Ford Puma 1.7

Bought my Puma a 'Y' in December as we needed a second car and my fiancée was going to use our Fiat 500 , at first I was feeling a bit miffed as I love the 500, but now I never drive it and absolutely can't believe how good these Pumas are ! Bought a one with no service history but 85K on the clock and thought it best to get timing belt etc changed. Soon after I spent as much as the value of the car on sorting out the rear arches etc , best thing I've done as it looks awesome and it grips the road like nothing else , this is a great useable drivers car and you learn to live with the little niggles, makes me smile everyday and that is some feat as I've owned over 30 cars in 34 years ! Going to keep this car forever though

I have a Ford Puma Black Special Edition and am besotted with it. 1.7vct, excellent condition no rust but I know how to look after cars, reliable with maintenance, good mpg, very quick when needed VCT feels powerful in a lightweight car with wide tyres. Best car I've ever owned and driven. Nice too look at and I keep it polished. It turns heads on the roads. I've had road legal black fly eye tint on front and rear lamps and it looks amazing. Comfortable onside with leather seats, air conditioning, CD player, etc.

I had an S reg Puma for five years, and sold it 7 months ago for an 05 plate MG....BIG MISTAKE! there is just no comparison with styling, petrol consumption, and the whole puma driving experience is so more quality than the MG.....so today I bought myself another Puma, this time an 02 plate.......with really low milage, so heres hoping for a few more happy driving years in it. now all I got to do is to get rid of this heap of junk that is an MG!

to sum it up, for me, I love Pumas so much I bought 2....

My puma 1.7 02 is still a pleasure to drive. I have owned it for 11 years and have never fallen out with it. It still looks good on the road and has never really dated. I did test drive a mini not long ago and to be honest could not justify £18,000 against my puma that actually provides me with a/c heated front window CD player electric windows great boot size great sports car feel. Yes it has suffered with some rust over rear wheel arch which I had seen to for £300 now looks as good as new. My puma gives me everything I need from a sporty little motor.

Looking at previous negatives : water dribbles in boot sides when it's opened - design fault , road tax is expensive, rear parcel shelf drops off hinges at times and rear wheel arches rust - all points can be tolerated for enjoyment of being a puma owner.

Just very reluctantly traded in my Millennium Puma which was the love of my life and totally transformed my attitude to driving. It never let me down in 7 and a half years and reached 145000 miles effortlessly, starting first time every time. Unfortunately anno domini gets in the way and getting in and out was always a challenge, especially for 80+ (age) passengers in the back: a great spectator sport if you have a cruel sense of humour. I will miss her dreadfully but am beginning a new love affair with the Fiesta zetec. Shame about the Puma's poor lights, dreadful parcel shelf and rotten wheel arches but nobody's perfect. Biggest worry now is finding my car in large car parks: you can't misplace a bright yellow puma! I do feel like waving at every Puma driver I see so if a complete stranger waves at you in yours, do wave back; it will probably be me feeling nostalgic.

Never even considered wan of these then a drove it fell in love straight away it's just a great wee car they do have a problem way rust around the arches but with so much character u canny go wrong hopefully plus fitted an induction kit sounds awesome plus it has heated front windscreen aircon leccy windows wot more could u want in a wee coupe found insurance expensive tho am 32 with 5 year no claims and ma insurance doubled be ware

Have had my Puma since 2001. It was love at first sight and still love it even when it's dirty, adore it when it's been valet cleaned. Have just had the power steering pump replaced and am wondering whether to get the rust repaired on the rear wheel arches. This seems to be a common complaint with the Puma but after 11 years, hey, we all show a bit of ageing! Have looked at various 2011/12 hatchbacks and nothing compares to my Puma. I've only done 55,000 miles in 11 years and I reckon she could do another 55,000. Over the years I've had the tyres replaced, replaced near side front lower suspension arm, and brushes. She has always started first time and drives well, and holds corners beautifully. How will I ever replace her? Why did Ford ever stop making them? I'm not the fastest of drivers but the Puma makes me feel like I'm driving a nippy little sports car and compared to today's hatchbacks, the Puma has loads of boot space. I even get my two labradors in the back of mine occasionally. One and only niggle - the way rain water runs into the boot along the hatch trim when you open the boot. Ford, please bring back the Puma!!!

I recently purchased a Puma 1.7 Zetec-s With VCT (Variable Cam timing).

Underneath it is just a Mk4 Fiesta (with the 1.6 Zetec - s Engine, Bored out to a 1700). It handles like a dream, Although when the rear end gets happy , It gets too excited! The Brake traction Control System is brilliant, as is the ABS. The engine is super Rev happy (being co-developed with yamaha) and pumps out 123BHP. Mine has a K+N Cone air Filter (with crank case Breather) and a Scorpion rear box. Even on 123,000 miles it goes like S*it off a Shovel, 320D BMW's Say bye bye! It even out accelerates them in all gears! Ive had 127mph out of mine (which is Fords stated Top Speed due to their limiter). Heres my Ratings.

Acceleration = 8/10.

Top Speed = 10/10. (for a car of it's class)

Comfort = 6/10. (before i had an Escort GTi with leather interior ;).

Ride = 8/10.

Things to watch for:

Tracking and balancing, Rust on the offside rear arch and finally, get your Anti Roll bar links Checked out and also the Bushes on the rear axle swing arm ;) That is all

I Have owned my 1.7 Ford Puma now for just over 3 months, it's the car I have wanted for a few years and have only just got round to buying one, it is my second car from passing my test (I'm 22 and passed my test almost 2 years ago), thankfully I work for an insurance company so my insurance is discounted but is still moderately expensive being category 12E.

The car is immensely fun to drive and handles absolutely beautifully in every weather condition I have tried it in so far (side roads, dry roads, wet roads, sleight snow).

Something that I would pull the car up on is fuel consumption, if you drive it sensibly then you should do alright (probably around 25mpg Urban) but if you do occasionally like to push the throttle a little harder you will notice a quite large difference in the fuel consumption (as to be expected).

I personally pay the tax for the car 6 monthly (currently at approximately £118 per 6 months), which seems perhaps a little over priced for the category of car.

Summary:

As the car I have wanted for quite a long while I consider it well worth the money that it costs to run, as will anybody that wants a car that is a LOT of fun to drive and not just an A-B car but anybody that just wants an A-B car will probably consider the running costs to be a little over average.

I've had my Ford Puma 1.7 Special Edition: 'Black' for 4 years now and I still adore her! It's such a reliable car, comfortable and with a surprisingly big boot. And, for a sports coupe, it's as 'cheap-as-chips' to run. (Compare it to the Audi TT and you'll see what I mean!) Whenever I go out in 'the cat', it still turns a lot of heads. It's just so pretty... The Puma's design is timeless and it's hard to believe that my car is now 10 years old! .. and even more unbelievable that Ford stopped making the Puma in 2002! (Why, Ford, why?!!)