Ford has revived the Puma name this week, revealing a brand new city-spec crossover. While some believe it's tarnishing the name of a classic sports coupe that had a tail-happy attitude, nobody actually remembers that car. And in its place, we could have the most enjoyable, affordable small crossover ever made.
During our visit to the Blue Oval's factory in Craiova yesterday, we felt there was a deep connection between the Puma and the Fiesta. What's more, the engineering groundwork for set for the Puma ST to arrive and offer something unique.
You see, most modern sports crossovers rely on large turbo engines and AWD to deliver cheap thrills. But the Puma could easily adopt the zingy 1.5 EcoBoost and special rear suspension from the Fiesta ST, getting a lot of that playful nature too.
While Ford said there are no plans for such a car, we believe it's already begun testing. A prototype was recently spotted at the Nurburgring track with double exhaust pipes. There isn't a set number of exhausts you need, especially when you're dealing with a 3-cylinder engine, the normal Puma only has one tip, and that's just frustrating. It's like not getting a pickle in your burger or getting two YouTube commercials in the same video.
Anyway, here's a rendering by Brazil's Kleber Silva of what that might look like, the Puma ST. Ford is basically only making ST cars for Europe and Australia, so its design budget has gone right down the drain. On the Focus ST, for example, the bumpers are basically the same as the ST Line, save for a few badges. In fact, the real sports Puma model won't have wheels this big or that diffuser at the back.
There hasn't been a car like this since the Nissan Juke Nismo, which set a pretty low bar in terms of enjoyment. Ford really can't miss with this one.
You see, most modern sports crossovers rely on large turbo engines and AWD to deliver cheap thrills. But the Puma could easily adopt the zingy 1.5 EcoBoost and special rear suspension from the Fiesta ST, getting a lot of that playful nature too.
While Ford said there are no plans for such a car, we believe it's already begun testing. A prototype was recently spotted at the Nurburgring track with double exhaust pipes. There isn't a set number of exhausts you need, especially when you're dealing with a 3-cylinder engine, the normal Puma only has one tip, and that's just frustrating. It's like not getting a pickle in your burger or getting two YouTube commercials in the same video.
Anyway, here's a rendering by Brazil's Kleber Silva of what that might look like, the Puma ST. Ford is basically only making ST cars for Europe and Australia, so its design budget has gone right down the drain. On the Focus ST, for example, the bumpers are basically the same as the ST Line, save for a few badges. In fact, the real sports Puma model won't have wheels this big or that diffuser at the back.
There hasn't been a car like this since the Nissan Juke Nismo, which set a pretty low bar in terms of enjoyment. Ford really can't miss with this one.