Goodwood Test: 2021 Ford Puma ST-Line X Review

The Puma is Ford’s latest SUV, and fits somewhere between the Fiesta hatch, with which it chares its chassis, and the Ecosport SUV, with the Kuga and Mach-E above that.

Before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room: the name Puma. The name has been used before you see, and many people appeared to be very upset that the new version is nothing like the original. The old Puma was a small, fun, front-wheel-drive coupe. The new one is a small SUV. But look at it from Ford’s perspective. Rather than trying to come up with a new name you could make use of one you already have and that some are already familiar with? So please, let's not get angry about the name or that the Puma is an SUV. SUVs are popular, and Ford isn’t trying to compare the new to the old. Let’s move on with our lives.

Ford has done a decent job. It’s instantly recognisable as a Ford, and as a close relation to the Fiesta without being too samey. As a result it has a poise that the Ecosport and the Kuga do not, and to my eyes looks rather good; it’s nice to see a design team do something other than aggressive lines and creases all over the bodywork. Both the upper and lower front grilles are stretched upwards, as are the lights, while the creases on the car’s flanks are less defined. The Puma’s hips, meanwhile, are more rounded, more pronounced, and the rear lights are darker and as a result look much fresher. What gives away the Puma’s SUV-ness is the ratio of rear window to body, as the glass is nearly the same size of that on the Fiesta but looks smaller in relation to the rest of the back end.

The car you see here is the sharper ST-Line trim, more specifically the ST-Line X, which has a slightly more angular front and rear bumper, flared side skirts, flared arches and a discreet rear spoiler. It gets 18-inch wheels as standard too but our car had the optional 19-inch matt black machined alloys, an extra £450.

There are a number of different engine and gearbox options to choose from with the Puma. On the petrol front the entry-level option is a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine with 95PS and a six-speed manual. Above that you can have the same engine with a mild-hybrid boost and power output of 125PS with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic, or a 155PS version with the six-speed manual. As for diesel there’s just one engine, a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with 120PS. We went for the 155PS (114kW) petrol-hybrid with the six-speed manual, the most powerful and in theory the most fun Puma you can buy without getting behind the wheel of a Puma ST.

Ford is very good at building fun, thrummy little three-cylinders, and the top-spec engine in the Puma, with its hybrid boost, is actually quite spritely. There’s a 48-Volt lithium-ion battery and an 11.5kW belt-driven integrated starter/generator, which doesn’t just mean you can run many of the car’s systems at times when a non-mild-hybrid car would need to keep its engine running (the engine also turns off at moments you don’t expect it to, like pulling up, for example, which is both spooky and quite cool), but you get an extra little kick of torque when the engine’s turbos aren’t quite up to full boost. Zero to 62mph takes 9.0 seconds and the top speed is 127mph. On the economy front you should hope to see around 48mpg.

To its credit, the Puma doesn’t handle too dissimilarly to the Fiesta. It feels small, remarkably agile and is actually quite entertaining, with the added bonus of being a bit taller and having a bit more roll than the Fiesta, which adds some extra spice to the driving experience. That being said we were driving a Puma ST-Line X, which receives a sportier suspension setup with slightly stiffer springs and dampers. The steering feels Fiesta-like, too, as do the brakes, albeit with more pitch as you brake hard. There are five drive modes to choose from, namely Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery and Trail, which tweak the throttle response and steering weight.

What should be noted is that the gearbox doesn’t like to be hurried. The shift feel is good – something Ford is usually very good at – but if you really try to shift quickly there is a significant knock from deep within the drivetrain. Whether the gearbox doesn’t like a super-speedy change, or by doing so you’re causing the mild-hybrid powertrain a bit of an issue, I do not know, but take your time and everything feels just fine.

Climb inside and the Puma’s interior feels, well, very much like a Fiesta interior, aside from the fact your driving position is ever so slightly more upright and there’s a bit more space. On every model bar the entry-level Titanium the most obvious difference between Fiesta and Puma has to be the instrument cluster, as the traditional analogue dials with a small, central TFT display have been removed with a clear 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in their place.

Although the digital instrument cluster isn’t standard on the entry-level Puma Titanium, the 8-inch central screen is. With it you get voice control, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, sat-nav, Bluetooth, a radio and a pair of USB ports. The controls for the radio aren’t the simplest but everything else, from the navigation to the Bluetooth system, is straightforward.

The Puma ST-Line, like every other Puma, gets LED daytime running lights and LED rear lights as standard (the lights are automatic), as well as a heated windscreen, rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, pre-collision assist with autonomous emergency braking, hill start assist, rear parking sensors and a tyre pressure monitoring system. The ST-Line also gets a height adjustable seat, a flat-bottomed ST-Line steering wheel, an aluminium gear lever, a leather handbrake and black-finished 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels. Upgrade to the ST-Line X and you’ll also get things like a wireless charging pad, 18-inch alloy wheels and a B&O sound system.

Whoever specced our test car clearly had some budget to play with, too, as among other options the car had been treated to a set of £450 19-inch wheels, £800 LED headlights, the £900 driver assistance pack (which includes front parking sensors, adaptive cruise control and a reversing camera), a £950 panoramic roof and a hands-free tailgate.

The Puma is a very accomplished small SUV, a better drive than many others on sale, and no doubt that has everything to do with the fact it is related to the Fiesta and the Fiesta has been one of the best cars around for a very long time. But therein lies the Puma’s weak spot. For all its strengths it isn’t hugely different in size to a Fiesta. Yes, there’s a bigger boot and more room in the cabin, but as a small SUV the difference between it and its hatchback sibling aren’t night and day. It’s also more than £3,000 more expensive. So if you’re thinking of buying a Puma make sure you at least try a Fiesta too.