Ford has just unveiled a new addition to our favourite-driving small SUV/crossover, and it has Australia written all over it – if you ignore the name!
Yet to be confirmed for our market – so go hassle your local Ford dealer right after you read this story – the Puma ST (for Sport Technologies) finally gains a seven-speed automatic version – and with mild-hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) technology that includes a 48-volt electrical system and small lithium-ion battery pack – to usefully boost fuel economy and reduce emissions in one fell swoop.
While there’s been a Puma ST with a six-speed manual gearbox elsewhere since 2021, this has not been sold in Australia because Ford believes that SUV buyers only go for automatics – and the minuscule sales of manuals in this country supports that.
However – and this probably needs to come with a trigger warning – for some reason Ford of Europe is calling the latest Puma the ‘ST Powershift’.
Powershift. As in the brand of dual-clutch transmission (DCT) that cost the company tens of millions of dollars (and probably much more) in legal disputes and lost sales, that eventually likely helped lead to the demise of the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo models in Australia that were fitted with this allegedly problematic gearbox.
So, perhaps Ford Australia is open to referring to the newcomer as the Puma ST-P instead? Or Puma ST MHEV? Or even just Puma ST-H for hybrid? Obviously, all Puma SUVs actually use a DCT anyway (and a seven-speeder too at that), but at least they’re not branded Powershift – not in this country, anyway.
Contentious, too, but understandable when you learn how much other change has gone on underneath the ST MHEV auto compared to normal Pumas, is the downsizing of the engine compared to the Puma ST manual.
The ST MHEV auto loses the ST manual’s 147kW/320Nm 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine for a smaller, 114kW/220Nm 1.0-litre version, resulting in a 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.4 seconds. That’s up from 6.7s.
So, this is not the full-fat ST, but it’s still usefully more than the 92kW/170Nm 1.0-litre unit currently powering regular Pumas in Australia. And, at 6.3 litres per 100km/h, it uses a handy half-a-litre per 100km less premium unleaded petrol to boot.
And speaking of giving something the boot, there is a whole lot more of the ST manual lurking in the ST MHEV auto.
For starters, there is an added emphasis on steering, handling and suspension.
Compared to regular Pumas, this includes a 25 per cent quicker steering rack for faster cornering, force vectoring suspension springs for better body control at speed, as well as frequency-reactive dampers for a less-abrupt ride when the roads get rough.
Other ST improvements include a revised steering rack and arms as well as front suspension knuckles, while the MHEV auto powertrain’s energy-recuperation system “supports increased engine braking” for improved stopping power, according to Ford. And the exhaust system has an active flap for a rortier noise.
That’s right. In the Puma ST MHEV auto, there is now a small SUV with the dynamic spirit and soul of the late and lamented Fiesta ST – probably the greatest hot-hatch supermini the world has ever seen – if not the outright speed.
And that’s why Ford Australia should pull out all stops and get it happening down here. With the Fiesta ST and Focus ST now consigned to history, the Puma ST is a connection to the brand’s glorious performance passenger-car past, that has included a multitude of XRs, GSs and GTs.
Plus, ST puts a halo on the regular Puma – by far the most affordable Ford SUV you can buy, giving it a boost in the market that seems all-too-ready to forget about the Blue Oval altogether.
Right now, Ford is riding high with solid demand and strong reviews for the Ranger and its Everest SUV sibling.
But with these two T6.2 truck-based vehicles making up nearly 90 per cent of total Ford volume so far this year, it is clear that another model needs to step up to take the pressure off. And that looks like the Puma’s job.
After all, with an all-new Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota HiLux and Nissan Navara expected in the near future, the Ranger will soon be facing a world of fierce competition.
Which is where the smallest and cheapest SUV Ford currently offers in Australia comes in… and why it has so much riding on it.
Yet, while year to date, the Puma is the company’s fourth best-selling model, behind the T6.2 twins and Transit van range, the feat isn’t so impressive when you realise that the resulting 411 sales represents just 3.2 per cent of Ford’s total volume.
In comparison, the Mazda CX-3 that leads the light SUV segment managed to find 3463 buyers in the first two months of 2023. This translates to only 20 per cent of Mazda’s total volume of 17,074 units.
With it going full electric by 2025 and a host of other changes in the pipeline, it seems that the Puma should be more front-and-centre in Australia, starting with the release of the ST MHEV.
C’mon Ford, do it!
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