2002 Ford Puma from UK and Ireland - Comments

Oh I have driven one, the racing one to be exact and also the fiesta st and I hate both! the puma is clearly trying to be something its not.

I was at the Nurburgring at the weekend in my derestricted Puma 1.7 16v and turned in a few sub 8 minute laps, one car which I passed regularly was the new V8 M3, there was also an M5 in taxi trim trying to keep up, I nearly crashed though laughter when I saw it rolling round the bends!

So, now I have proven that the Puma can still cut it, can we stop the bickering and all pay respect to the best coupe ever built!

Haha to last comment, I hope you were joking when you said that.

As for being the best coupe ever built, bearing in mind it's not a purpose built car, but one based on an aging fiesta platform.

Thank god they no longer make it. they sit too high at the back end and are not especially quick, any self respecting hot hatch will trounce one in the bends fact!

The interior has a 'tarted-up fiesta' sense to it.

I should know my girlfriend had one, she now drives an gtv cup edition which is much quicker and better looking it may not be quite as reliable, but at least it isn't a 'girly' car unlike the puma.

The cheek that ford tried to show steve mcqueen driving one in the original ad's in the uk, 'oh look I've driven in le mans and regularly drive a stunning mustang 390.i think ill goto ford and buy the puma since it clearly has the performance, styling and pedigree of my old stang'

Get real! it's a spruced up shopping cart for women/hairdressers and don't be fooled otherwise.

To the 20/04/07 poster:

Could you please explain what you have done to your puma in order to 'deristrict' it and outrun an m5 and an m3?

Id be very interested to know, if you can explain why the puma would come restricted to this extent and also how the hell a fiesta chassis is going to handle what would need to be close to 300bhp+ in order to keep up with the like of m5/m3's.?

Wow, this threads old!.

I own a 1.7 puma so obviously I'm going to say I love it, it's a great car, not very fast though, but Id like to say a few things, mine is standard, completely standard and has done 0-60 in 7.9. NO JOKE. That's it though, it won't do it any faster than that and I can say this because I've had it timed.

Of course modern cars will be faster, more refined and there will be a lot that are better than the puma, but you can't beat it for driving fun, I'm sorry, but modern cars are to heavy, too safety orientated, The civic type R is a good car, but please if you want to rave about a Honda save it for the Integra!

To the owner of the Mustang... you have an amazing car, it goes very well and you'll look so cool doing anything, but if you try to keep up with anything remotely modern around a corner, you'll crash. The MK4 Golf GTI is a good performance comparison to the puma, it's not fast, just fun.

Forget some of the claims earlier in this thread.

It's not a quick car in the greater scheme of things.

It has a brilliant chassis (still holds a 5* rating in Evo).

It is one of the best all round affordable drivers cars of the 1990's.

The "girly" "hairdresser" comments are from the same clueless people who think Skodas are still crap. I have a 250 bhp Octavia vRS which regularly educates these people.

In the context of what it is, the Puma is a great car.

Re comments 12th May 2007.

Well said, completely agree.

I'd like to know how adding more power to your brick, I mean skoda makes it better? and it's not a skoda it's a vw bora on the cheap.

It's still a brick, nasty looking car with an all plastic interior almost, and I still maintain that the puma is a hairdressers car, my girlfriend had one and it drove like a fiesta mk4 with stiffened springs and inside it was a fiesta, no doubt about it. fair enough it handled quite well, but it has a high back end that makes it look like it's jacked up.

Get a vw corrado the original drivers coupe of the 90's, cheaper to buy in the first place and more solid mechanicals.

Id rather have a fiesta zetec-s from 2000 cheaper to insure (slightly) and not trying to be something it's not.

At least the racing version of the puma tried to improve on the originals dynamics and make it more of the car it should have been in the first place.

The 'normal' puma's just don't cut it sorry id rather have something that is what it set out to be, the puma was just fords marketing ploy to get more customers not to make a 'good' coupe.

I've owned a puma black for 2 years and currently own a racing puma for the last 3 years.

I bought it for the synergy of it's looks, sounds and rarity which are unique at the price.

I had no illusions about it's performance when I bought it which is adequate for UK roads.

It's relatively expensive to maintain in relation to it's current market price.

This is amazing, all these comments about the humble little Puma. I'm sure most people won't make it to the end, but if you do...

Most car magazine reviews refer to cars against it's main rivals, so if it says a Civic Type R's handling is a bit dull or lacks feeling it would be in comparison to a Leon Cupra R or 147 GTA or something, unless it states otherwise. It doesn't mean that you'd have more fun in a Chevrolet Matiz.

FACT: The Puma is a load of fun, I really urge anyone who hasn't driven one to take a trip to a local dealer and pretend to be interested in purchasing one. Just one of those cars that handles "right", it was never about raw speed.

FACT: Anyone who knows anything about cars knows that great fun can be had in a slower than what would be classed as a fast car, it's not always about 0-60 times. Or a hire car haha.

FACT: I don't know how a BMW 330 managed to make it into the original review, really how did that kid know the guy was racing him or that he just wasn't a good driver.

In conclusion, the Puma is a great fun, great looking, cheap to buy and run car with fantastic handling that seems set up for crappy UK roads. I've had many sports cars that would destroy the Puma in every department on paper, but I still remember fondly almost every journey I took in mine and the delight of ownership.

If Pumas fall into your price bracket and it seems to tick all of your boxes, I couldn't recommend one highly enough.

A modern classic.

My best mate has a racing puma (150 bhp) and I own a civic type r and let me tell you that there is absolutley no competion what so ever, the type r is sooooooooo much quicker in every department. my dad has just sold his bmw 330i which would destory the puma so as I have driven all 3 of these cars very often I feel as though I am in a good position to comment.

The puma is a nice car, handles well and is nippy, but it just can't be justified comparing it with 200 and 240 bhp cars, its crazy and that was the racing puma nevermind the normal 1.7 puma.

Cheers.

Oh for heavens sake buy what makes you tick and enjoy it for what it is!

If it's a fun go kart like a FRP or CTR enjoy it - never mind league tables.

If it's a hot hatch like a SLCR FFRS or such great - everyone has a fave - SLCR owners used to laugh at VWGGTi owners cos the cost was way lower for what you got... but hey if you love a GTi, then thumbs up to you!

If you're a rally racer - you'll never find someone that likes both the Scooby and the evo - it's either one or the other, and they're both great!

Japanese supercars of yesteryear - cool - enjoy the RX7 the Supra and so on...

If you want to grow out of your hot hatch stuff and get a grown up supersaloon - like the magic RS6 or RS4 then kudos. If you can afford it... go for it!

The Puma may not be fast, or a wide bodied supercar, but it's a cheap fun scootabout that looks a little different from a hatch - let it be, just go and enjoy what you've got.

Some of you are sounding just a little too defensive in your protestations...

Hi fellow puma owners.

I have a 2001 1.7 ford puma and absolutely love it - I have no hesitation in saying that its one of the best 'cheap' cars ever made and I think 'pound for pound' value it cannot be beaten in the way of style/speed/handling/fun/spec!

Am VERY interested to hear that people can get 200+ bhp (some say 300 bhp!) out of their puma? I'm not an expert, but would say that it would be virtually impossible with just getting it 'chipped'. Am I missing something here??

I have been reading my way through these comments for the past few days and they have provided great amusement, however it is a concern that a large amount of misinformation has ended up being posted and therefore anyone genuinely considering buying a puma might be mislead.

The truth is that the puma is a great little car, indeed it is based on the fiesta, but this is no bad thing (snobbery aside) as the fiesta is a sharp handling car and running costs and parts will be cheaper. The engine in the puma is also good, but certainly can't hold a torch to BMW straight six, Honda VTEC or turbocharged performance units it has been compared with at various points in the debate. The notion of 'super chipping' a puma to get 300 bhp is complete fantasy.

As, I am afraid, is the idea of a puma winning any kind of race with the hot hatches and performance cars also mentioned. The debate went of at this tangent as the original author claims to have beaten a BMW 330 off at the lights, and again down a country road, and to have beaten a Golf GTI from 10-70 mph (also a clio 182- this may not have been the original author, I can't remember). If any of these claims are true then either the other driver wasn't playing or was in the wrong gear. This is the reason the discussion seems to have spanned so many posts (and years!).

In conclusion, you can pick up a decent used Puma for 2-3 grand now, and if I was buying my first car again (i graduated from Puma to 182) I would because it's fun to drive, cheap to run and hair-dresser car or not I like the way it looks. However, if you are after a serious performance car, you are going to be disappointed.

Wow what a read! The humble Puma causing such a stir.

Like many (or not so many) people in this post I DO own a 1.7 puma. I love it to bits. Just can't leave it alone. We decided to buy a puma not just because of the awesome reviews (try finding a bad one) and write ups, but because it ticked all the right boxes for us (looks, performance, costs, practicality, price range). I wanted a TVR Tuscan S, but my wallet wouldn't let me.

It drives faultlessly whether I'm cruising at 30mph or chucking it round corners or flooring it at the lights. It may not be the quickest thing on this planet, but it always puts a smile on my face when I pull away from some boy racer in his neon mobile Halfords at the lights.

The car does have performance limits compared to the more serious 'petrol head' cars mentioned in this post, but the driving experience you get far outways what it lacks in BHP. It is a gutsy brave little motor that surprises many people with its performance and handling and can out perform lots of 'petrol head' cars manufactured specifically for performance and speed.

This car was never originally produced to be a serious 'petrol head' car, if it was they would have stuck a cosworth or turbo engine in it. However If I wanted to buy a car for its sheer speed I would probably buy a gti sti turbo v6 type-r sport injection 16v or similar, but the puma is more than a 0-60 statistic car.

For a practical, fun, cheap 'drivers' car you ain't gonna get much better than the Puma in my opinion. If you're a more serious petrol head and have got the money to do so go buy an M3 its quicker.

Like marmite you either love or hate the Puma. I love it!

I Would like to see this post kept alive with other peoples comments. Lets keep them coming. Its fascinating how passionate people are about their blocks of metal.