The new Ford Puma arrived a few months ago with just two models but the entire nation’s collective jaw drop: because this little car costs north of 600,000 bucks. Why? I’ll do my best to explain…
Before we get started, Ford deserved just as much of a proverbial vet-klap as most of its competitors: for digging up ancestral names. It irks me no end that a giant global corporation like Ford cannot come up with a new nomenclature for this trendy little crossover, instead destroying the Google results of anyone who owns an original Ford Puma coupé.
I will admit (and always bemoan the fact) that we never got that cheeky little number here in southern Africa, for reasons which are often tedious or tricky to explain. It’s much the same with this rather costly new Puma, which becomes a bit evident when you slot it into a table with equivalent vehicles from VW, Hyundai and Kia.
Turbo-petrol compact luxury crossovers
| Puma 1.0T Vignale | Hyundai Venue 1.0T | VW T-Cross 1.0T | Kia Seltos 1.5T | |
| Engine | 998cc i-3 turbo | 998cc i-3 turbo | 999cc i-3 turbo | 1,482cc i-4 turbo |
| kW / Nm | 92 / 170 | 88 / 172 | 85 / 200 | 118 / 253 |
| Gearbox | 7-sp DCT | 7-sp DCT | 7-sp DCT | 7-sp DCT |
| 0-100km/h | 9.92* | 11.4s | 10.2s | 8.9s |
| Top speed | n/a | 180km/h | 193km/h | 195km/h |
| L/100km / tank | 5.3 / 42L | 6.9 / 45L | 5.3 / 40L | 6.2 / 50L |
| ZAR (July 2024) | 614,400 | 499,900 | 530,000 | 626,995 |
Looking at the table above, it’s clear to see that Ford South Africa didn’t do too badly in pricing its top-spec turbo-petrol model against the more powerful Kia, but overshot the mark when you line it up with its 1L 3-cylinder comrades. So why are the Hyundai and VW so much cheaper?
Well, for starters, even though we used higher-spec models for our comparison, the others are simply not on the same luxury level as this Puma “Vignale”. That’s the name of a former Italian coachbuilder and Ford’s in-house term for their top-tier models, by the way.
Another thing to consider is that Ford can’t bring every single model to our shores, especially the giant American pick-up truhhhks or electric Mustangs. Operating a motor retail business in southern Africa is a proper tightrope walk of taxes, local production and/or import credits, heavy brand loyalty and, oh, just a vastly divided buying power.
If anyone of our dear readers were to wake up tomorrow morning with the reigns to Ford S.A.’s headquarters in each hand, I guarantee that every single one would need a strong sedative by lunchtime. I know I would. With just half a day’s insight into what it takes to bring cars here, we’d probably all buy Fords; and hug the salespeople.
Consumers demand the latest and greatest stuff, dressed in the shiniest tinsel and – for heaven’s sake – wrapped in black leather. Ford S.A. probably saw the avalanching profits raked in by rival luxury crossovers and decided to join the party; albeit a bit belated and with the “luxury” part cranked all the way up.
I was certainly not the only observer who scratched his head about the silent exits of Focus, Fiesta, Figo and Ecosport, which had served the blue oval’s profit margins fairly well. So when it was time to plan the next round of showroom content, can you blame Ford for ditching all the low-margin cheapies in favour of this extremely trendy vehicle?
Time will tell if this was the right decision, also considering that they were suddenly being elbowed by the master of cheap-and-cheerful, Suzuki, for overall third place in the monthly sales charts. And if anyone has made it this far down the admittedly bizarre text, here’s a quick summary of what this car drives like.
For starters, the look and feel of this new Puma is most certainly up to its claims: it feels fairly luxurious and quite a few notches above the rustic Ecosport; which it kinda replaced. Then there’s the punchy 1-litre in-line tri-cylinder turbo-petrol motor and 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, claiming just 5.3L/100km from the 42L fuel tank for a theoretical range of around 790km.
We couldn’t find any (local) performance statistic but assume that the Puma 1.0T Ecoboost’s top speed is around 180km/h. As luck would have it, acceleration testing is one of our pastimes so we gave it the spurs and ended with a best-of-two 0-100km/h time of 9.92 seconds. Reversing the process took 2.98 seconds and 44.1 metres.
Everyday driving is defined by a well-stacked gearbox making the best of what its diminutive host has to offer. Peak torque appears at an amazingly low 1,400rpm so there’s always a gentle wave of momentum waiting under your right foot; in most everyday scenarios. The motor also sounds good, and thus feels like it belongs in a bigger or sportier vehicle.
Speaking of which, the new Puma is fairly compact at just 4.2 length, 1.93m width and 1.54m height. Passenger space is the usual fare: sufficient for four adults but snug if you add another. Further crucial measurements include 164mm of ground clearance, 1,470kg kerb weight, 456L load volume and a 10.4m turning radius.
With cabin highlights including automatic-this and power-that, Ford also offers fine contrast stitching, crisp instruments and a fairly intuitive Sync media system, plus plenty of storage and charging options. Some infotainment (and instrument cluster) settings require some practice, but overall this Puma’s cabin is a pretty user-friendly place to be.
Each new Ford Puma 1.0T Ecoboost ST-Line Vignale is sold with a 4-year/120,000km warranty and optional 5-year/90,000km service plan. This trumps its main German rival but falls way short of the Korean crowd, so you best visit your nearest Ford dealer to see what options are left on the base price of R614,400.
