Ford Puma ST | Test Drive | Auto Class Magazine

Ford Puma ST | Test Drive

11 October 2021 Redazione News, Tested

The Puma ST is the demonstration that to sweep away any perplexity, you just need the right arguments and things here know how to leave you breathless, especially between curves.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Jay Tomei

We all know that dusting off old memories from the shelf could lead to trouble we may regret. Yet it is as if a huge magnet attracts us in that direction and once we have the idea of pulling out the box of adolescence, there is no turning back. After twenty-five years, Ford brings back the Puma, but to the general amazement, especially among loyalists to the brand, the 2.0 incarnation of the blue oval feline no longer has the sinuous lines of the all-pocket coupe it left us in 2003. From dream for novice drivers, the Puma withdraws its claws and create a family, with five doors, five seats and a look that of the progenitor seems to maintain only the proverbial roundness of a body with the extra centimeters and the extra ground clearance of a crossover. The fact is that last year, when we first drove the new Puma with the Mild Hybrid engine, we liked it a lot, both dynamically and on a purely objective point of view. The Puma is a great car. That’s why when Ford announced that it had its bad ST sister ready, the antipodes represented by the old and the new model intend to join in what today we can call the first peppery Crossover in history.

The color is wow, this Mean Green makes it clear that there is not just a different badge tattooed on a body that features a new front bumper with larger air intakes, side skirts, rear spoiler and a more marked rear diffuser to accommodate the double exhaust pipes. The Puma ST takes care of proper stuff and in perfect Ford Performance style maintains the practicality of the original model and makes it available to the engine that has confirmed the Fiesta ST as one of the best hot-hatch on the market. The 3-cylinder 1.5-liter EcoBoost delivers 200 horsepower on the threshold of 6,000 rpm, paired with a 6-speed manual transmission and traction on the front axle only. This translates into extreme lightness, with a final weight that touches 1,280 kg and that thanks to its reduced dimensions, despite the difference compared to the model of the late 90s, promise an on road behavior indispensable for being considered a true ST.

As comfortable and agile as a crossover should be, everything that interests me revolves around one thing only: driving fun. Yes, because that’s why you would put a car of this color in the garage, with an exhaust that, once you select Sport mode, constantly grumbles, crackling during gear changes and urging you to always be ready to say goodbye to your driving license. At least, if that happens, it will be worth it. But the Puma ST, despite a project efficiency that provides the deactivation of the cylinders when the pace needs it, is really focused on making the experience behind the wheel a moment of romance on wheels. If aesthetically the 19-inch rims looks epic and house an increased braking system which include 325 mm discs (for the front wheels), the real difference is courtesy of the self-locking differential at the front, which is the protagonist even when the torque vectoring allows the rear to widen in release. And know that this is addictive, just like anything that can happen once Track mode is engaged.

Sticking at the front, we have oversized anti-roll bars that interact best with a torsion bar at the rear, while you soon understand that going hard on the throttle will ask to keep your hands firmly on the steering wheel, otherwise – especially in first and second gear – the directionality of the same can lead to marked movements. While the feline has now amply demonstrated that it is capable of scratching far more than the previous model ever did, you still have the option to accommodate four more people on board and take advantage of a 456-liter cargo compartment, including the very useful megabox, which – in case you don’t know – is a large washable loading well, located on the bottom of the trunk. Trust me when I tell you that it turns out to be very useful and that it will be difficult to miss on other cars of this kind, especially if you practice some sport that includes muddy shoes or wet clothes. Time to rush home then, with a 0-100 kph of just 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 220 per hour, figures that are nothing short of astounding for a 3-cylinder pot.

The Puma ST is the demonstration that to sweep away any perplexity, you just need the right arguments and things here know how to leave you breathless, especially between curves. The gearbox is tight, the gears engage with the precision of a surgical instrument and the crackle that enters the cockpit encourages you to squeeze every crumb of power expressed by the 1.5. The 290 Nm of torque intervene when you prefer not to downshift a gear, but there is nothing more satisfying than making the tachometer needle go up and turn any road upside down, regardless of curves or straights, ‘cause the code you’ll be looking for is just to go fast.

Speaking of Ford Performance I knew the Puma ST would not let me down, but I never imagined it would have been able to pull such an object out of the box. Flanking the Fiesta and the Focus, it fits halfway, offering more space than the first and greater compactness than the second one, mirroring the fun and speed of execution of both with a cavalry contained at 200 horsepower and a starting price set at € 33,500, which is about € 12,500 more than the 95 horsepower 1.0 entry level. The surprising side is that with the ST you don’t just have a sports car, because it still manages to bring together the practical side of the non-vitaminized sisters, with an average petrol consumption of 6.2 l / 100 km, with the desire to press the “S” button on the steering wheel thus increasing the volume, stiffens the feedback addressed to the driver and confirms that this time, bothering with a famous name from your very past has been the best possible choice.