FAMILY GUY
We know the ST is fun – but how does it deal with the everyday stuff?
You may remember that we gave the Puma ST Powershift a little test last year, and we rather liked it. However, that was just a couple of hours of blasting around country lanes, and I wanted to take a more in-depth look, to see how it performs as a complete package. Yes, it can do the fun stuff, but what’s it like at all the other stuff? After all, given that the Puma has taken the place of the now-defunct Fiesta in the volume-selling small(ish) family car slot, it has some conceptually big shoes to fill. So I wanted to give it a proper workout: specifically, taking the family away on holiday in it for a week.
To recap, the 1.0-litre engine is the ‘Fox’ EcoBoost mild-hybrid setup, which in this state of tune serves up 168bhp. It’s mated to a slick 7-speed DCT transmission, and the mild-hybrid system means that a small electric motor essentially serves to boost the petrol engine – the combined starter motor/alternator/propulsion motor helps to reduce engine load, increase power under acceleration, and reduce turbo lag. As such, this 1.0-litre hybrid accelerates from 0-62mph in 7.4-seconds… although probably not when it’s hauling four people and an eye-watering quantity of luggage.
Anyone who’s spent any time road-tripping with kids knows that there are certain touchpoints to watch out for: sticky fingers, a keenness to be informed of whether or not we are there yet, oodles of required storage space, a need for decent infotainment, the peril of potential vomit (although thankfully not on this trip, phew)… Our journey took us from Surrey along the full length of the M4 into deepest South Wales, and this seemingly necessitated taking absolutely everything we own with us. Helpfully, the Puma is equipped with something called a MegaBox, which is basically a big cavity under the boot floor for storing lots more things, and the door pockets are big enough for water bottles. There’s wireless charging for your phone, and premium B&O 10-speaker audio which is great for boisterous family singalongs.
Ford claims a combined 44.8mpg for this car. Over the course of 738 miles, we averaged 43.7mpg, which is pretty decent. So it can be sensible. It can also be entertainingly silly; more so than a 1.0-litre 3-pot has any right to, at least. The Performance seats are huggy in the curves while also being comfy on long motorway journeys, and the suspension handles impressively keenly without being so stiff or harsh that it makes the kids throw up. Yes, the brake pedal is annoying (half-an-inch of dead travel before it turns into an on/off switch), but you learn to drive around it. The nav is good, the stereo’s great, the styling is pretty cool. On the whole, I think we can call it a win for the little(ish) guy. And I can only apologise to the good people of Ford UK for returning the Puma to them full of sand. Wales does have some lovely beaches.