Wheels of the Week: Ford Puma claws like a cat

The new Ford Puma has a sporty flair, with a cat-like stance and a plunging roofline. The Titanium trim adds some swank, with 17-inch alloy wheels and snazzy chrome accents, allowing this cat to claw its way through traffic.

The Puma is a compact SUV that makes city driving a pleasure. The seats are comfy and hug you in nicely during corners, and there is enough head and legroom in the front. The back is a bit more snug for full-grown adults on long journeys, but perfect for kiddos or shorter trips with friends. But here is the secret weapon: the boot. A clever design element – Ford calls it the “MegaBox” – means there is a surprising amount of cargo space hidden under the boot floor. Perfect for groceries, a weekend’s worth of luggage, or maybe even a mischievous puma (don’t quote me on that).

The Titanium trim comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that is easy to use and includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The infotainment system enables you to stay connected and control your phone, music and navigation system with your voice. The Puma has wireless charging, to ensure your compatible devices are ready to go at all times.

The sound system is good, keeping you entertained on those commutes.

The Puma automatically senses the presence of its own unique key fob, even if it is in your pocket or bag. So just press the Ford Power starter button and the engine fires into life.

The Puma Titanium boasts a 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine that might sound small, but punches above its weight. It is peppy and responsive, perfect for weaving through traffic or zipping up winding country roads. Now, this is not a muscle car by any means, but it is definitely fun to drive. The 7-speed automatic transmission delivers 92kW of power and 170NM of torque.

Safety features on the Puma include autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, LED head lights useful for night-driving, and traffic sign recognition, which scans the road ahead for traffic signs and display the current speed limit on the digital instrument cluster, helping you to avoid hefty speeding fines.  The Puma also has adaptive cruise control, active park assist, cross traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring, lane keep assist and electronic stability control. A 180-degree split view camera activates automatically once you switch into reverse.

Remember that cat-like stance? It translates into sharp handling and a super fun driving experience. It takes corners with confidence and feels nice and planted on the road, making for a purfect ride, while feeling safe from other clawing cats on the road

Pricing for the Ford Puma Titanium edition starts at R 570,400.

* Sheryl Goldstuck is General Manager of World Wide Worx and Editor of GadgetWheels.