3rd Time Lucky, Crossover?
The two times Ford got the Fiesta based crossover wrong and then it was a marvel!
Years previous, buying a car was a lot easier than it is today. You had a range that went from small to big to bigger and usually at the end some sort of off-roading thing at one end and the some sporty saloon at the other. But now you have cars that are based on the same car which are a little bigger, but the same size inside and it's just all a bit confusing. However, this isn't as new of a concept as you might expect, here comes the Ford Fusion.
What's the point..?
The Fusion in America is what we'd consider a Mondeo over here in Europe, a mid sized saloon with what you'd usually expect from such car. Not a world beater but competent and useable, simple right? The European Fusion however seemed a little, useless? For a start it was based on the Fiesta MK6 which is by no means a bad car, a decent economy box with a few sporty versions which were very good! The Fusion though was just a bit fatter and seemed lardy, it seemed like a stepping stone between a Fiesta and Focus, but why?
The Fusion Concept. *YAAAAAAAAAAAAWN*
It has no other redeeming features apart from being bigger inside than the Fiesta, but worse in literally every other way. It handled worse, it was slower due to being heavier and looked so awkward. Chris Bird (Ford employee) at the time said it was suppose to "fuse three types of cars together, the SUV, a car like the Fiesta and the MPV". The thing is though, surely if you want any of those cars, there's a reason why you want them? An SUV usually goes off-road and is somewhat capable in doing that, the Fusion can't do that apart from the suspension being slightly lofty. The Fiesta is usually bought by younger people as a first car or a city run about because it's small and economical, whereas the Fusion is larger and more expensive when new. Finally, an MPV is usually larger to lug families around with their stuff, but they also usually have more seats for more kids, this is larger granted but is it really that much bigger to warrant not buying the Focus? Which at the time was only around £1000 more expensive comparing both base models.
Fusion Facelift.
Weirdly, it was on sale from 2002-2012 which is quite a long time for a modern production car, but I still don't really see what the appeal was and I suppose neither did many other people. In Europe sales of the Fusion from 2002-2012 was 646,238 units sold, compare this to the Fiesta which was 3,794,626 units and the Focus being 4,171,231 units. It really shows that while someone thought they were being clever with this odd high riding "SUVCarMPV" (I don't bloody know!), it wasn't a successful seller in comparison. I do feel like I'm being harsh because as an everyday car for people who don't really mind what they're buying it works well, but as a great car, it falls very short.
The EcoWhat..?
Weirdly, I'm not moving on just yet from the Fusion because the EcoSport starts with the Fusion because it was the EcoSport. Ford of Brazil had taken the Fusion and made it rugged, it had a 2.0 I4 engine coupled with a four wheel drive system. It was a best seller there too for Ford, weird how you place/modify a car in a different environment and it shines!
EcoSport 4wd - Credit: GoMotors.net
Ford of Brazil also had a hand in the development of the latest "Echo" Sport, however instead of keeping it just in the Brazilian market it was launched globally, maybe this could be the crossover to finally rival the Juke? I don't want to sound harsh, but not yet, it was lacking. Granted this one came with 4WD so it had some off-roading credit to it's name but here in the UK compared to cars like the Juke it just seemed tinny and insecure. Sure, the Juke isn't a looker but comparing it to the EcoSport, it just seems to blow it out of proportion.
EcoSport Pre-Facelift
Based, again, on the Fiesta, the EcoSport didn't handle anywhere the Fiesta, the build quality seemed off and again it felt quite awkward like the Fusion. As a utilitarian option it is better than the Fusion, you could possibly use this in an agricultural environment and it would be decent but the amount of other options out there for that usage, which again makes it pointless.
The Facelifted EcoSport
Oddly, the EcoSport negativity mostly stops here, because with the facelift actually came a car you might consider buying, but I do say might loosely because it was still missing something. Ford took it away and tried to make it into something worth buying, first taking inspiration from the newest Fiesta MK8. Personally, I love the Fiesta MK8's interior, it makes you happy to be driving the Fiesta from inside the cabin with decent materials and a great infotainment screen. As well as this, Ford also gave it the sporting DNA that most of it's other models has, which was quite a good move because with these crossovers it's never something that is considered, but it would be the EcoSport's wild card. Finally, the facelift brought less awkward styling, it still wasn't 100% but working with what they had, it was a lot more dramatic which would intrigue buyers.
So a decent car, right? Well, yes but, no. The damage was done and sadly, like I said before, it really was missing something to rival the Juke. It's something you can't really describe but it's something Juke buyers seem to like, but what the hell is it?
The Rebirth
A bold way to sell cars lately is to bring back a famous name from days gone by, but this only works when the name is also used on the same type of car. Take the latest Alpine for instance, it's been an age since we saw an A110 but the newest one is brilliant and a nice reincarnation of the original! However, when Ford wanted to bring back the Puma name and the rumours about it being a crossover, fans of the original weren't happy.
Ford Racing Puma
Weirdly though, it makes sense to be a successor to the original. In the late '90s, stylish affordable coupés were the trend of the time, every manufacturer went mad to get them out of the factories and into the hands of buyers! It was fashionable to buy one of these and you'd have made a great decision to buy the original Puma too, because it was a great driving car and signalled the start of Ford's handling DNA which you still see today. Slightly less practical than the Fiesta it was based off (sound familar?), it didn't really matter because for Fiesta money, you looked good.
So, the Puma was originally a fashionable trend and again it is a fashionable trend. From the start the latest Puma was built around the consumer and what their needs would actually be. It seems well thought out because it drives well, not as well as the Fiesta but for a crossover you can't really argue. There's also features that make it useable too, the much better sized boot also includes an 80 litre storage compartment which you can hose down if you've used it for your mucky boots/clothes. A downside is the fact there isn't any 4WD option which still confuses me with crossovers/SUVs, it's meant to be high riding for rural driving but can't really go far from the tarmac.
The Latest Puma
The thing that makes the Puma stand out from both the Fusion and EcoSport however, is the fact its working. Fiesta buyers really are going out to buy these and it makes sense because it is the bigger car and the advantages of the Fiesta are seeming less and less compared to what the Puma can actually do. Ford are also focusing on this thing because there's a hot version, the Puma ST. It shares the same engine as the Fiesta with 197hp, 0-60 0.2 seconds slower than the little car but with more space and a bit taller. Being a bit taller there is a slight difference in handling but, there seems to be a common theme from reviewers saying this car really is decent! A worthy successor to the Racing Puma though, I can't be so sure. So for families with a parent who doesn't want to get rid of the performance car yet but don't want to pay out for the Focus ST, it seems like quite a nice compromise!
The ST - Credit: AutoCar
To conclude this story, I must also say Ford's Crossover may also be going into the WRC in 2022. It is only a rumour and M-Sport also are yet to announce if they will be using the Puma, from a PR point of view, it really makes sense to use it, also gives the Puma some kudos too! However, are we seeing the slow demise of the Fiesta..?
Possibly how the Puma WRC could look! - Credit: Unknown.
So, finally a crossover worth buying? Yes and no. I'm sorry, but I'd still rather have the Fiesta but I am young with no family to lumber in and out of the car, but maybe in the future I'd think differently. All I can say is, this really is a car to rival the Juke and that can only be a good thing.
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