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MOTORING Y
ROAD TESTS BY MARK SLACK
FORD PUMA FORD PUTS ON THE STYLE WITH THE NEW PUMA
ou tend to get an inkling as to what people’s views will be on specific cars and Ford’s new Puma is no exception. A smart young couple
walked past the Puma, not realising I was in the car and he said, “That’s the new Puma,”. “Nice, isn’t it”, said she. A few minutes later they both purred past in their Porsche SUV. Two days later a lady passed on foot as I was alighting from the Puma. “I like your car and especially the colour. Lovely.” So, there you have it; a new Ford making strangers
remark on its good looks and snazzy paint (£750 worth of Grey matter). If you think a lot of people buy a car because they like the looks - and then argue they bought it for more common sense reasons - this latest medium sized SUV promises a healthy bottom line for Ford.
Underneath the smart and stylish body sits a lot of
a current Ford Fiesta, including engine and gearbox. But the bits you can see are all new and stretch further in every dimension than the Fiesta donor. Ford has a hard won reputation to
dearer cars. The pricier Pumas add a mild hybrid system with an integrated starter/generator for a little more power and improved green credentials. Every Puma gets a cockpit that looks modern, works
POSITIVE
maintain for building affordable cars that bring a smile to their driver’s face. It does too, with the sort of eagerness to tackle a corner that the highish body might warn against. Positive steering and a pretty snappy gearchange add to the fun. Prices start at £20,545, which will come with a 1.0-litre 123bhp engine and share all the attributes of
STEERING AND A PRETTY SNAPPY GEARCHANGE
ADD TO THE FUN.
well but lacks the surface shine of some rivals, a bit too much hard plastic. Plenty of room up front and just about enough in the back, before we reach the clever bit in the boot. Lift the boot floor and you discover what Ford calls a MegaBox, an 80 litres waterproof compartment, complete with drain plug for dirty wellies and the like. The goodies count is impressive, with
heated windscreen, fine sat nav, cruise control and a B&O 10-speaker sound
system. A whopping £4,950 of options, that grey paint included, along with fancy alloys, panoramic opening roof, power tailgate and a plethora of driver aids meant the test car nudged in at £29,370.
NEW GOLF MARKS TWO ANNIVERSARIES VW GOLF
L
aunching the latest version of the ever-popular Golf this year marked two anniversaries for the German car maker.
It is 75 years since a 28-year-old British Army Major,
Ivan Hirst, was given responsibility for leading the reshaping of VW’s largely destroyed Wolfsburg plant back into a civilian car factory. By the time Hirst left there was a modern factory, ready to go, with a labour force, a German management and a product that was
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