Ford Puma ST, existence

… and little songs at the tip of my mother’s nose Manuel (Captains Fearless, 1937)

I have sat on the platform of the scaffolding to watch people go by. The thermos of coffee rests next to me but I don’t feel like it. And I just watch the traffic. I’m alone up here. The others have gone looking for material and I know what that means. «I’m staying here» I told them, covering with a vague gesture the facade of the ministry on which we are perched. They haven’t paid much attention to me. They have taken the van and left. For a moment I watch my dangling feet. More than twenty meters of fall. I smile. I don’t have vertigo. My father said that he had inherited that from his family, all sailors. That his great-great-grandfather always volunteered to climb the mast, his grandfather always told him that he only smiled when he was up there, whipped by the wind and the water far above the others. I don’t know if it will be that, but up here I feel that this is my place. I sigh and lean on my palms, leaning back and stretching out my arms. Glanced up. The sky is practically clear.

The siren of an ambulance breaks the broth of sounds that soaks the streets of the city. Soon it moves away to let the murmur of the entrails of this complex and wonderful work of cement, stone, asphalt settle again on the asphalt… Then I hear a door slam behind me. Rarely do I realize that behind my back there is another universe that opens in the windows of the facade. They are open because apparently the air conditioning is not working. I know because the foreman had an argument with one of the orderlies and convinced him that it’s not our fault. Yes it is. I try to go back to the sky and the clouds but I can’t help but overhear a conversation of someone flustered. It is not normal for there to be people at those “extended lunch” hours in the ministry. “I tell you he has done it. He has done it! The very crazy, the imbecile has pressed the button…” Then the guy starts to cry. I turn my head. There’s someone slumped over his office desk sobbing, still holding the phone to his ear. He answers an imperceptible question «I don’t know, minutes, less maybe». I turn my head again. There are hundreds of vapor trails covering the sky.

There are many ways to design and manufacture a small sports car, but in my opinion the secret of the success of this type of vehicle is not that they offer extreme performance but that they are cars with sports performance but that can be perfectly usable on a day-to-day basis. There is a whole dynasty of small sports cars that come from utility or conventional vehicles and Ford certainly has a long tradition in this field, especially with its versions called ST.

Keep in mind that Ford has an illustrious sports car pedigree with a remarkable run in which it conspired to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans by designing a sports car from scratch to beat Ferrari’s racing cars. More than fifty years later, Ford has not abandoned this beneficial obsession and one of its fruits is the aforementioned versions of its passenger cars and SUVs. Today we have had to try a very interesting one, it is the Ford Puma ST.

Halfway

The Ford Puma is an SUV that is placed midway in terms of size within the range of the American manufacturer. It sits between the Ecosport and the Kuga and is competing with more and more competing models like the Peugeot 2008 in a market that continues to hold the interest of buyers who want the versatility of an SUV without the hassle of a large, clunky body. example as a mixed solution to move in the city and on the roads.

Regarding the exterior design, the Ford Puma ST is completely honest, that is, it offers many details to show that it is not a common Puma. Inside the front part, the upper ventilation grille in black has changed the design of the elements and shows off the ST logo in red, and further down the lower grille has been modified, which is entirely in black, as well as the side pieces that are located on both sides and which house the position lights and fog lights.

The spoiler finishes off this lower part with a black plastic protector that protrudes from it and gives a more aggressive appearance to this front part. In addition, the words Ford Performance have been engraved on this plastic protector to show that it is a version prepared by the department of the American manufacturer dedicated to designing and implementing the necessary modifications to obtain greater performance from street models.

colorful rims

On the side, the wheels chosen for this version immediately stand out, going from 17 to 19 inches and sporting a sporty design that also reveals the red brake calipers. Although the height is lowered because of the sports shock absorbers, those three millimeters are impossible to distinguish at first glance, so the profile of the car is quite similar to that of a more domesticated version of the Ford Puma.

If you change the rear spoiler in black that stands out over the tailgate more than in a Puma of other versions. At the rear, in addition to the aforementioned spoiler, the lower part of the bumper stands out, which has also been finished in black plastic and the double exhaust pipe that is located on the right side of the car. Finish off the sports details once again the ST logo that indicates that we are facing a sports version of this SUV.

Inside, that sincerity about the orientation of the car is maintained as there are many details to underline the sporty character of this version. The first is that of the seats that are from the manufacturer Recaro and are made in two pieces with pronounced edges both on the backrest and on the seat for better support in curves.

Sport seats

The design makes access to the front seats somewhat more complicated, but it is a common toll in this type of sports-oriented vehicle. Other racing design details found in the interior are the gear knob, the steering wheel design and the design of the door trims that also show the words Ford Performance.

The instrumentation behind the steering wheel is digital and is the same as found in other Ford models. In this case, however, it provides additional information such as oil temperature, pressure and the selection of additional driving modes. These can be activated with a selector and we can choose between normal mode, eco, Sport and Launch Control to improve traction when starting from a standstill.

On the other hand, the information and entertainment system screen is the same as in the rest of the Puma range and is well placed at the top of the dashboard so as not to have to look away from the road. It has a series of physical buttons on the dashboard that allow you to access certain functions directly without having to activate them from the touch screen menus, which is always appreciated…

space behind

At the rear the access is more similar to that of a normal version Puma. It’s not overly roomy overall, though it’s basically in line with similarly sized SUVs on the narrow side in legroom and height. The padding is comfortable and enough to travel comfortably for several hours.

The trunk of this Ford Puma is quite large and reaches 456 liters, which places it almost competing with SUVs of a larger size. The available space is quite regular and the rear seats can be folded down quite easily, reaching a total load capacity that can reach up to 1,216 liters.

But the moment of truth for this Fort Puma ST is without a doubt when we start the engine to start it up. It is a propeller of the Ford Ecoboost series with 200 horses for a displacement of 1,500 public centimeters. The engine has direct injection and Turbo with Intercooler system.

We start the engine

When pressing the button, the first thing that comes to us is the sound of an exhaust with personality, which also speaks of the preparation of the car to race. It is a model always ready to jump at the slightest suggestion of the accelerator, especially if we select the sportiest modes available, sacrificing some comfort and consumption.

We found it to be an extremely agile car, with a very direct and fast steering and an equally fast and precise change, so the credentials to race are more than enough. In curves it is an extremely well planted car that is almost more reminiscent of a sports Mustang than a mid-size SUV. The difference in height is hardly noticeable, although something more than in a sports tourism naturally.

fired

The acceleration is very good, according to the manufacturer it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.7 seconds and the engine revs up without problems. The brakes are also adapted to sports use and are very effective and manage to slow down the car in very small spaces even though we have put them to the test thoroughly.

In curves we notice that it is a serious preparation because the car sticks firmly to the asphalt and allows us to chain turns on twisty roads without any hesitation. The excellent behavior of the change and the good throttle response that we have already mentioned makes maneuvers such as overtaking, due to its ease but also due to the sensations it gives, a real child’s play.

Conclusions

Once again we find ourselves with a real toy in our hands that, on the other hand, does not lose too much in versatility, so its use is perfectly compatible with day-to-day life at the cost of very few sacrifices. An excellent engine, an irreproachable cornering personality and a racing aesthetic that suggests but does not saturate are good ingredients.

In addition, the trunk is large and when we activate the quieter driving modes and choose to drive more slowly, consumption is not too high. Of course, this Ford Puma ST is a perfect example of what we were aiming for at the beginning: a small sports car in which fun does not obscure its practicality.