The Real Drivers Car.

You've all no doubt seen the advert, heard the sales pitch from Ford and maybe even seen Jeremy Clarkson's rave review in the UK motoring program "TOP GEAR", in which it was voted best car for '97, but what is it really like?

That was exactly the question I was asking myself earlier this year when I had decided it was time to get a car that was a bit more economical than the Jaguar XJ6 to use.

Now if you are like me, the first thing you will have to get over is the fact that, yes it is a Ford, but the build quality on today's Fords seems to have come a long way in recent years. This is the main hurdle to get over when looking at the Puma. Pretend that it isn't a Ford badge on the bonnet and boot, and you will start to see beyond your prejudices.

Its sleek, swept back stance tells you straight off that this car is not pretending to be anything other than a sports coupe', and the low profile Pirelli's offer the promise of untold grip in the corners. The short stub nose and angular "eyes", split by the slightly open jaws, ensure that the whole package looks like a car that is ready to pounce on its next victim.

Inside the cabin there is plenty of legroom for the driver and passenger, but the Puma will not suffer long legged back seat drivers, at least not for long distances anyway. Low cut seats ensure that you are firmly placed when throwing the Puma through tight twists, and electrically adjustable seats will make sure that you can see the white faced instrument pack and the road ahead. A nice touch is the aluminium dash surround and gear change knob, giving it the feel of a more expensive sports car, but it also teaches you the art of minimal gear changes, as it can be quite cold first thing in the morning with the Scottish climate. The Puma is equipped with a drivers airbag as standard, with the option of a passenger one also. The stereo is also covered as one of the six available options on this coupe`, with the standard unit, an RDS radio and cassette deck, being more than adequate for most drivers. There is the choice of two other units, one being a single disc CD player/radio or the remote CD auto changer unit with radio and cassette. This is protected by Fords own "Keycode" system, which renders the unit useless without the code, and also has a "Face Off" panel as well. The four other options for the Puma are a heated front screen, electrically adjustable and heated mirrors, air-conditioning and of course metallic paint.

At the heart of the Puma is a very low profile engine. Low profile in that there are no clues around the outside of the body, to tell you what lurks within the engine bay, and what a surprise it is too. For its first year of production, it was decided to stick to just one configuration, with some other options becoming available in the near future, if demand was high enough. The engine used is the 1.7 litre, 16 valve, electronic fuel injection unit with the variable cam timing system, "ZETEC-SE", a fully variable system which is a first for a car of this class. Producing just 125 PS @ 6300 rpm, doesn't seem to be very impressive, but matching that with the torque of 157 Nm @ 4500 rpm,  85% of which is delivered from 1500 rpm, and you can see why the Puma feels more like a 2 litre + machine and will produce a 0 - 60 time of 8.8 seconds. It is a very free revving engine and always asks you to take a little bit more from it when being driven hard.

With such a capable engine, it was only natural that the chassis needed to be able to apply the available power to the road through the Pirelli shod, 15" alloys.  The Puma's suspension has been tuned to give a compromise between, "enthusiastic" driving and ride comfort. Going either way with the spring rates will achieve a better degree of comfort or road holding,  but the factory set-up is ideal for everyday use. Together with the power assisted steering, the Puma has traction control and anti lock braking, which ensure that there is always enough feedback from the wide track tyres, and with a short shift, close ratio gear box, the handling is never upset and is always precise.

So what does all that mean? Well it means that Ford have built another astounding performance car, so much so that I went and bought it after a short test drive, and have been having fun with it ever since. I don't normally get excited about cars, but this one is definitely something a bit special. Take one for a test drive and you will see what I mean.

FOLLOW THIS FOR FORD'S OWN SALES PITCH FOR THE PUMA.