Autocar April 10, 2019

WHEN FORD ANNOUNCED a few months back that it was embarking on a major global restructure, who knew that the firm would decide the way to revitalise its flagging European business was a new Puma? Of course, this isn’t really a Puma: it’s a Fiesta-based crossover that shares a name with the short-lived Fiesta-based coupé. You might groan at the arrival of yet another crossover, but it’s a smart move: the Fiesta is Britain’s best-selling car, SUVs are the fastest-growing car segment. Mix the two and you have the recipe for a huge – and much-needed – sales hit that comes with relatively low development costs. Ford has taken decisive action in its European restructure, axing a number of unprofitable models and focusing its resources on areas where it is already strong,…

“Ford will balance an SUV-like seating position with the desire to retain the Fiesta’s driver focus” Ford is bringing back the Puma nameplate for the first time since the Fiesta-based coupé that last carried the badge went out of production in 2002. However, instead of a returning to the dwindling sporting two-door market, the Blue Oval is reviving the badge for a new, Nissan Juke-rivalling compact crossover, based on today’s Fiesta and launching later this year. It was spied testing for the first time late last year and was briefly previewed last week in Ford’s ‘Go Further’ brand offensive, which gave a glimpse of the new model’s design (far right). Initially the new car was believed to be a replacement for the Ecosport, another crossover that shares its platform with the Fiesta and…

One in three car buyers in Europe is choosing an SUV. Unless it’s a Ford, in which case it’s more like one SUV in every five vehicles – and if you’re Ford, that’s an issue. Hence the release of a small SUV that’ll sit halfway between the Ecosport and Kuga. But then there’s the name: Puma. “It’s an evocative name,” says Stuart Rowley, Ford of Europe’s new president. Well, yes, it’s definitely that, Stuart. Many hold a soft spot in their hearts for the original Puma coupé. It was of its moment, funky to look at and agile to drive. The new Puma might be some or all of those things. But is it sacrilegious to re-use the name on what is, in effect, a box-ticking crossover, rather than on a thinking-outside-the-box…

WHEN FORD ANNOUNCED a few months back that it was embarking on a major global restructure, who knew that the firm would decide the way to revitalise its flagging European business was a new Puma? Of course, this isn’t really a Puma: it’s a Fiesta-based crossover that shares a name with the short-lived Fiesta-based coupé. You might groan at the arrival of yet another crossover, but it’s a smart move: the Fiesta is Britain’s best-selling car, SUVs are the fastest-growing car segment. Mix the two and you have the recipe for a huge – and much-needed – sales hit that comes with relatively low development costs. Ford has taken decisive action in its European restructure, axing a number of unprofitable models and focusing its resources on areas where it is…

“Ford will balance an SUV-like seating position with the desire to retain the Fiesta’s driver focus” Ford is bringing back the Puma nameplate for the first time since the Fiesta-based coupé that last carried the badge went out of production in 2002. However, instead of a returning to the dwindling sporting two-door market, the Blue Oval is reviving the badge for a new, Nissan Juke-rivalling compact crossover, based on today’s Fiesta and launching later this year. It was spied testing for the first time late last year and was briefly previewed last week in Ford’s ‘Go Further’ brand offensive, which gave a glimpse of the new model’s design (far right). Initially the new car was believed to be a replacement for the Ecosport, another crossover that shares its platform with…

The last time Ford used the Puma name, it applied to a beguiling little Fiesta-based coupé that lasted only five years (1997 to 2002) because the Fiesta Mk4 underpinnings on which it was based went out of currency. It had a quirky shape but caught on nonetheless, assisted by the fact that Ford plundered the ‘Bullitt’ image of Steve McQueen in a much-discussed TV advertising campaign. As well as being a brilliant-handling and steering car (Ford was already well into its market-changing ‘driving quality’ era), it had a terrific, free-revving little 123bhp 1.7-litre variable-cam timing engine, the top end designed and the whole thing assembled by Yamaha, which really understood high-revving engines – as the Puma demonstrated. Pretty soon, cheaper, lower-powered, insurance-beating 1.4 and 1.6-litre versions were offered, but enthusiasts always lusted most…