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LISTEN: Is Ford Puma’s price justified as EcoSport replacement?
New compact SUV's sticker of R569 900 significantly more than that of its predecessor.
The Ford Puma will be available in South Africa before the end of the year. Picture: Ford
The Blue Oval has confirmed the Ford Puma for South Africa as a replacement for the EcoSport. But at a starting price of R569 900, the Ford Puma is a lot more expensive than the R311 400 entry level EcoSport.
Listen to Pitstop podcast
In this week’s edition of The Citizen Motoring’s Pitstop podcast, Jaco van der Merwe and Charl Bosch try to make sense of the Puma’s price. And Charl has some interesting views of how the Blue Oval will adapt the range over time.
The Puma is said to be a more premium compact SUV offering and a volume seller like the EcoSport is.
The Ford Puma debuted in 2019 as both the EcoSport and the Fiesta’s successor. Like the EcoSport, the Fiesta was also discontinued earlier this year.
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Ford Puma ready to pounce
The Puma rides on a platform which is 4 186 mm long, 1 805 mm wide and 1 555 mm tall. Its wheelbase measures 2 588 mm.
The Ford Puma is 139 mm shorter than the EcoSport, wider by 40 mm and lower by 108 mm. Its wheelbase is 69 mm longer than that of the EcoSport.
The front-wheel drive Puma will be offered in two local derivatives at launch; the R569 900 Titanium and R613 900 ST-Line Vignale. They share a 92 kW/170 Nm three-cylinder 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine mated to seven-speed DCT.
A five-mode drive selector offers Slippery, Eco, Normal, Sport and Trail on both variants.
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Loads of spec
The Ford Puma has a generous spec set throughout the range, with the ST-Line Vignale boasting some serious creature comforts. These include sport seats with red stitching as well as a massage function, 24-colour ambient lightning, satellite navigation and 10-speaker 575-watt B&O Play sound system.
The colours the Ford Puma will be available in locally are Frozen White, Magnetic Metallic, Grey Matter Metallic, Fantastic Red Metallic and Desert Island Blue Metallic.
Like all new Fords, the Puma will be sold standard with a five-year/120 000 km warranty. Service plans are available at an additional cost.
Built in Romania, the Ford Puma is expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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