Test Car Specifications
Model: 2022 Ford Puma ST
Price: From £31,045
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power: 200hp
Torque: 320Nm
Emissions: 155g/km
Economy/Range: 42.8mpg
0-62mph: 6.7 seconds
Top speed: 137mph
Boot space: 456 litres
Styling
As usual for a hot version of a conventional car, the Puma ST has a few performance-orientated upgrades. Not least the sporty front bumper, rear roof spoiler and diffuser, as well as the gloss black finish on the roof and the new grille for engine cooling. You get 19-inch alloys, too, and there's the eye-catching Mean Green paint. The result is a marginal improvement on the doe-eyed standard Puma, with a little more focus and dynamism in the styling.
Interior
In the main, the Puma ST’s cabin is much the same as that of the standard Puma – particularly in terms of dashboard design. You still get the same basic climate control system and touchscreen, as well as a digital instrument display, but there are sporty ST features everywhere, including the gear lever and the steering wheel, as well as the sporty seats. There’s carbon-effect trim, too. But as good as the instrument cluster is and as solid as the infotainment tech may be, the cabin still feels a little bit budget. It isn’t badly built, but some of the materials feel a bit cheap alongside some other compact SUVs in this kind of price bracket.
Practicality
The Puma ST follows in the footsteps of the standard Puma when it comes to space. There's a massive boot with a waterproof storage box below the boot floor, and it makes the Puma ST enormously practical. And there's plenty of room inside, despite the Ford Performance seats. Seating four adults is easy enough, albeit not especially comfortable. It seems the seats are better suited to keeping you in place on a track than comfort on a long drive.
Performance
Although the Puma ST and Fiesta ST look very different, their running gear is remarkably similar. With a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine powering the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox, it's fairly conventional hot hatch stuff. But 200hp is more than enough for a relatively light car, and the Puma ST gets from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds, making it only fractionally slower than the Fiesta. That's admittedly slower than the more powerful Hyundai Kona N, but only by around a second. And because the engine is quite small, the Puma ST is relatively efficient, returning well over 40mpg on the official economy test. All that said, refinement is at a premium, because the short gearing leaves the engine turning at more than 3,000rpm at 70mph, and that makes it drone a little on the motorway.
Ride & Handling
Although the Puma ST sits lower than the standard Puma thanks to its bespoke suspension setup, the ST still feels compromised in the way it drives. Body control isn’t the issue – it’s good in the standard Puma and even better in the ST – and nor is handling, but the trade-off for such great dynamics is a shortfall in comfort. Of course, the Fiesta ST isn’t a magic carpet either, but it’s both slightly better to drive and slightly more comfortable than the Puma ST. And don’t think you get much more all-terrain capability by choosing the Puma, either. With the front-drive layout and less ground clearance than the standard Puma, it won’t give Land Rover any sleepless nights.
Value
Puma ST prices start at just over £31,000, which makes the compact SUV more than £5,000 cheaper than a Hyundai Kona N, but about £4,000 more expensive than a basic Fiesta ST-3. Standard equipment isn’t bad – you get a heated windscreen, a B&O sound system and a reversing camera – but much of that comes as standard on the Fiesta, too. That said, the Puma ST does get the Winter Pack, including heated seats and a heated steering wheel, as standard whereas it’s a £350 option on the equivalent Fiesta.
Verdict
Compared with its rivals, the Puma ST is largely very good. Some shortfalls in refinement and cabin quality let it down a bit, but it's fast, practical and good fun to drive. The problem is, it isn't quite as fast or as fun to drive as the Fiesta ST, so if you're looking to replace a fast Fiesta, we'd look elsewhere. Namely the Hyundai dealership.
