► Facelifted Ford Puma SUV driven
► Punchy 1.0-litre engines
► Redesigned cabin is a let down
Still feeling bereft after the death of the Fiesta? It’s time to get over it, we’re afraid. Ford certainly has. If you’re after compact thrills specifically, you’re now limited to only a couple of options from the Blue Oval: a new Focus, though we’d probably make it quick as that’s also destined for the scrapyard, or a new Ford Puma compact crossover SUV. Which is now firmly into its midlife facelift, introduced in 2024.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Puma SUV, it’s Ford’s answer to the Nissan Juke or the Toyota C-HR. Built on the same platform as the recently departed Fiesta, it’s essentially a jacked-up version of the dearly departed hatchback. But with more room inside and, arguably, a little more presence on the road.
You can even spec your Puma with an engine out of the Fiesta, so you’d expect them to feel alike on the road, right? Right…? No. The Puma is its own car with its own handling characteristics, interior and price point. Read on to find out what we think of all three and more, plus how it stacks up against rivals.
We thoroughly test every car we get our hands on, no matter the name it wears. If you’d like to find out how we reached our verdict on the Ford Puma, head over to our how we test cars page for everything you need to know.
Should you buy a Ford Puma? Possibly. This little SUV remains good to drive, but the ride isn’t great and the interior – while spacious – is rather dreary. Lots of competition in this segment, too.
What’s new?
In 2024, Ford updated the Puma with a new interior and a fresh assortment of tech. The cockpit now has a more driver-focussed orientation, with an infotainment screen angled towards the driver. There are also fewer tactile buttons, annoyingly but we’ll get onto that later.
Ford’s new SYNC 4 infotainment system is now available to complement a bigger touchscreen display – 12 inches, up from eight. A raft of new driver assistance aids can also be spec’d on the facelifted Puma, including a 360-degree surround-view camera system and lane centring as part of an updated adaptive cruise control system.
What’s it like to drive?
It’s the fizzy 999cc three-cylinder engine we noticed first, as it pulled us on with a surprising and broad spread of punch from one so small. But of course, it had help; Ford’s venerable 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is here modified with 48-volt mild hybrid technology, where a battery-fed starter/generator can act as a motor and ladle extra torque into the driveline.
Switching the alternator off the engine and replacing it with the ‘belt-driven integrated starter/generator’ (BISG) has multiple benefits, from snappier stop/start to fuel saving, but the one that will universally appeal is the enhanced performance.
The difference is surprisingly immediate, and the tiny three-cylinder engine feels sufficiently tractable at low revs that you could spend all day driving around in too high a gear without bogging down the engine.
Not that the six-speed manual gearbox is something that discourages interaction: shifts are clean, crisp and close. At medium revs a larger turbocharger takes over, providing decent shove until you reach the 6k rev summit.
The automatic won’t likely cause owners much grief, but it’s not the most responsive system in the world. Reactions to our inputs were often a tad delayed, while finding the right gear at the plateau of some heavy acceleration would take a moment’s deliberation before any final decisions were made. If you want our advice, the manual is so sweet that it’s probably the transmission option to go for in the Puma, though if you feel like having less to do, the auto will do just fine.
The Puma runs on a twist-beam rear suspension with bigger shocks and increased stiffness compared with the related Fiesta; up front, the Puma’s body perches on independent MacPherson struts. The ST-Line X has retuned sports suspension, and the ride quality feels taut on the 18-inch rims shod with Goodyear Eagle rubber.
The contact patches act like a divining rod, feeding back a deep level of detail on the road surface: cat’s eyes can cause a spot of turbulence, and the Puma feels well lashed down over sharp crests. The overall feel is tense, verging on harsh but not quite there, and tyre noise is well contained.
What about the interior?
The latest Puma has a revised interior, with a fresh layout and new tech. The Puma we tested was an ST-Line car, and so a red stitch ran frequently throughout the cabin, from the steering wheel to the dashboard and even into the rear seats. It’s a racy touch, and a box worth ticking if you fancy an additional level of sportiness in your new Puma life, but honestly did little to assuage an otherwise dark and pretty barren cabin.
With its monotone black appearance and harsh mix of materials, the dashboard is so lacking in imagination that it’s almost a bit depressing. The design around the instrument cluster is clumsy and illogical, while the recurring hard nasty plastics did little to evoke a homely feel. The latest car’s cockpit is perhaps a bit more spacious than the outgoing model – around the front two seats at least – but it’s lost some of the coziness that the previous Puma offered, and certainly can’t match that of the Fiesta.
The seats themselves are reasonably comfortable, with a pleasant suede-like finish to the upholstery and faux leather around the bolstering, but the same can’t be said for the gigantic new steering wheel. Large and square in shape, it appeared straight out of the latest Transit, just without the swinging table hinge, nor the top-down seating position for close reach.
The wheel didn’t seem appropriate in a car of this type, as keeping our hands at nine and three felt like holding the carry handles of a mid-size dinner tray, and so rotating it around tight corners became a bit of a bore without resorting to some sort of shuffle manoeuvre.
We can report that the infotainment display is crisp and clear. The SYNC 4 system is very simple to navigate through, with large icons to easily identify and press while on the road. It does, however, contain just about every function the car has to offer.
All of the climate controls, including the de-mister buttons and the heated steering wheel function, can be found at the bottom of the screen. It’s no doubt something new owners would get used to, but we’d still rather a small bank of tactile buttons that you can reach for without thinking, nor diverting you eyes.
There’s a decent amount of room in the Puma, with plenty of headroom thanks to a high roofline, though taller adults might find leg room a bit of a squeeze in the back. The boot can hold up to 456 litres with the seats up, or 1216 litres with the rear seats folded down. To put into context, that’s 56 more than the Skoda Kamiq with the seats up in both cars, but 179 less with the rear bench folded.
Before you buy
At the time of writing (September 2025), the Puma starts from £26,580 in its most basic Titanium spec. For your money, you get the 12-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker audio system and a 12.8-inch instrument cluster. The driver’s seat can be adjusted manually four ways – just two for the front passenger – while lumbar support is also offered for the driver. As for parking aids, Titanium cars come packed with a rear camera with parking sensors, plus cruise control and a lane-keep assist function.
Moving up the trim range, an ST-Line Puma will set you back £27,480, for which you get racier body kit and grille and 17-inch alloy wheels. At the top of the line-up, before you hit full Puma ST territory, the ST-Line X trim features 18-inch wheels, wireless phone charging, a power-lift tailgate and sports suspension, among a few other extras.
After perusing the spec sheets, it doesn’t seem like the ST Line model is worth the extra money, unless you desperately want the slightly bigger wheels – likely at the cost of some ride comfort – without the other additional features. If you feel like spending a bit more money, the ST-Line X will be the car to buy, but most owners will probably feel pretty satisfied with a decently equipped Titanium Puma.
Let’s talk about rivals. Unfortunately for Ford, they are strong and abundant in this class. The Puma has been at the forefront of a paradigm shift away from hatchbacks as principle small family cars to crossover SUVs. Now, though, a wide offensive of vehicles are all vying for attention, some of which surpass Ford’s offering.
The Skoda Kamiq is a well-built, well-equipped example that pips the Puma on comfort and interior layout, while costing less and offering more room inside. The Renault Captur is another similarly sized opponent which again has a bit more of a homely ambiance in the cabin, and while a little bit smaller, starts from around £4000 less than the Puma.
Verdict
The proposition of a slightly roomier and more practical Fiesta was an enticing one, and when the Puma came out, it felt like those virtues were upheld. Lamentably, though, it now feels like Ford has dropped the ball with the Puma. The cabin simply isn’t a very pleasant place to sit, the aesthetic is nigh-on dreary and some of the layout suggests any ergonomic merit was reduced to an afterthought.
While the Puma can reward you when carving through countryside B-roads, the ride sits on the cusp of being too jittery, and the fact of the matter is, there are just too many stronger alternatives out there. It’s a shame, as Ford has excelled in the cheap small car class for so long. Hopefully one day it’ll find its way back up to the top again.