Ford Puma Gen-E review

Ford's best-selling compact crossover finally gets an all-electric powertrain

It feels like the Ford Puma Gen-E was needed a couple of years ago, really.

With the likes of the Renault 5 now in showrooms and the Jeep Avenger, Volkswagen ID 3, Skoda Elroq, MG S5 EV, Volvo EX30, Smart #1 and more all going well in the UK, never mind the ever-pressing ZEV mandate regulations, Ford desperately needs an affordable electric car.

Ford states that - for now, at least - it has no intention of adding a longer-range battery to the Puma Gen-E.
Vicky Parrott

The good news is that the Puma Gen-E is precisely the sort of lower-cost proposition that should get customers through the doors. Starting from under £30,000, it gets a 43kWh lithium-ion NMC battery (53kWh total capacity) that powers it to a WLTP range of up to 233 miles. That makes it one of the most efficient electric cars in the class, which is especially great news for a car that also manages 0-62mph in a healthy 8.0sec.

Is it remotely that efficient in the real world, though? We will get to that a bit further down…

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DESIGN & STYLING

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You will have noticed that the electric Puma Gen-E looks much the same as the petrol Puma that will continue to be sold alongside it. It's pretty easy to tell the difference, though, thanks to the blanked-off front grille that hints at the Mustang Mach-E and Capri for a touch of styling consistency among Ford's electric cars. The white font on the boot is also a telltale sign that the Gen-E is the electric one.

But of course we’re still dealing with a 4.2m-long compact crossover that's usefully shorter than the ID 3, MG 4 EV and co.

Aerodynamics and weight play a big part in the Puma Gen-E's efficiency, and it manages a drag coefficient of 0.29 – not bad.
Vicky Parrott

INTERIOR

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That compact body makes it even more impressive that Ford has squeezed a vast 523-litres of luggage space – 145-litres of which is in the waterproof ‘Gigabox’ beneath the boot floor, complete with a plug, just in case you need to use it as an ice bath for your beers, or hose out the mud that’s gathered from mucky welly storage. It really is a serious selling point to have this much space in such a compact car. Easy to park and easy to get a chunky buggy in the boot? Family motorists rejoice. 

There’s plenty of space in the rear seats, too. You will find a bit more rear head and leg room in the S5 EV, ID 3 and Kia EV3, but a couple of kids or lanky teens will be just fine in the back of the Puma Gen-E.  

Every Puma Gen-E gets manual lumbar adjustment, which is a nice addition. Shame that heated seats are optional.
Vicky Parrott

Things have changed up front, too, with plusher materials, a raised centre console with double-decker storage, and a new Sync4 infotainment touchscreen complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s a big improvement on Ford infotainment systems of old, and the chief functions – sat-nav, air-con and the like – are all easy enough to access and control, if a little fiddly when you're on the move.

There’s also a physical shortcut button to bring up the drive modes (as well as the one-pedal mode and drive noise activation) on the screen, but you can’t actually switch modes simply by pressing the button again; you have to prod the infotainment system. Which is irritating.

More importantly, you can easily turn off the speed limit warning and lane keeping assistance systems by holding down a button on the steering wheel, for blissfully beep-free progress.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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The Puma Gen-E isn’t going to light up the online forums with talk of its sheer pace. But the 165bhp, 214lb ft electric motor (a modified version of that fitted to the Mustang Mach-E) gives hearty response even from higher speeds, and you will even get a bit of torque steer squirming its way through the peculiarly huge, oblong-shaped steering wheel when you accelerate hard out of a corner.

We don’t mind that; there’s something quite engaging about the gentle scrappiness of a bit of torque steer, and it makes the Puma Gen-E feel more engaging than the generally rather poker-faced ranks of electric crossovers.

The synthesised 'engine' noise is unobtrusive enough yet can add a bit of fun when you want it. But it's still a good thing that it can be switched off easily.
Vicky Parrott

Plus, because it doesn't have got face-distorting accelerative potential, you can use all of the car's potential on a good road without fearing for your life or your licence. And we all know that this is a good thing for anyone who really enjoys an unintimidating romp down a fine country road, even when it’s in something as unassuming as an electric Puma.

The regenerative braking is mild as standard, but you can up it by hitting the ‘L’ button on the gear stalk or by activating the one-pedal mode on the touchscreen. That’s okay, but it’s not an adaptive set-up and other EVs – particularly from Kia and Hyundai – have far more variable regen. The one-pedal mode in the Puma is also tricky, as it’s too grabby and reactive over a very short pedal travel for easy modulation around town.

RIDE & HANDLING

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It's worth taking the longer route home in the Puma Gen-E, because it has a rather impressive balance of taut yet well-damped confidence.

Yes, there’s a fair bit of weight to be managed here (although the 1563kg kerb weight isn’t at all bad by the standards of this class), but the Puma Gen-E proves that Ford of Europe is still a little bit magical when it comes to making everyday cars that are fizzy yet friendly.

Our Premium-grade test car came on the standard 18in alloy wheels and 215/50 R18 Continental EcoSport tyres.
Vicky Parrott

The wheel-at-each corner stance helps it to swivel gamely into corners and the fairly tight body control keeps it from getting ungainly. Yet it’s also damped well enough to take the sting out of sharp-edged speed bumps, recessed manhole covers and the other detritus of UK roads.

The EV3 and Avenger are a bit cushier, but the Ford is never jarring, so the firmish ride comfort isn’t actually a bother. In fact, the well-tied-down body control and shorter spring travel in the Puma Gen-E arguably makes it a more comfortable option than the spongier-feeling family EVs on offer.

Would we like a bit more steering feedback? Yes, but in the scheme of electric family cars, this steering has a nice bite to it, even if it is a bit anodyne no matter which drive mode you’ve selected.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Of course, we can wax lyrical about Ford being a dab hand with damper rates, but the Puma Gen-E will live or die by its costs.

List prices starting from under £30,000 for Select trim are a strong start, although the keyless entry, mnatrix LED lights and Bang & Olufsen sound system will no doubt swing the decision in favour of the Premium trim for a lot of buyers. You will be wanting to add the £350 Winter Pack to get heated seats regardless of which trim you fancy, though – a weird omission from the standard kit for what’s otherwise a very generously equipped car.

Ford deliberately didn’t include a manual ‘battery pre-heat’ button, as it found that customers consistently underestimate how long it takes to pre-heat a battery.
Vicky Parrott

What’s a bit more underwhelming is that on PCP finance, the Puma Gen-E currently starts from around £350 per month for 48 months after a £5000 deposit. That’s competitive but far from the best in the class. So it’s good that Ford has just introduced its ‘Power Promise’, throwing in a free home charger, 10,000 miles of free charging and five years of free servicing. Sure, you will get a longer vehicle warranty with Kia, Hyundai or MG, but that’s still a persuasive package.

Especially as the Puma Gen-E's claimed efficiency does seem to play out in the real world. Even on fast, hard-driven mountain roads above Barcelona and with a fair stretch of motorway speeds included, we saw 4.4mpkWh, for a real-world range of 190 miles. Not bad at all for such a modest usable battery capacity – and obviously that means you will save money on electricity to keep the battery fed.

It also means less time at the charger when you want a useful top-up on the go. The 100kW maximum rapid charging rate is on a par with much of the competition, but interestingly the Puma Gen-E's NMC battery has a sizeable 10kWh dormant buffer, largely to enable a flatter, faster charging curve. Ford’s boffins promise us that it will therefore still be charging at well over 80kW well past the 80% mark, for a 10-80% charge in around 23 minutes. You will have to pre-heat the battery to get that, though, which you have to do by putting your planned charging stop into the car's native sat-nav system at least 30-45 minutes ahead of time.

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VERDICT

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The Puma Gen-E has a better balance of fun and comfort than most compact EVs of its kind, is one of the most spacious offerings in the class – especially when it comes to boot space – and offers the efficiency, costs and ownership perks to make it a properly compelling overall package.

Those monthly finance deals will probably need to improve if it's to gather the kind of sales that its petrol equivalent has enjoyed, and some customers may need convincing about the Puma Gen-E's modest battery capacity and range.

Even so, on this evidence, Ford may well be onto a winner with its new junior EV.

Vicky Parrott

Vicky Parrott

Vicky Parrott has been a motoring journalist since 2006, when she eventually did so much work experience at Autocar that it felt obliged to give her a job.

After that, she spent seven years as a features and news writer, video presenter and road tester for Autocar, before becoming deputy road test editor for What Car? in 2013. After five years with What Car?, Vicky spent a couple of years as associate editor of DrivingElectric and then embarked on a freelance career that has seen her return to writing for Autocar and What Car? as well as for The Daily Telegraph and many others.

Vicky has been a Car of the Year juror since 2020, and the proud owner of a 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300-SL 24V since 2017. She aspires to own an Alpine A110 and a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.