Published:
6 September 2024It is clear that most of the Puma's development budget has gone to its interior.
Ford has thoroughly rethought the design and upgraded the technology with a new 'floating' 12.0in infotainment touchscreen running Ford's latest software, SYNC4, together with a 12.8in instrument cluster and wireless charging, both of which are standard across the range. Ford says these systems have “twice the computing power” of the previous car’s, with over-the-air updates, built-in Amazon Alexa and 5G connectivity.
In keeping with the times, the buttons for the climate control and heated seats have now been integrated into the touchscreen, which has come as part of a move to reduce the number of physical switches for a “cleaner design”. The small size of the touchscreen icons mean it would be more convenient to have kept them as physical switches, but you eventually get used to their placement.
The Puma’s interior still doesn't have the most eye-catching design and material quality has taken a noticeable step down. The pre-facelift car had clearly been built down to a price, but now it seems Ford is simply seeing what it can get away with. The materials atop the dashboard, the door cards, the glovebox and surrounding the centre console feel nasty, and the infotainment screen’s bezel flexes at even the lightest touch.
Another gripe we had was that the right-hand stalk that previously controlled the windscreen wipers has been removed, leaving an ugly black cover where it used to be and the left-hand indicator stalk with too much to do. What's more, the new steering wheel does not include paddle shifters on automatic versions, which means you can no longer change gear yourself; strange for a sporting crossover.
