Ford Puma SUV ST-Line X First Edition 1.0 Ford Ecoboost Hybrid (mHEV) 125PS 5d Owner Review

Whilst the stiffer suspension was a concern based upon the reviews it was unfounded. Feels very collected and connected to the road. Comfortable around town and on motorways and feels as good as the MK8 fiesta titanium which we replaced with the puma. Really fun and comfortable to drive That being said Vs the fiesta the puma comes with much better equipment and feels significantly bigger than the car on which it is based. A rearward facing Britax Romer con fit behind the drivers and passengers seat without compromising leg room for my 5'11 wife. If only the fiesta had that extra 3" we probably would have kept it. No review could be complete without mentioning the boot. No more do I need to remove the wheels on the pram and shimmy this bit one way and slam the boot in the hope that everything is in (all whilst needing holding the parcel shelf out the way; the puma's is attached to the hatchback so it keeps it will out the way. Really Great design). The boot feels cavernous (for the class of car and even comparing the focus/astra). In fact it had caused issues as our weekly shop is no longer crammed in and unable to move; it rolls around the boot so may have to invest in some dividers. B&O sound system is great, powered tailgate is wholly unnecessary but I love it and the hands free opening works well. Interior feels very well put together if not quite as ostentatious as it's Renault's stablemates. The engine feels fun and responsive, crisp gear changes and better torque thanks to the mild hybrid system but the 'engine braking' caused by energy regeneration is very noticeable and I find myself using the cruise control everywhere to combat this. Not an issue for me as I used it a lot anyway but those that don't may find it more tiring than the standard ecoboost. Whilst it is early days, with 70% dual carriageway/motorway and the rest built up areas I am averaging 51mpg which I am happy with. There are a few negatives, the worst is driving modes. I want to drive in sport mode as default as the steering feels more connected not light which can be disconcerting on rougher roads. Why would you reset it to normal mode every time I turn off the ignition. The parallel park assist took three attempts to park and was not quite straight (full disclosure, it did work, I've only tried it once, there were no painted lines and one of the cars was at an angle so it did park it in challenging conditions). Finally, whilst this is my issue, the reversing camera cuts out the instant you start to take it out of reverse gear, I may not have fully finished my manoeuvre by then so would like a few seconds delay before the camera switches off but I'm really scraping the barrel trying to pick fault by this point. Suffice to say, I would highly recommend this vehicle and you would not be disappointed. Well made, fun, well kitted and, with one small software tweak (Ford engineers, please tweak the driving mode default setting) very hard to find fault with.