Ford Puma: Catch It While You Can
Ford's cute coupe is exceptionally good fun, plus it's ubiquitous and cheap - for now
Sub-£1,000 prices, a zingy, rev-hungry 1.7-litre engine developed in conjunction with Yamaha, a chassis that beautifully balanced ride and handling and near-perfect steering have made it a diamond in the rough of bargain bangers.
Thing is, that isn't going to last forever. As with all old Fords, rust is the Puma's biggest killer, and it's already claimed quite a few. From a peak of 38,000 on the road at any one time, Puma 1.7 numbers are now down to around 8,500. Granted, that doesn't exactly make them exclusive, but we still think now could be a good time to buy if you still want to take advantage of a cheap one.
Original is certainly best when it comes to Pumas
You see, there was once a time when you could slide behind the wheel of Ford's feline fancy for well under a grand. Even a fully historied example with reasonable mileage could be had for £900 or so, while a slightly tattier example with no history was yours for a pittance - £500, perhaps even less.
But a browse through the classifieds today reveals that that's no longer the case. Prices have nudged up in recent months so that £1,200-£1,500 is the going rate for a Puma you'd actually want to own.
Oh, sure, there's still all manner of rusting, leggy, crash-damaged, modified or otherwise undesirable tat about for below £1,000. But a Puma worth buying will today cost you just a little more than it did - and while that doesn't mean values are about to shoot skywards, it might be an idea to scratch that itch sooner rather than later if you fancy one.
Racing lovely, but not really worth the premium
Don't bother with the 1.4- or 1.6-litre engines unless you really need the insurance saving; you still get the Puma's excellent chassis, but nowhere near enough power to exploit it. At the other end of the scale, the Racing Puma is exquisite, but prices have soared - think just shy of £10,000 for the very best, and that's if you can find one.
All of which makes the stock 1.7 - the original, in other words - the one to buy for now. Early cars were pretty basic, but then the Puma was never really about standard equipment. The chassis and engine were all, and never mind that the interior was shared with a Fiesta and all you got to play with was a pair of electric windows, central locking and power steering.
As time went on, though, the Puma began to spawn special editions - the Millennium with its Zinc Yellow paint and Recaro seats; the Black, with (can you guess?) black paintwork, a black leather interior and split-spoke alloy wheels; and the Thunder, finished in metallic grey with leather seats, a six-disc CD changer and multi-spoke alloys.
Get one before they've all rusted away!
This isn't one of those 'buy it now or you'll miss out' calls to arms, then. Think of it more as a gentle prod; a reminder that time moves swiftly when you're not paying attention. The Puma is a surefire classic in the making; and while it's a little way off attaining that status, it won't be too long before you're looking at the classifieds, wondering where they all went - and when they ever got so pricey.
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In no particular order:
- Seats are hard and uncomfortable
- Torque limiter in first and the 'traction control' (up to 6mph or whatever) are a joke
- Brakes are weak
- Can't open the boot with the engine running, if its raining the boot will fill with water pretty much no matter how you open it
- Rust
- Leaks. There is a rubber grommet engine side of the bulkhead which brings in a lot of electrics. Its mounted on the horizontal! Leaks unsurprisingly.
In no particular order:
- Seats are hard and uncomfortable
- Torque limiter in first and the 'traction control' (up to 6mph or whatever) are a joke
- Brakes are weak
- Can't open the boot with the engine running, if its raining the boot will fill with water pretty much no matter how you open it
- Rust
- Leaks. There is a rubber grommet engine side of the bulkhead which brings in a lot of electrics. Its mounted on the horizontal! Leaks unsurprisingly.
Also, the passenger wing mirror you can't see properly, the low roofline and high seats which mean you will often bang your head, the woefully awful parcel shelf that keeps falling out...
That said, they are absolutely fantastic to drive, with a great engine. I didn't have any problems with the brakes wilting on the road, although I didn't take mine up an alpine pass... I'd have another in a heartbeat.
Superb to drive (brakes aside, as mentioned)
The chassis is simply....well....you dont need me to tell you.
I'm no Driving God....but it covered ground quicker (on average) than either my 9-5 Aero (great on the straights, not so much on the bends) or Panda 100 (more hardcore but not quite as quick or communicative).
it just told you everything you needed to know, you could lean on it so much, fantastic fun. Great steering and gear change. Lovely aluminium knob action. (oo-er)
Peach of an engine too, not fast...but clever with the VCT meaning torque at the bottom end but also a strong top end (and it sounds absolutely excellent right at the top, a proper 'hollow bark' induction. Economical too, i never averaged less than 40mpg on a full tank, including some raggage.
I got mine FOC from a relative...but it was already too far gone to be worth keeping. Too many things wrong with it, sadly.
The 1.7 was undeniably better though, more power, not significantly worse on mpg. From what I recall though they are more fragile than the 1.4/1.6 and need to be careful of the oil (exact spec and quantity)
Can't be many left that haven't partially dissolved. Also not suitable for the taller driver, at least with the standard seats. A friend of mine used to work for a local Ford dealer when these were current and he had to get other people to drive them into the workshop as he just didn't fit.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2OV7Zz4VsM
Just a shame about the rust!
It has one of the nicest sounding four cylinder engines I've heard, and by a country mile the best gearbox. Slick, short throw and light. Everything a gear change should be. The engine has a tuned inlet manifold which gives a lovely induction resonance above 4,000 RPM, and it sings so sweetly round to the redline. The VCT system makes it feel very torquey for its size too. Handling is properly entertaining on road and on circuit. Brakes marginal on road and wilt on track. Driving position poor for taller drivers because the seat doesn't go low enough.
Rot will kill it. I migged a couple of plates on the outer sills for the last MOT, but there's more serious rot at the inner rear sills near the beam mounts. It was an advisory on the last MOT and will fail this year. I'm not sure I can be bothered to drop the rear beam and fix it.
Great cars overall. People who dismiss them purely for the badge/low values/rot are fools.
I still miss it occasionally.
Mine had the full spec except leather.
The winter pack - heated screen and mirrors are useful on frosty days.
The parcel shelf is a £2 fix with some rubber grommets.
It's a cracking all-round package as it stands (well, the 1.7 is), but the rub is that there's not much tuning potential. The FRP took the engine to more or less its limit.
The standard 1.7 is already too much for the gearbox, hence the need for the torque limiter so it doesn't eat first.
Mine also chewed up its driveshafts.
What's great about it is that it's a bit of a Fiesta- based kit-bash ... a parts-bin special.
Rear seats from a Ka, dashboard from the Fiesta. Running gear from the Fiesta Zetec (s?)
They really do benefit from having the steering geometry checked, and from having decent tyres. No need to go mad, though.
As per one of the previous posts, they can cover the ground quite quickly. A little bit too much blare due to the lack of a 6th gear on motorways, but elsewhere it's fine.
Whatever loses it in the straights will be caught at the next corner. Rinse. Repeat.
If you can get a reasonable mileage rust-free example for £1500 (and keep it rust-free), they're worth having just for fun just as much as an investment.
I drove it a few times and apart from the slick gear change I struggled to see what all the fuss was about.
Seats were rock hard and tiny; felt like I was sitting on a foot stool.
Engine was gutless (it was a 1.7) but revved very smoothly.
s
t little car all in all.Alcon brakes didn't have dust seals so they soon lose their bite and very, very few people seemed to ever service them properly. Seats used to tire quickly and obviously quite a few of the more useful parts (handbrake cable for instance), are now unavailable.
Tempting cars FRP's, but the restoration budget on anything bought to get it tip-top would be a fair amount.
Brakes were absolutely appalling and rust spread like Trump's hands at a Miss USA pageant.
Yet despite these foibles it was a cracking little car. Nimble handling coupled with a zesty engine made it a joy to drive on British B roads. It was also really quite cheap to maintain to boot!
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