Ford Puma a pleasure to pilot — at a price

A wedding, a funeral and a bridal shower.

While it may seem like the title of the latest romcom to hit cinemas, the words refer to true events that were in tune for Time to Torque to properly and practically test a fleet of the Blue Oval’s latest offerings.

The four Fords were the Puma, Ranger Tremor, Ranger Platinum and Territory which all had their tasks tabled, albeit unknowingly at times.

As SA celebrates Transport Month and the signs of summer start to show themselves, we will be looking at what’s hot and what’s not about the Ford fleet in a series of reviews over the next few weeks.

But for now let’s home in on the Puma.

The strikingly styled Puma is available in two variants — the Titanium and range-topping ST-Line Vignale.

Both are good-looking vehicles, certain to turn heads and spark up conversations with strangers in parking lots, as we found during our test period with both derivatives.

So much so that the Vignale was immediately roped into the wedding fleet once my now newly wedded cousin laid eyes on it.

The B-segment crossover is perched on 18-inch alloys with 164mm of ground clearance and creates an emphatic first impression as fancy city slicker with its LED daytime running lights and silver-studded grille, optional dual panoramic sunroof, sloped roofline and rounded rump.

The Titanium rides on 17 inches and is more subtly styled, losing the sunroof, flashy silver finishes while exchanging the partial leather seats and massage function for equally comfortable but a less stylish cloth version. 

A special party piece on the ST-Line, puddle lamps illuminating the floor with an image of a puma, also had the groomsmen gawking as they came for a closer inspection of their carriage for the occasion.

But before the wedding bells rang, food and decorations had be moved to ensure it was a memorable occasion which fell into the Puma’s strike range with a boot capacity of 456l behind the electric-powered tailgate and optional megabox (80l capacity), which is sunken into the boot.

The vehicle has a soft and cushy ride feel and mild accelerator touches are all that is required to make light work of turns — manoeuvrability in tight turns outside the city was a highlight as the vehicle, in both variants, felt planted and balanced.

And while the Puma would not be described as sprightly, the power from the turbocharged one-litre, three cylinder engine is sufficient, with 92kW and 170Nm mated to a smooth-changing seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Both vehicles come with five selectable driving modes — normal, sport, trail, spillery and eco.

On the wedding day, the groomsmen got to enjoy the sophisticated and suave blacked-out interior of the Vignale with its partial leather finishes (the front also has a three-setting massage function), 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, ambient lighting, a hands-free powered tailgate and premium 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Weaving through traffic as we rushed to the church was a breeze as we turned down the music on the user friendly Ford Sync 3 8-inch infotainment system — equipped with satellite navigation, Apple Carplay and Android Auto — to listen to the distinct grunt from the tailpipes.

So with an indicator here, collision detection signal there and town driving economy of little more than 9l/100km, we made it to the church with time to spare and share in a memorable ceremony and reception of the fortunately still married couple.

Other standard features include ABS brakes, stability control, six airbags, remote central locking, air conditioning, electric windows, multifunction steering wheel, USB ports, audio system with Bluetooth and two USB ports, rear parking sensors, lane keep assist, climate control, hill-start assist, tyre pressure sensor and high-beam assist.

While the vehicle has not matched sales figures of some of the others mentioned in the Ford fleet, it is not necessarily supposed to and instead offers a stylish and somewhat flamboyant alternative for the range of Ford vehicles.

Overall the Puma is a good-looking vehicle and a pleasure to pilot, feeling particularly fleet-footed on the outbound roads, however it would not necessarily be everyone’s first pick as it almost outprices itself in its' category.

Pricing for the Titanium kicks off at R569,900 while the range-topping ST-Line Vignale goes for R613,900.

Adding to that tag are two optional packages, the first being the Driver Assistance Pack -available for both models — which comes at a cost of R21,000 and includes blind spot information system, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, driver impairment monitor, front parking sensors and active park assist.

There is also an additional Styling Pack for the Vignale that includes a panoramic roof and four-way adjustable front seat for R17,300.

Service or maintenance plans are also purchased as an extra, with the cheapest option being a six-year/90,000km service plan for R17,693.

The price includes a four-year/120,000km warranty and four-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance package.