Ford Puma: What’s new fussy cat?

A n all-electric MG sports car made in China; a Lamborghini Huracan with a roof rack; a gigantic pink Lotus SUV . Yes, in the pursuit of journalism and stuff that makes for good copy, I’ve enjoyed some esoteric machines in the past few weeks. Now, though, it’s the ubiquitous Ford Puma , Britain’s best-selling model for a few years now and recently the subject of some exterior and interior revisions.

Almost 50,000 new car buyers opted for this Fiesta-sized hatch/SUV “crossover”; have they made a mistake? Not as such, no. There are very few things that I found actively unpleasant about the Puma, and only one that mattered much, and that’s what it was like to drive. My example was equipped, like all Pumas, with a one litre, three cylinder mild-hybrid propulsion unit (153hp), with a seven-speed transmission, and, for me, it was not that happy a combination.

You get a choice of driving mode settings for the Puma, and these give the car very different characters. The “Eco” mode didn’t really play to the car’s strengths, because progress, brisk enough on paper, didn’t feel that urgent, and the thrummy engine felt a bit unrefined, if I’m honest. The automatic gearbox was also occasionally hesitant and even a bit jerky when it had to “wake up” and get on with it, as if the Puma was in a grump.

Push the button to “Sport” mode and the Puma behaved with much more alacrity, and it was much more fun to drive, though never exactly exhilarating. It’s not so .