Published:
6 September 2024Key among the exterior changes for the latest Puma are new headlamps, a restyled front grille and new wheel designs which give its proportions a worthwhile freshen up.
It is built in Ford's Craiova plant in Romania and sits on the same B2 platform that the Fiesta sat on, although it has been stretched and widened to meet the more spacious crossover brief. The upsizing is considerable, the new model being 146mm longer (95mm of which is accounted for in the wheelbase) and 71mm wider than the Fiesta, with track width up 58mm.
Naturally, the roofline also sits far higher, while the exterior design rivals that of the Juke for sheer individuality and references the original Puma in its slightly bug-eyed, open-mouthed face. Ford deliberately made the car’s beltline flatter than usual in an effort to keep the car’s proportions balanced and less raked towards the nose, as is commonplace among rivals.
Ford is marketing the Ford Puma heavily on its hybrid status. An integrated starter/generator replaces the alternator and, as well as recovering some energy during braking and allowing the car to coast with the engine off, provides torque fill at lower revs for better throttle response and acceleration. The system can add only 37lb ft, so nobody should expect dramatically improved acceleration.
On a related note, with the mild-hybrid system masking lag, Ford has been able to add a larger turbo. Cylinder deactivation is then carried over from previous versions of the non-hybrid Ecoboost engine and can cut three cylinders down to two in just 14 milliseconds under light loads.
