Car of the Year Awards 2021: Sports SUV of the Year
Until now, buying a sports SUV has required a sizeable outlay. After all, even a Volkswagen T-Roc R costs nearly £40,000, and that’s before you’ve considered the options list. You could get fairly punchy SUVs for less, but nothing that really prioritised driving fun.
The Ford Puma ST changes that; even our recommended Performance Pack version comes in at less than £400 a month on a PCP finance deal. Economy and CO2 emissions are decent, too, but the numbers are only half the story.
You see, this Puma shares its turbocharged three-cylinder engine and six-speed gearbox with the Ford's fabulous Fiesta ST. Yes, that means the Puma only drives its front wheels, but are you really going off road with it? Besides, this helps make it a real featherweight that pays dividends in corners.
Even the mighty Porsche Cayenne has to bow to the Puma’s incredible agility, while its greater driver engagement and less extreme acceleration mean there’s far more chance to enjoy yourself on the road. If you want an SUV to have fun in, you can’t buy better.
We like
> Entertaining handling
> Tuneful, punchy, frugal engine
> Relatively cheap to buy and run
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