Ford Puma review

Unless you’re exceptionally tall, you’ll fit just fine in the front of the Ford Puma. It's not as roomy as the Volkswagen T-Roc, mind, which has a few centimetres more head room, along with a slightly broader interior that provides more shoulder room between the driver and front passenger.

There’s plenty of stowage space, thanks to decent-sized door bins, a cubby in front of the gear lever, another one below the front armrest and a couple of cupholders between the front seats.

The Puma's small rear side windows don’t help create an impression of roominess and, in real terms, a couple of six-footers will enjoy less knee room than they would in a T-Roc or the limo-like Skoda Kamiq. Head room is also worse than it is in both of those cars, but in case that all sounds rather damning, there's still enough space for a couple of taller adults.

It’s best to avoid the optional panoramic roof, though. This lowers the height of the roof lining and reduces head room further, particularly in the back.

All Pumas have 60/40 split-folding rear seats, which matches what you get in almost all small SUVs – the Countryman is one of the exceptions, with its more flexible 40/20/40 arrangement.

It’s also a pity that there’s no ski hatch in the Puma (there is in the rival T-Roc) or other neat touches, like the Volkswagen T-Cross's sliding rear seats.

You can fit six carry-on-sized suitcases in the Puma's main boot compartment – one fewer than you’ll squeeze into a Kamiq or T-Roc. But the Puma has a trick up its sleeve. Lift up its boot floor and you’ll find a large well underneath that can swallow a further two cases.

If you clip the boot floor vertically against the rear seatbacks, you can stand two sets of golf clubs or a couple of large pot plants upright in the well. There’s even a removable plug at the bottom, so you can hose any mud out afterwards.

The boot floor is also height-adjustable and, when set to its higher position and the rear seats are folded down, leaves no step in the floor of the extended load bay, and only a very small lip at the boot entrance. The tailgate-mounted parcel shelf is yet another clever feature because it lifts up when the boot is opened to give excellent access.