Ford Puma ST – Exclusive info
During a press tour with the Puma, we were having a presentation. Normal stuff. However, afterwards, we were ushered in a dark room, until everything turned green, and there it was. Similar to the color as the new Mustang GT500, Grabber lime, has. The Puma ST stood in front of us, and the questions were many, and almost all of them were related to the power plant. Will it have the four banger from the discontinued Focus RS? The answers were cleverly avoided as the questions were fired like a machine gun. The only thing we got from Ford was that it could have an engine close to the Fiesta ST. If it would be hybrid or not was left unsaid. Even though the answers left me with a gut feeling that it could be a mild hybrid system with a slightly upgraded 3 pot engine from the Fiesta ST. 230 hp from the petrol engine and another 20-30 hp from the electric engine seemed plausible. The reason being that the Puma is bigger than the Fiesta, even though it is based on the same underpinnings. Further, to have a smaller hot hatch have more horsepower would be a cardinal sin.
We were not allowed inside, but after some peeking I could say that it looked very similar to the regular ST-Line, and maybe even with a manual! The car was probably not finished and only the exterior was complete since we were not allowed inside the car. Or maybe because the Ford guys didn’t want us to pick up some secret information.
Outside, and looking aside from the “look at me I drive a fast car like a yobo” paint, the styling tweaks were standard ST level stuff. Slightly redone front bumper with a lower lip, side guards, and a reworked rear bumper. Nothing extreme, and for that, I was grateful, although a bit worried. Which person is this car aimed towards? With the limited information regarding the car itself I had to draw my own conclusions regarding power and other things, and came to the conclusion that the size puts it almost in the category of the Volkswagen T-Roc R. A clear cut benchmark. The ST then, which is aimed towards people who have some sort of interest in going fast and knowing a thing or two about weight and how that affects performance. Is the ST for people that once had a Fiesta ST in their youth, and now have a family and need to have something more usable? I did actually not know.
One other, major, problem was that this happened almost four months ago, and since then, the embargo has been in effect. Keeping quiet about this car has been as difficult when reviewing new and upcoming performance crossovers, and comparing them against other cars in a similar range. However, after four months, it is time. Teaser have been released, but the official teased image was today, the 4th of May. No info has been leaked, so as of now, the car we saw is the only thing we have. Oh, and that dark teaser picture.