Ford Puma Gen-E Review 2024

Electrically powered small SUVs have been a huge growth area for car manufacturers in recent years with all manner of brands trying to grab a slice of this profitable pie. This makes it all the more surprising when one of the industry’s most established names wasn’t at the party — that’s about to be put right with the arrival of the Ford Puma Gen-E.

Not only was Ford slow on the uptake with its compact electric SUV, the Puma Gen-E appears to be more compromised than many of its rivals, which may ultimately restrict its appeal. And we don’t mean because it’s impossible to resist saying its name in the style of Forrest Gump.

Take the Jeep Avenger e and its unlikely cousin the Vauxhall Mokka Electric as two examples of a whole host of models based on a common Stellantis platform the Puma Gen-E’s up against. Their underpinnings were designed from the outset to be flexible and able to accommodate electric-only power as well as combustion engines. This still presents a compromise but one engineered in from the beginning to be less intrusive.

Other manufacturers take a more dedicated approach, such as the Smart #1 and its strikingly different-looking relative, the Volvo EX30. Beneath the bodywork, they’re near identical and share a platform that’s been designed to only ever be used for electric models, liberating more space for batteries and passengers above in the process. It’s the same approach taken for the Kia EV3.

So what’s Ford done differently with the Puma Gen-E? Well, bodily and structurally it’s almost identical to the petrol-powered Ford Puma that’s been a sales success since it arrived at the end of 2019. It’s built on a development of the platform which underpinned the last Ford Fiesta, a model never intended to be sold in EV form.

As a consequence, the Puma Gen-E’s likely to be blessed with engaging handling but will likely fall short of customer expectations for driving range as Ford’s only been able to find sufficient space for a battery with a 43kWh useable capacity. On the WLTP Combined cycle that results in a claimed range of 226-233 miles between recharges depending on which of the two trim levels you choose.

Of those rivals listed above, the Jeep Avenger e has equivalent range claims of 239-248 miles with a 51kWh battery while the related Vauxhall Mokka Electric is rated at 250 miles.

With a 49kWh battery the Smart #1 only manages 193 miles of range but there’s space for a 66kWh upgrade netting a range of up to 273 miles. With the same battery packs the Volvo EX30 claims 209 and 295 miles respectively.

Particularly embarrassing for Ford is the Kia EV3 — its smallest battery is 58.3kWh, sufficient for a driving range of 270 miles, while the 81.4kWh version is quoted at up to 375 miles. At least the Puma Gen-E has price in its favour with the Select version costing £29,995 with the high-spec Premium model priced at £31,995 — that’s £1000 less than the entry-level Kia.

As we’ve already established, the Gen-E looks very similar to the petrol-powered Puma save for some aerodynamic modifications, including the smooth, body-coloured panel where the grille would ordinarily be sighted — it’s reminiscent of the larger Ford Mustang Mach-E.

There’s only one power option available for the Puma Gen-E, producing 168PS and 290Nm of torque powering the front wheels via a 1-speed automatic transmission. That’s sufficient for a brisk 0-62mph acceleration time of 8.0 seconds — top speed is electronically capped at 99mph.

Despite having its motor up front in place of the engine, Ford’s managed to squeeze a 43-litre frunk — or froot, depending on your preference — under the bonnet in addition to the 145 litres of space within the GigaBox under the boot floor. In total there’s 574 litres of space available when the Puma Gen-E’s in five-seater mode, extending to 1283 litres when only the front seats are required.

One advantage of a smaller battery pack is that it takes less time to recharge. Although Ford’s yet to quote charging times for the Puma Gen-E when hooked-up to a domestic wallbox, it claims a 23-minute connection on a 100kW DC rapid charger will be sufficient to go from a 10-80% charge level.

Order books for the Ford Puma Gen-E opened at the start of December 2024 with the first customer deliveries expected the following spring. Keep this page bookmarked for our forthcoming review.