Long-term report: Welcoming a Ford Puma ST to the fleet

If you’re a car enthusiast in the UK there are countless categories you could fall into. The Fast and Furious generation might have a love for tuned Japanese cars from the turn of the century, while older generations might prefer some classic machinery from iconic British manufacturers, for example.

But if there’s one thing all British car enthusiasts seem to love, regardless of other allegiances, it’s a hot hatch.

The UK is the hot hatch capital of the world. The sector grew from tuners putting larger, more powerful engines in typically mainstream family cars, but has grown into a massive business in its own right.

Now you have car makers themselves offering go-faster versions of their own cars. At the top of the tree you have the likes of the Audi RS3, which has performance to make 10-year-old supercars sit up and take notice, while at the other, there’s the everyday hero – the Ford Fiesta ST.

This supermini is widely considered to be the best of the small hot hatch market thanks to its punchy engine and ultra-impressive handling abilities.

However, family cars these days tend not to be superminis and hatchbacks. The SUV and crossover market has taken over, which means manufacturers have been fettling these models to keep enthusiasts interested.

The Ford Puma ST is one such car. The regular version is, essentially, a crossover version of the Fiesta, so the Puma ST gets similar upgrades that make the Fiesta ST so great.

However, if you ask me, the idea of a performance SUV sounds like a compromise too far. I’m not inherently against SUVs and have driven many that I’d genuinely consider buying. But I’m not convinced they make great performance cars.

Typically, hatchbacks have quite a lower centre of gravity, so with some trick upgrades they can still be great fun to chuck down a country road.

With an SUV, it has a high centre of gravity by design. It’s the raised driving position that people love for daily driving duties, but even lowering the suspension won’t fully combat the issue, as you’ll be sat higher than even the non-performance-tuned hatchbacks.

Add in the fact that they’re also heavier, and there’s a lot to overcome for fun driving.

All of this is to say that we’ve been curious about what one of these performance crossovers is like to live with, so we’re going to be running a Ford Puma ST for six months to find out.

Our test car has arrived in Frozen White, which really suits it. The on the road price is £29,710 and standard equipment is extensive, including 19-inch alloy wheels, Recaro sports seats, LED headlights, digital instrument display, Ford’s latest Sync infotainment system and a B&O premium audio system.

It also has a Performance Pack that adds a mechanical limited-slip differential (LSD), launch control, and a performance shift light. The LSD is a particular highlight and makes accelerating out of corners much more impressive.

Our test car also has a hands-free power tailgate, which is £350 extra, while the Driver Assistance Pack, which adds various safety and assistance technologies, costs £600. They bring the total for our test car to £30,660.

That’s quite a bit of money. No only is it pricier than a Fiesta ST, it puts the Puma ST into combat with the Focus ST, which is an utterly fantastic hot hatch the Puma will have to be game-changing to beat.

We’ve only recently taken delivery of the car so will hold off on giving too many thoughts until the next report. However, first impressions are mixed.

On the plus side, the Puma ST looks great, much better than I had expected having seen it in photos. And on my brief stint down a country lane it’s quick and eager to turn in.

The downsides? I’m quite slim but the bucket seats are far too narrow, meaning my thighs rest on the side bolsters, which is really annoying. The suspension is also very stiff, so it’s not the most comfortable ride in the world.

As a massive hot hatch fan myself it’ll be interesting to see if the hot crossover is a worthy alternative. The Puma’s got to win me over, as first impressions are that it’s good, but it’s not a patch on a Fiesta ST… let’s see how things progress.