The Ford Puma Gen-E offers a few thrills but I think it needs a bigger battery | Stuff

I’ve always rather liked the look of the Ford Puma. It’s not quite as appealing as the cracking original (many of which have rotted away by now), but the appeal is obvious, as reflected in sales figures. Weirdly, I’d never driven one until getting the electric Ford Puma Gen-E. Built on the existing Puma platform, this is a car that retains the engaging vibe of the petrol version but, trades combustion for a battery and electric motor.

My example arrived in a hard-to-miss Electric Yellow, which certainly pops but is a bit of an acquired taste. And that, perhaps, could be the overall feeling many potential buyers might get from the electric Puma.

The standard vehicle I’ve been driving costs £31,905. Add on extras like the a Winter pack (consisting of heated seats and steering wheel), advanced driver assistance pack, black painted roof and 19-inch alloys, and that rises to £35,095 – though the UK government grant now takes it back down to £31,345 again.

All good, but there are plenty of rivals to take it on who, some might say, give it more than a run for the money…

The styling

Everyone knows what the Ford Puma looks like, as there are thousands on our roads. There’s not a whole lot to differentiate the Gen-E model, with a blanked off front grille being the only really obvious visual cue.

I like the ride height of this car as it feels lifted without being too lofty. The stance is every but what I’d expect from a Ford product. The yellow car I tested worked well thanks to the way the black trim flourishes – including the whole roof – compliment the brightness of the paint. Granted, it’s not stunning to look at, but I could live with it easily enough.

The Puma Gen-E is a practical car too, with a decent amount of room on the inside that can happily seat five at a push. The boot area is brilliant too, especially thanks to the so-called ‘GigaBox’ that is an additional lower storage area beneath the floor. Got a tall potted plant to move? It’ll fit right in.

It’s just a shame that the interior feels a little bit lacklustre, with quite a lot of cheap looking plastic finishes taking the edge off the otherwise nice touches including the seats.

The drive

This being a Ford, I was expecting a decent driving experience, and I wasn’t disappointed. Given the meagre size (42kW usable) of the battery though, the Ford Puma Gen-E is not a car you can go too mad in for too long. The capacity simply isn’t there. My first foray in the EV was to and from the airport, a combined trip of around 200 miles. I managed to get there and back without charging, going on average between 50mph and 60mph but arrived home with just 10 miles of range left. Squeaky bum territory, right there.

Around town though, the Ford Puma Gen-E fares rather better and the battery doesn’t get as sapped as much as it does when taking on those motorway miles.

I picked my way through the four drive modes during my time with the car, with Normal being the everyday choice as Eco was slightly pointless and Sport or Slippery took too much toll on the battery and range. I quite liked the way the Puma handled though, even if I never felt like I was getting the best of it due to the range issues. Ford should do a bigger battery option with a sportier stance. I think the Puma would pick up plenty of brand devotees moving over to electric for the first time.

As it stands, the Puma is a comfortable size, easy to drive and gets in and out of tight traffic situations well enough. It does suffer on those longer runs. The upside is the small battery can be topped up while you’re taking a coffee break, and it shouldn’t cost a fortune to charge even at motorway service stations.

The technology

It’s quite weird how the oblong steering wheel has made a return in recent years. The one in the Ford Puma Gen-E kinda works, but it did tend to encroach on my view of the 12.8in driver’s display. That was a shame, as I quite like the way Ford executes its digital graphics. The central 12in touchscreen is more of a success and inside the range of menus there was everything I needed including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

My test car had the Premium B&O audio system, which I thought worked a treat. The top of the dash seemed to have a built-in sound bar that combined with the other speakers – ten in all, delivered a real treat when it came to playing music.

There were plenty of other modern essentials, including a wireless charging pad, keyless entry and a raft of extra driving aids on top of the regular crop. Ford’s always have a few goodies as part of the general package too and I loved the Puma’s Quickclear heated windscreen as the temperatures started to drop.

Ford Puma Gen-E verdict

While I liked the Ford Puma Gen-E, I do think it’s going up against quite a lot of competition, some of which is very stiff indeed, including the likes of the Kia EV3 and the Volvo EX30 as a couple of my own preferred picks. There’s plenty of fun stuff out there too, like the Mini Aceman, the Abarth 600e or even the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce if your budget can extend to those.

Considering it’s been developed using the existing petrol car platform the Ford Puma Gen-E works well enough, and I liked it. However, I did always feel like I could have enjoyed it even more if there was a slightly bigger battery.

Ford Puma Gen E technical specifications