Ford Puma Review

The Ford Puma succeeded because it fixed almost everything the old EcoSport got wrong. Where that car felt awkward, cheap and clumsy, the Puma arrived with sharp styling, a much better cabin and the sort of crisp handling that made it feel like a Fiesta in crossover form. Buyers noticed. It quickly became one of Britain’s best-selling cars, and it still makes an unusually strong case for itself.

The 2024 facelift did not change the core appeal. The exterior tweaks were relatively light, but the cabin was updated more heavily with a larger central touchscreen, a new digital driver display and a squared-off steering wheel. That makes the Ford Puma look more modern, even if it has also made some everyday functions a little more fiddly to use than before.

The main thing is that the fundamentals are still spot on. The Ford Puma feels eager and alert in a way that most small SUVs simply do not. It is also comfortable enough for daily use, efficient enough not to sting you at the pumps and practical enough for family life, thanks largely to its excellent boot and the clever MegaBox underfloor storage area.

The line-up is now focused on mild-hybrid petrol power. The 125PS engine covers the needs of most buyers perfectly well, while the 155PS version adds a little more urgency if you regularly carry passengers or want easier overtaking punch. There’s also an electric version, which we’ve covered in our Ford Puma Gen-E review, and a hot version, Ford Puma ST.

That leaves the regular Ford Puma in a very strong position. It is not the most spacious small SUV and it is not the quietest at motorway speeds, but it still feels like one of the best judged cars in the class.

For most buyers, the Ford Puma ST-Line X 125PS is the one to have. The 125PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost mild hybrid is punchy enough for everyday use, and ST-Line X gives you the best balance of desirable kit without pushing the price too far.

The 155PS version is worth a look if you do a lot of faster A-road or motorway driving, but the standard 125PS unit already feels lively and suits the Ford Puma’s character well. The manual gearbox remains the more satisfying option if you enjoy driving, though the seven-speed automatic makes sense for heavier urban use.

Trim-wise, Titanium is more generously equipped than many entry-level rivals, but ST-Line and ST-Line X are where the Ford Puma’s appeal really sharpens up. The sportier styling works well, and the extra kit helps the cabin feel more complete.

The Ford Puma range starts at £27,145 for the Titanium 125PS manual. ST-Line begins at £28,045, ST-Line Black Package at £28,945 and ST-Line X at £29,695. Automatic versions push those prices up, while BlueCruise Edition runs from £33,995. The separate Puma ST sits above the regular mild-hybrid range at £34,000.

That means the Ford Puma is no longer bargain-basement cheap, but it still looks competitive once you consider the equipment on offer. Many rivals need higher trims or option packs to match the same sort of spec, which is where the Ford starts to make more sense.

The Volkswagen T-Roc is one of the clearest alternatives if you want a small SUV with a more mature feel and a slightly more upmarket cabin, though it does not have the same spark from behind the wheel.

The SEAT Arona remains a good-value option and is still tidy to drive, while the Skoda Kamiq is the more comfort-focused choice with a roomier rear cabin. The Renault Captur is worth a look if practicality is your main concern, and the Peugeot 2008 still has showroom appeal on its side.

The Ford Puma’s edge is that it blends driver appeal, decent comfort and clever practicality better than almost anything else in this class.

The Ford Puma is one of the smaller cars in this class, but it makes very good use of the space it has. The front seats offer plenty of adjustment, visibility is decent and there is enough storage for the everyday clutter of family life.

Rear-seat space is less impressive. Adults will fit, but legroom and headroom are only average by class standards, and the shape of the rear windows can make the back feel a bit more enclosed than in roomier alternatives such as the Renault Captur or Skoda Kamiq.

The boot is the Ford Puma’s party piece. Official capacity is 456 litres, which is excellent for a small SUV, and the big reason for that is the Ford MegaBox hidden beneath the boot floor. This adds around 80 litres of extra storage and is lined in wipe-clean plastic, complete with a drain plug. It is one of those ideas that sounds gimmicky until you actually need to carry muddy boots, wet gear or something tall.

For context, the Ford Puma’s 456-litre boot is bigger than a Volkswagen T-Roc’s 445 litres and comfortably ahead of a Toyota Yaris Cross at 397 litres. It also edges a Peugeot 2008’s 434 litres. The Renault Captur remains a stronger practicality rival thanks to its sliding rear bench and more generous rear-seat space, but the Ford Puma is still one of the best cars in this class for sheer boot usefulness.

The Ford Puma measures 4,214mm long, 1,805mm wide and 1,555mm high. That makes it one of the smaller small SUVs on sale, which helps explain why it feels so easy to place on narrow roads and in town.

It also explains the tighter rear-seat space. The Ford Puma makes brilliant use of a compact footprint, but it does not quite bend the laws of physics.

This is one area where the Ford Puma changed quite a bit with the facelift. Earlier cars used an 8.0-inch SYNC 3 touchscreen, while the current car gets a 12.0-inch central display with SYNC 4 and a 12.8-inch digital driver display.

The new system looks cleaner and more modern, and it works quickly enough. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, and Amazon Alexa is built in. On paper, that all sounds like progress.

The problem is usability. The old set-up looked less slick, but it was easier to use because there were more physical controls. In the facelifted Ford Puma, climate functions and other key settings now live in the touchscreen, which means more menu-diving than before. It is not a deal-breaker, but it is a backwards step for day-to-day ease of use.

Material quality is acceptable rather than special. There are plenty of hard plastics, and the Ford Puma does not try to pretend it is something more premium than it is.

That said, it no longer feels cheap. The switchgear is robust, the cabin is well screwed together and higher trims such as ST-Line X add part-leather trim and more interesting finishes that help lift the ambience.

The current Ford Puma line-up centres on 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol power.

The 125PS engine is the one most buyers should choose. It has enough low-down shove to make the Ford Puma feel lively, especially with the manual gearbox, and the mild-hybrid assistance helps smooth the car’s responses around town.

The 155PS version is the better choice if you want stronger overtaking performance or you regularly carry passengers, but the difference is not so dramatic that the standard car feels underpowered. The regular Ford Puma is one of those cars that simply gets on with the job in a pleasingly eager way.

The Ford Puma ST sits slightly apart from the core range focus here.

The Ford Puma feels sharp, keen and well balanced in a way that few rivals can match. Its steering is quick, the front end bites cleanly into corners and it changes direction with an enthusiasm that makes most small SUVs feel a bit lazy by comparison.

What is especially impressive is that the Ford Puma does this without ruining ride comfort. No, it is not as soft as a Skoda Kamiq, but it absorbs bumps well enough and never feels punishing in normal use. ST-Line models are firmer than Titanium, but even they strike a sensible balance.

It is also easy to drive in town. The slightly raised seating position helps, the controls are light enough and parking is simple, especially on better-equipped cars with more assistance tech.

Refinement is decent rather than exceptional. The little three-cylinder engine is quieter than you might expect most of the time, but wind noise becomes more obvious at higher motorway speeds, and road noise is more noticeable on bigger wheels. That is one of the Ford Puma’s few weak points.

The Ford Puma has a four-star Euro NCAP rating under the latest 2022 test protocols, having originally been assessed as a five-star car under older rules. It still comes with a strong spread of safety kit, but the headline rating is no longer class-leading.

Standard equipment includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, hill-start assist and Ford’s emergency assistance call function. Higher trims add more convenience and driver-assistance tech, but even the basics are reasonably well covered.

Ford quotes up to 51.4mpg for the 125PS mild-hybrid manual, with the 155PS version close behind at up to 50.4mpg. Automatic versions are slightly less efficient, but still competitive for the class.

Those numbers are realistic enough to be useful rather than fantasy figures, though as ever a small turbo petrol will use more fuel if you drive it hard or spend lots of time at motorway speeds.

Ford covers the Puma with a three-year or 60,000-mile manufacturer warranty. That is adequate, but less generous than several rivals now offer as standard.

Ford’s published UK warranty details also include 12 months of Ford Assistance breakdown cover from new. Service intervals depend on engine and usage, so Ford directs owners to the handbook, Ford account or Ford app for the exact schedule.

Insurance looks reasonable for the class. The cheapest Ford Puma models start in group 11, while most 125PS and 155PS versions sit in roughly groups 11 to 16 depending on trim and transmission. The Puma ST climbs to group 21.

That means the regular Ford Puma should not be especially painful to insure, which is part of its broad appeal.

The standard VED rate from the second year onwards is £200 a year for petrol mild-hybrid cars registered on or after 1 April 2017. No current Ford Puma crosses the £40,000 list-price threshold, so there is no Expensive Car Supplement to worry about.

In practice, that means every current Ford Puma costs £200 a year in VED from year two onwards.