RE: Shed of the Week: Ford Puma
Discussion
This is a well timed SOTY as I was only looking at Ford Pumas last week...I am sure I saw this advert too...
I can only say this is one car that needs to be snapped up now. We will look back in 5 or 10 years time and wonder how these were ever so cheap just like we did with £800 205 GTIs /MK2 Golf GTIs 10 years ago.
The Puma was a really highly regarded car in its time. Won Top Gear Car of the year in 1997 with Tiff needell performing handbrake turns as I recall with VBH and JC on board. Always rated highly in any car of the year competitions and actually is a timely reminder of how Ford has lost its way a little in recent times. What a bold and original design, still looking great 20 years on. We wont say that about the current Fiesta or Focus!
I am really tempted by this car.....I definitely see myself in one of these as my weekend toy in the near future. Absolute cracking shed......
Had one circa 2003. Fantastic for 24yo me. I’d love to try another, a well maintained one, in 2017 and see how it feels today.
The early ones - like this one - had the stupid key that needed a direct line of site to the sensor near the rear view mirror for the remote locking to work. Unreliable. Stupid. Slightly later, 98/99, the Focus key arrived which was much better. Sounds like a small thing, but makes a difference every time you unlock the car.
The early ones - like this one - had the stupid key that needed a direct line of site to the sensor near the rear view mirror for the remote locking to work. Unreliable. Stupid. Slightly later, 98/99, the Focus key arrived which was much better. Sounds like a small thing, but makes a difference every time you unlock the car.
V8 FOU said:
What's all this "if only it wasn't so far away" b
ks?
I don't think I have ever bought a car less than 200 miles away.
Usual PH rubbish.
I suppose if there is a feature on the lastest hyper thing, the same people would be posting "if only I had the money" "when I win the lottery" etc etc
Brilliant Shed BTW!
Bit angry but i agree. When looking at cars, i always set to nationwide. I'd be prepared to go to the other side of the country, if i really wanted the car. ks?I don't think I have ever bought a car less than 200 miles away.
Usual PH rubbish.
I suppose if there is a feature on the lastest hyper thing, the same people would be posting "if only I had the money" "when I win the lottery" etc etc
Brilliant Shed BTW!
In fact, just make it a day out. Get a lift off someone or get a train, coach or some kind of public transport. A nice little journey there, pick the car up, have a chat with the owner, drive back home, job's a gudden. You could even hunt out some decent back-roads for a blast, on the way back.
Shed said:
The MoT history on our one-owner specimen is practically unblemished, with no advisories in the last six years. If you need any more encouragement to spend the piffling sum of £650, you may well have terminal cynicism. Shed is running an evening class on how to keep your cynicism supply topped up. The price for the course should have been £25 a week, but he's just doubled it and taken out some of the best bits in order to give you that feeling of vindication that you crave.
Haha brilliant!! And true. Even if it turns out to be a dog (which it shouldn't) it's only the equivalent a couple of months rental fee for a white VAG down the drain. Great little cars if you can get one that's not rusty.
I've had a few of these as well as a late model 1.6 and a couple of Racing Puma and a Millenium model with the nice recaro seats - this sorts the problem of feeling like your are sitting on it and too high rather than in it and driving it.
Great sotw.
And good to see the humour is back
Shed is running an evening class on how to keep your cynicism supply topped up. The price for the course should have been £25 a week, but he's just doubled it and taken out some of the best bits in order to give you that feeling of vindication that you crave.
I've had a few of these as well as a late model 1.6 and a couple of Racing Puma and a Millenium model with the nice recaro seats - this sorts the problem of feeling like your are sitting on it and too high rather than in it and driving it.
Great sotw.
And good to see the humour is back
Shed is running an evening class on how to keep your cynicism supply topped up. The price for the course should have been £25 a week, but he's just doubled it and taken out some of the best bits in order to give you that feeling of vindication that you crave.
I need to have a copy and paste reply for whenever a Puma thread comes up.
Had one briefly - 1999 1.7 in red. Superb car to drive.
Lovely steering, LOVELY gearchange, great engine. Not 'fast' but nippy and economical too. (i never averged under 40mpg (true) and thats was despite some thrappage)
Standard brakes feel/strength is average/poor.
I got it FOC from my stepmam. Not the best example. Had it for a few months, MOT came due...needed tons of work...i offloaded.
Do i wish i kept it? YES. (it has been waxoyled previously and was pretty rust free compared to some you see)
To all that haven't driven one but have read all the praise - it's true. Drive one.
Took mine for a couple of blasts through Weardale up to Hartside as i try to do in all my cars - absolutely superb, the feedback from the car was fantastic - and mine was in no way in good shape!
Thoroughly enjoyable. The throaty barky roar the engine gives in the final 1,000, so addictive (standard everything).
Clever engine which is keen at all revs, strong at top end, yet quite torquey in mid range (VCT doing it's clever stuff)
Driving position not ideal as people have mentioned. I did fit a child seat in the back though and the boot is pretty big!
Had one briefly - 1999 1.7 in red. Superb car to drive.
Lovely steering, LOVELY gearchange, great engine. Not 'fast' but nippy and economical too. (i never averged under 40mpg (true) and thats was despite some thrappage)
Standard brakes feel/strength is average/poor.
I got it FOC from my stepmam. Not the best example. Had it for a few months, MOT came due...needed tons of work...i offloaded.
Do i wish i kept it? YES. (it has been waxoyled previously and was pretty rust free compared to some you see)
To all that haven't driven one but have read all the praise - it's true. Drive one.
Took mine for a couple of blasts through Weardale up to Hartside as i try to do in all my cars - absolutely superb, the feedback from the car was fantastic - and mine was in no way in good shape!
Thoroughly enjoyable. The throaty barky roar the engine gives in the final 1,000, so addictive (standard everything).
Clever engine which is keen at all revs, strong at top end, yet quite torquey in mid range (VCT doing it's clever stuff)
Driving position not ideal as people have mentioned. I did fit a child seat in the back though and the boot is pretty big!
M1C said:
Clever engine which is keen at all revs, strong at top end, yet quite torquey in mid range (VCT doing it's clever stuff)
The VCT is there to boost torque through the rev range, and it does a great job as you say.I had a mk1 2.0 petrol Focus snotter at the same time as the Puma, and the Puma was so much livelier everywhere. It actually felt like the bigger engine of the two. Made a lovely noise above 4,000 RPM as well. The inlet manifold is acoustically tuned, apparently.
Edited by Limpet on Friday 10th November 10:54
greenarrow said:
This is a well timed SOTY as I was only looking at Ford Pumas last week...I am sure I saw this advert too...
I can only say this is one car that needs to be snapped up now. We will look back in 5 or 10 years time and wonder how these were ever so cheap just like we did with £800 205 GTIs /MK2 Golf GTIs 10 years ago.
Very true, someone grab this and look after it, the Puma has been through its shed years, this is now what is known as a classic, any mouldering piles of dust that once were reputed to be a Mark 1 or 2 Escort are worth half a million or something, yet this is still in the shed hinterland worth relatively nothing.I can only say this is one car that needs to be snapped up now. We will look back in 5 or 10 years time and wonder how these were ever so cheap just like we did with £800 205 GTIs /MK2 Golf GTIs 10 years ago.
There were a great little car and this looks as close as you can get to one that isnt ravaged by rust, they are dropping like flies, grab it and look after it.
https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&...
I'll have had my most recent puma for 3 years next week. It's unfortunately probably not going to pass its next MOT, but it's done me well. This one looks like a goodun'. Every time I see a nice one for sale I think "wow, how has it escaped rust?" because it always gets in somewhere. I have a feeling these are going to become seriously rare soon.
I had a 1.7 as my first car, purchased from a farm (complete with spiderwebs in the back) for £300. It didn't have the rust but did have a bit of patina on the bonnet. It was a hoot to drive - that gearchange (and for that matter gearknob) is the best I've ever encountered, the engine was peppy and the steering was wonderfully sharp. I'd have another one, definitely... anyone fancy swapping a sheddy Saab for one? 
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