American carmaker Ford has revealed the all-new crossover hatchback Puma ahead of its debut which is scheduled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2019. The new Ford Puma follows the crossover hatchback styling and shares the design philosophy of the latest generation Fiesta that is sold overseas. In the brand’s global line-up, the Puma will be placed above the Ford EcoSport.
The Puma features a large mesh grille in typical Ford styling, LED daytime running lights, canoe shaped LED headlights, LED taillights, cornering lamps, muscular front fenders and wheel arches, blacked-out window sills, and a panoramic sunroof on top-spec variants. On the inside, the Puma comes with a 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display and a 12.3-inch fully digital and customisable colour instruments console, the central infotainment system gets Ford SYNC3 with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. A B&O 10-speaker audio system is also on offer along with a host of other features. The Puma includes a hands-free tailgate, hidden storage spots and an adaptive parcel tray.
In the engine department, the Puma is offered with a 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine with a 48-Volt mild-hybrid setup and the engine come in two states of tune a 123 HP and a 152 HP coupled to a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DCT gearbox. Another 1.5-litre diesel engine is also expected to be offered and will come with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
In terms of safety, the Puma features pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, emergency steering assist, emergency brake assist, adaptive cruise control, electronic stability control, semi-autonomous parking assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system among others.
There are no talks of the Puma coming to India and only time will tell if Ford decides to bring the SUV inspired crossover to the Indian market. But if it is more expensive than the EcoSport globally, it makes no sense in our market especially with this crossover styling. We know what happened to the Renault Captur, don’t we?
