Ford Puma, undervalued and bloody brilliant.

Ford Puma, undervalued and bloody brilliant.

Author
Discussion

Turning Japanese

Original Poster:

62 posts

100 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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I felt I should write this post to share my experiences recently with a Ford Puma incase anyone else is considering buying one.

First off I'd like to say I love Japanese cars and have owned many Mr2's, Celia's, various Honda Type R's and quite a few MX5's over the years. I have never been interested in Fords from an ownership point of view as I always questioned their build quality and on the whole they just never really did it for me. However recently I've had a real hankering for a Fiesta St (the new one) and after a brief test drive I was smitten. What a truly great car.
Whilst trawling the internet reading every post and review I could find from current ST owners I read a comment from someone who basically said "save yourself £16000 and buy a Puma instead". This got me thinking and after a bit of research I realised just how cheap they are now and apart from rust they are basically pretty reliable. Worth a punt then?

Long story short just after christmas I bought myself a 2002 Ford Puma 1.7 in silver with full service history, 69,000 miles on the clock and for only £700! Oh and with no rust!
Driving the 4 hour journey home from collecting it was pretty scary and part of me feared a brake down or some sort of failure so the first hour was spent with the radio off and worrying about every little noise I could hear. It performed faultlessly all the way and the main things that stood out initially where what a great engine it has, amazing handling and just how taught and solid the whole car felt. I don't know why but I thought a Ford of this age and mileage might be starting to feel a bit tired and rattly but it feels brilliant. I kept saying to myself over and over again, what a great car for the money.



So after a month of driving here are my thoughts.

Great engine, very torquey for a 1.7 and it makes a great noise. Performance feels much stronger than the quoted stats and the whole drivetrain is perfectly matched.
The gearbox is beautiful and must be one of the best ever and that's coming from someone who's owned a mk1 MX5 and DC2 Integra previously.
The handling and steering are brilliant for a front wheel drive car and you can really throw it into corners, it has loads of grip at the front the steering feels well weighted and very connected. Mine is fitted with budget tires which are shocking and just dangerous in the cold and wet but I can't wait to get it on some decent rubber and really push it. The handling feels as good as I remember my DC2 feeling just without the diff. The Puma however feels smaller and that inspires a bit more confidence when placing it on the road. I'm not trying to say the Puma is better than the DC2 but it is very close and in some areas I prefer the Puma and when I consider that I sold my DC2 for 10 times what I payed for the Puma it really makes you think.

What don't i like? The brakes are pretty poor and the pedal box, brake,clutch and accelerator all feel very cheap and flimsy which is at odds with the very mechanical and solid feeling gearbox and steering. Also the A pillars get in the way occasionally on roundabouts.
The interior is pretty bland and cheap feeling but then it is from a fiesta but everything feels well screwed together and solid. I get the feeling Ford saved money on the interior and used it to develop the drive train and chassis which are brilliant.

Conclusion.
I love it and think it is a brilliant car for very little money. I don't think I could have bought anything better for £700. I won't say its under rated because people have praised them from the moment they came out but I am aware that a lot of people would overlook one or even look down on it due to their perceived girly image. I've got a bit of stick already from people saying its a hairdressers car. However if you are like me and don't care how a car looks or what other people think but are more concerned about how a car drives and makes you feel I believe it is the best sub £1000 performance car on sale. I also believe that as lots of them slowly rust away the prices will soon begin to rise and they will one day be very collectable.
So if you are in the market for something cheap, practical and reliable but thoroughly entertaining I really don't think you can do better.


I won't post any pictures, you all know what they look like.







Vincefox

20,566 posts

171 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Agree 100%.

Mrs. Vince has a silver 1.7 Thunder, it's brilliant.

Stick a decent panel filter in it and junk all the intake baffles, reroute intake behind lower bumper slats. Makes a huge difference. I nick hers intead of my m3 as often as i can get away with it. Reckon five years from now they'll be a little rare too.

dom9

8,040 posts

208 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Fighting the urge not to buy one of these every day!

Stuballs

218 posts

100 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Had one of these for a few months as a stop gap and it was great fun. Great handling.

Had a few issues, namely the plastic thermostat housing warped, dumping all the Coolant. Changing it was an absolute pig. In fairness though. The missus drove it 6 miles with no coolant and it was absolutely fine.

Hope to have another one some day.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Back in 2003 my missus was looking to change her can and quite fancied one of these.

But then she came into a bit of money and bought a new Mini.

They do seem to have had loads of positive reviews, so I tried to talk my niece into one a couple of years ago. She bought a Corsa instead, but then she does work as a service advisor in a garage that has Vauxhall trained technicians so that makes some sense!

I will have to try one - wonder if a Puma would be any good as a cheap track-day toy?

Turn7

23,502 posts

220 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Ive always liked the Racing Puma's and still think its an itch that needs scratching tbh.

Edited by Turn7 on Sunday 7th February 21:20

Dal3D

1,174 posts

150 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Ford's best kept little secret. It's normal that those who dismiss them as a drivers car probably haven't driven one. Cheap now, nippy rather than fast, great handling but above all fun.

Between me and the OH we've had 5 of them. I also still run the busiest Puma forum since 2007 - that's my guilty little pleasure.

Enjoy your car biggrin

Edited by Dal3D on Sunday 7th February 23:06

Jazoli

9,086 posts

249 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Yup they are great, I recently bought a 1.7 Thunder for the missus as she gave up her company car, its a fun thing to throw around, driving position is crap though, the gear knob is freezing cold on winter mornings and the leather seats don't offer much in the way of support, fantastic little cars.

avenger286

425 posts

102 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Yep fantastic wee cars . Currently have 5 pumas ranging from a 1.4 to a 1.7 stage rally car . Engines will last for ever just change the oil ever 5k . My stage car is still on the original engine and has a 165k on the clock .
Brakes are easy to sort out just use the st150 set up . Lots of info on Dal's forum (project puma) you can just raid the ford parts bin for upgrades.
Enjoy your puma and keep us all posted.

Edited by avenger286 on Sunday 7th February 21:59

Vincefox

20,566 posts

171 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Iirc isn't there a throttle body modfor the 1.7?

JustinF

6,795 posts

202 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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Picked up an R plate 1.7 for £255 on ebay to use as a run around, clutch is a little high, rust in the arches but my god it's a hoot to drive, that rorty little engine and close ratio box are great for country roads and it's faster than my aero to 60.

Jay_87

1,051 posts

203 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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Owned mine for 7 years, spent a fortune on it and love the bloody thing. Fantastic cars.

Nice to hear a former DC2 owners comments on one, I've always thought of the Puma as a baby Integra

epom

11,398 posts

160 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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I was only offered a Racing Puma today. One owner 38k miles. No idea what they are worth tbh.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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Funny, isn't it?

Take a cramped and rot-prone late '90s car on the Mk4 Fester platform, and it's a standing joke if it's a Ka, but some kind of petrolhead nirvana if it's a Puma.

JustinF

6,795 posts

202 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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The 1.3 KA engine is a totally different kettle of fish

Quickmoose

4,482 posts

122 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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epom said:
I was only offered a Racing Puma today. One owner 38k miles. No idea what they are worth tbh.
lush

NiceCupOfTea

25,280 posts

250 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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TooMany2cvs said:
Funny, isn't it?

Take a cramped and rot-prone late '90s car on the Mk4 Fester platform, and it's a standing joke if it's a Ka, but some kind of petrolhead nirvana if it's a Puma.
While Pumas tended to have frilly rear arches and the sills went, Kas were in a different class - I'm sure I heard of one failing its first MOT for rust. And as said, the engine is an absolute peach. My wife's old 1.7 was far and away a better drivers car than my old MX-5, and it was very easy to drive quickly point to point. Shame about the interior, rust, and build quality, but if they had been better then they would have been 5k more to buy! I really can't think of many better driving front drivers.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 8th February 2016
quotequote all
JustinF said:
The 1.3 KA engine is a totally different kettle of fish
Yes, the engine's different. Woo.

JustinF

6,795 posts

202 months

Monday 8th February 2016
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
JustinF said:
The 1.3 KA engine is a totally different kettle of fish
Yes, the engine's different. Woo.
Buy one or borrow one for a day, you'll see.

ruggedscotty

5,606 posts

208 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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had a run in a racing - took it from edinburgh to ayr and on the way back went the back roads - absolutely stunning car it was.