Ford Puma 1.4i

I've owned my Puma for 6 months now. This is an opinion of my ownership of the car. You can get technical details and specifications from the ford site. this is my experience of owning the car. I cant tell you about fuel consumption and insurance costs because my licence is shot, and I drive at 100Mph everywhere (do you think those two facts are related!)

LOOKS
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The car looks brilliant. I put on a body kit (500quid) which lowered the front and rear bumpers, added skirts to the sides, put a low spoiler on the back, and upgraded my alloy wheels. This gives the car a much more aggressive and masculine look (Just look how many women drive Pumas - 80%?)

In standard mode I always found the rear of the Puma a little disturbing - I once heard said that the Ford KA was designed by a woman, and she put a fat arse on it. Well the puma had the same kind or rear end. it rides high up the body, but has huge round "cheeks".

With my kit on the back comes a lot future down and straightens out the "arse" of the vehicle.

With these modifications the Puma looks stunning and I was immediately attracted to it when I saw it.

RIDE
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The drive is a little bumpy as the car has quite stiff suspension. But for a sports car it is marvelous. The acceleration is responsive and accurate, steering is tight and the small steering wheel adds to the race car feeling.

The front seats are quite bulky which make them comfortable for the driver, but give you a lot less room in the rear.

The Headrests on the front seats can be extended up or down, but do not have any tilt mechanism meaning you either have to lean right back to rest your head (as if you were pulling 6g's) or "loll" you head about as you drive.

Rear seats are pretty small and the curvature of the roof makes it hard to seat two adults in the back. It is fine for kids to jump in and
out, but with 4 adults in that car (and I have done it) I wouldn't want to drive for any length of time.

SPACE
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As I've said before the rear seats are pretty tight. This isn't a problem and kids could easily fit in.

The front has a lot of leg room and fits me and my tall
mates in quite easily.

The boot is a fair size too, for such a sporty model. I don't know the exact CC capacity but i get my shopping in it (which I couldn't really do in my Mini) and a few bags of clothing.

PROBLEMS
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I haven't really had any problems with the car at all. The only annoying things about owning it are:
- The front headrests don't tilt (see earlier)
- The parcel shelf clips are constantly dropping off. This is a known issue with the car, something to do with the vibration
- It takes a LOT of getting used to the small rear window and the reversing distances. I've reversed into a space and have felt i was almost touching the car behind, only to get out and see about 2 foot of space.I am considering adding those Reverse indicators (the things that go beep) soon.

OVERALL
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A cheap, but good looking, sports car. I am VERY happy with mine. If you have the chance to drive one, get in, pump the gas, and zoom off into the distance.