W​hy I decided to swap my Focus ST for the Puma ST (Updated)

A​nyone reading this will be looking at their screen thinking this guy is bloody bonkers, and I would be doing the same - but let me explain.

I​t started with a call from the Ford Sales guy, who I have a really good relationship with. He is honest and cuts out all the sales bullshit. Plus he says ST's sell themselves so he doesn't get in the way of that. Anyway, so he calls up and says they can offer me around 4K more than usual going rate for my 2019 Focus ST (with pretty much every option on). As anyone would be, I was intrigued and said ok lets talk.

T​his was my beloved Focus ST which didn't put a foot wrong in the two years of owning it.

T​his was my beloved Focus ST which didn't put a foot wrong in the two years of owning it.

I​ booked an appointment and met him at the showroom 2 days later. From that is transpires that this chip shortage totally passed me by and I had no clue that second hand car sales had shot through the roof. I can't believe I never knew or bothered to check. The truth is, I was never really looking to get rid of the Focus. The car has been perfect from the day of picking it up. It was purchased from M53 Ford based in Wirral. Both garages are brilliant and it has now become the family choice of garages when buying new cars (I haven't been paid to say that either). We have always been a Ford family ever since my uncle brought home a XR3 back in 1991 (when I was 1 years old) I remember growing up looking at his car when the local constabulary would return it after its weekly local joyride, and thinking I love that car. That is when I knew I loved fast Fords. I would argue that not many car manufacturers have that effect on people, but Ford I feel have managed to keep that loving relationship we have with cars. I feel like a Fast Ford or any Ford for that matter encourages you to love it.

A​fter looking over the figures and learning that M53 couldn't source a Puma ST for us, we decided to look around. It became more of a challenge to source the particular Puma ST we wanted. The sales guy was understandably annoyed but totally understood that he was unable to offer us what we wanted due to this chip shortage. Cutting a long story short, we found one but had to travel to Bristol to find it - Winford Ford based in Bristol had it and did 99% of the paperwork over the phone making pickup easy and safe. The garage and salesman was brilliant and couldn't fault them.

T​he Puma has a lot of nice touches not even offered on the Focus equivalent

T​he Puma has a lot of nice touches not even offered on the Focus equivalent

I​s the Puma better, worse, same as the Focus?

O​n paper of course the Puma is slower than the Focus. The Focus had 2.3 beast under the bonnet, the Puma is basically a fat Fiesta with a bit more toque to counteract the bigger body. However, the Focus ST weighs quite a bit more than the standard Focus and this is something you can feel when driving the car. The steering was also rather heavy, mostly because of the big engine up-front.

T​he Puma on the other hand feels light and sticks to the road like a piece of 9 day old chewing gum. Putting a bigger body on a Fiesta ST hasn't ruined it at all, in fact I would argue it's improved things. The Puma shares a lot of the same running gear as the Fiesta ST, except Ford have changed the roll bars, suspension, dashboard and even the windscreen is sound proofed which makes motorway driving bloody lovely. We noticed the sound difference after jumping out the Focus and into the Puma.

P​erformance of the Focus was around 0-60 in 6 secs and the Puma is around 6.5. For a car with all the extra refinements such as the all screen dashboard, ST flood lights, B&O 7.1 surround sound (which the Focus had) except Ford have moved the amp and sub-woofer under each seat so you keep 100% of boot space and the main feature of that MegaBox boot - I would argue that loosing 80 BHP and 0.5 seconds is well worth the pay off. Not to mention that the 2.3 wasn't even close to being economical (I know hot hatches aren't meant to be) but the Puma manages the balancing act perfectly. Sips fuel on the motorway and even shuts down a cylinder, then opens up when putting it into Sport/Track mode. We have noticed the fuel difference immediately after driving it back from Bristol (of course, 2.3 vs. 1.5)

T​he spec is pretty much the same of the Focus but you get better fuel consumption, better ride height and the colour I think is brilliant and stands out like an ST should. There are other little things that the Focus didn't have - the wireless charging pad, ST white puddle lights, the sound proofed windscreen, all screen dashboard, USB-C Port, Eco-mode for when you are driving Mum around and the huge boot. All these little things make the Puma come into its own class. I never though't I'd like a small SUV this much - nor did I think I would prefer it over a Focus.

Ok the power isn't as good but for 95% of the time, you don't care. I feel overall swapping the Focus for the Puma turned out to be a better choice all things considered. My insurance premium also halved too. I might get shot for saying this but I think it handles better than the Focus - I know from watching Moose Tests, the standard Focus smashes the test but the ST version isn't as good and I strongly feel this is because of the big heavy engine up-front. The Puma doesn't suffer this heaviness and is a total joy to drive, and I mean total joy. It brings the same 9 year old childish smile out in you every time you chuck it into a corner - you know that smile, the one kids pull when they are doing something a bit naughty but fun at the same time.

I might not have sold the whole idea but I feel Ford have done a cracking job with this car, and overall swapping it felt the right thing to do. The Focus will always have a place in my heart and I may revert back to type in a year or two, but for now the Puma feels like the best of both worlds. Feel free to say I have done a crap job as this is my first big post. Thanks for reading.

6 Months Follow Up Post - drivetribe.com/p/ford-puma-st-6-months-on-Jexjik7WQPSeZ7U9OwJg5g?iid=bpRO2gpwQtK1ecPJiQiDFQ