Ford puma or focus 2.0 ESP
Discussion
Hi, long time reader, first time poster
I looking for my next car and I've narrowed it down to a ford puma 1.7 and a ford focus 2.0 zetec ESP.
They both cost the same and same on insurance (I'm 20)
Performance and handling are important to me.
The focus has more power and an electronic stability control system whereas the puma is more eager to rev and well known for its handling.
Which one shall I go for?
I looking for my next car and I've narrowed it down to a ford puma 1.7 and a ford focus 2.0 zetec ESP.
They both cost the same and same on insurance (I'm 20)
Performance and handling are important to me.
The focus has more power and an electronic stability control system whereas the puma is more eager to rev and well known for its handling.
Which one shall I go for?
From what you've said I'd go for the Puma. Power to weight will be better and you really don't want the invasive ESP of the Focus, it really wasn't a good system for driving fun.
Ultimately, neither of them are that powerful (I have a Focus 2.0i) so you might as well go for handling and fun.
Ultimately, neither of them are that powerful (I have a Focus 2.0i) so you might as well go for handling and fun.
I have owned both although my Focus was a modified 1.8TDCI not the 2.0 petrol. My Focus was the better car but was mapped to 150bhp and had stiffer, lower suspension and bigger wheels and tyres.
Out of the box the Puma handled just as well but had rubbish brakes that had little stopping power and would fade very quickly. Buy a clean Puma, spend money on a Mondeo front brake conversion and that is the car you want.
The 1.7 in the Puma is a great, gutsy, rev happy little engine. Very satisfying to use and abuse and it will thank you for it. The 2.0 lump in the focus is quite rough in comparison and not as eager to rev but as with any car you drive it to its strengths.
You need to watch for rust on both cars but the Puma is worse in this respect, rear arches go and even after a good repair it wont be long before its back, poor design on Fords part, carpet as rear arch liner was never going to end well.
The mk1 Focus suffers from rust to the doors, starts at the bottom but not as common as the rust on Pumas where pretty much every example will have suffered from tin worm.
The Focus is as you might expect the better place to be, more comfortable, more space and better built but neither are the last word in luxury. I ran my Puma up and down the M1 as my daily commute and it was not that bad and decent on fuel too. Either car will serve you well but both could do with money spending on minor upgrades but the Puma is the better car to start with.
Out of the box the Puma handled just as well but had rubbish brakes that had little stopping power and would fade very quickly. Buy a clean Puma, spend money on a Mondeo front brake conversion and that is the car you want.
The 1.7 in the Puma is a great, gutsy, rev happy little engine. Very satisfying to use and abuse and it will thank you for it. The 2.0 lump in the focus is quite rough in comparison and not as eager to rev but as with any car you drive it to its strengths.
You need to watch for rust on both cars but the Puma is worse in this respect, rear arches go and even after a good repair it wont be long before its back, poor design on Fords part, carpet as rear arch liner was never going to end well.
The mk1 Focus suffers from rust to the doors, starts at the bottom but not as common as the rust on Pumas where pretty much every example will have suffered from tin worm.
The Focus is as you might expect the better place to be, more comfortable, more space and better built but neither are the last word in luxury. I ran my Puma up and down the M1 as my daily commute and it was not that bad and decent on fuel too. Either car will serve you well but both could do with money spending on minor upgrades but the Puma is the better car to start with.
GenePoolReject13 said:
Out of the box the Puma handled just as well but had rubbish brakes that had little stopping power and would fade very quickly. Buy a clean Puma, spend money on a Mondeo front brake conversion and that is the car you want.
The 1.7 in the Puma is a great, gutsy, rev happy little engine. Very satisfying to use and abuse and it will thank you for it. The 2.0 lump in the focus is quite rough in comparison and not as eager to rev but as with any car you drive it to its strengths.
You need to watch for rust on both cars but the Puma is worse in this respect, rear arches go and even after a good repair it wont be long before its back, poor design on Fords part, carpet as rear arch liner was never going to end well.
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^This I have also owned both and the puma is the much more fun car to drive, but the standard brakes for quite shocking. As said rust on rear arches is very common if you can find one that is only just starting to go you can get them redone cheaply as I did on mine. Focus is more comfortable on a long motorway run but if its fun you want it the puma.The 1.7 in the Puma is a great, gutsy, rev happy little engine. Very satisfying to use and abuse and it will thank you for it. The 2.0 lump in the focus is quite rough in comparison and not as eager to rev but as with any car you drive it to its strengths.
You need to watch for rust on both cars but the Puma is worse in this respect, rear arches go and even after a good repair it wont be long before its back, poor design on Fords part, carpet as rear arch liner was never going to end well.
.
I never owned a puma, but I owned a 2L focus zetec then went to the focus ST170. The 2L focus (it was mildly tuned, header, induction and exhaust) felt faster than the ST170. It wasn't but the 2L focus has shorter gears and more torque tuned so it felt a bit more fun.
Still power to weight is king and lower weight is even better so I'd have to say the puma.
Still power to weight is king and lower weight is even better so I'd have to say the puma.
Heart would say Puma but in reality i would go for the focus...
The problem you will have is you won't find a puma which doesn't have rust and holes around the rear wheel arches/sills or if the arches do look good it's only because someone has filled them with Gob and 6 months later more rust will appear.
You will have more chance of finding the holy grail than finding a rust free puma.
The problem you will have is you won't find a puma which doesn't have rust and holes around the rear wheel arches/sills or if the arches do look good it's only because someone has filled them with Gob and 6 months later more rust will appear.
You will have more chance of finding the holy grail than finding a rust free puma.
Edited by Vince70 on Sunday 12th January 09:40
Puma all day long. I've had mine 10 years, and whilst it's not my everyday car anymore, I'll never sell it. After 140k, it still does 4 track days a year, I did at one point 20k a year in it with no problems. Yes, rust is an issue, but if you keep on top of it you'll be fine. Arches are the biggest problem, but fix it properly and it's fine.
Brakes aren't great, but I've been using upgraded mintex pass and standard mintex discs for a few years now, and they're now spot on for what I need!
Brakes aren't great, but I've been using upgraded mintex pass and standard mintex discs for a few years now, and they're now spot on for what I need!
The puma is great, I loved mine - just a couple of little things to consider with regards to the kind of driving you do. It is a lot of fun to drive, much more so than a focus but it really isn't refined and is noisy and revvy on motorway trips. It's also very small inside, if I was sat next to my OH it was okay, but if a mate any bigger than 70kg/5ft 6 was in the passenger seat I'd be rubbing his leg every gear change and altogether feeling pretty cholostrophobic. Whilst the drive is great and a lot of fun, you've got to remember that it is still essentially a fiesta coupe so whilst fun, it's not the last word in handling my any means! They will often use a oil, mine did at the rate of about 1 litre per 1500 miles, but are very good on fuel - I averaged 40mpg pretty much and even on a hard drive didn't drop below low 30s. They will all be rusty, if you find one that isn't, it will soon be unless you take measures to stop it.
That being said, all of those are little things that are forgotten as it is such a fun little car to have, and like I said I would chose one over a focus everytime. The boot is even fairly big, despite being a little awkwardly shaped. Try and find a red one, or lne of the kind of slate grey, they're the best IMO.
That being said, all of those are little things that are forgotten as it is such a fun little car to have, and like I said I would chose one over a focus everytime. The boot is even fairly big, despite being a little awkwardly shaped. Try and find a red one, or lne of the kind of slate grey, they're the best IMO.
Puma, definitely.
Buy a cheap one, run it until it rots to death, rinse and repeat. I bought mine for £600, it's pretty rusty, but drives spot-on. The engine is decent, and the handling is good for its type, but the gearchange is the best bit imo. Absolutely fantastic shift.
Brakes are whether you get a pre or post-facelift one. The later ones had bigger front discs to give it more stopping power... Still not great, but perfectly acceptable on the road imo. Needs a good shove as it's not very well assisted (which I think is where a lot of criticism comes from), but once you do it's easily modulated.
Buy a cheap one, run it until it rots to death, rinse and repeat. I bought mine for £600, it's pretty rusty, but drives spot-on. The engine is decent, and the handling is good for its type, but the gearchange is the best bit imo. Absolutely fantastic shift.
Brakes are whether you get a pre or post-facelift one. The later ones had bigger front discs to give it more stopping power... Still not great, but perfectly acceptable on the road imo. Needs a good shove as it's not very well assisted (which I think is where a lot of criticism comes from), but once you do it's easily modulated.
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