate from the short-lived two-door coup? to add some sporting credibility to a compact crossover. Or, to use the inevitable comparison, a Nissan Juke rival.

While the original Puma was (sort of) backed by McQueen, the new Puma has the approval of some arguably more significant (but inarguably less cool) advocates: Autocar’s road test team. They recently proclaimed the Puma the best compact crossover to drive – and by a significant margin. High praise, although in a category not exactly known for handling prowess, that’s akin to saying the car chase is the best bit of Bullitt: whisper it, but the rest of the film really isn’t very good.

Still, our mission is to find out whether the new Puma continues to shine once the novelty of a compact crossover that’s actually all right to drive wears off. Our long-termer certainly sets out to appeal. While many other compact crossover models are either styled like a miniature pastiche of a boxy SUV or look like superminis with the ride height jacked up beyond a sensible level, the Puma looks – to these eyes – remarkably composed. There’s a clear family resemblance to the Fiesta, with which it shares a platform and many technical bits, but it still feels like its own machine – and a sleek, sporty one at that.

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