The Puma has been a huge success story for Ford since it came back as a small SUV in 2019 and soon we’ll see it gain a mid-life update. We’ve spotted this facelift Ford Puma undergoing testing for the first time, revealing plenty of the new car’s exterior design in the process.
With the Ford Fiesta going out of production, a greater onus has been placed on the Puma – Ford’s most popular car in Britain. We’ll soon see it being offered as a full EV and alongside that model will be a facelifted version of the internal-combustion engined (ICE) Puma.
Despite the camouflage, we can clearly see that this is the ICE Puma model thanks to the open grille. A section of camouflage within the grille suggests the Ford badge will be relocated there, just as it was on the recent Fiesta and Focus facelifts. It looks like the overall shape of the front bumper and grille will be retained, as are the LED headlights – although we expect to see a new light signature here.
Not much is given away thanks to the camouflage but the car’s chunky off-road presence will remain with short overhangs and wheel arch cladding. As with the front lights we should see a new design for the rear lights too.
The interior of the updated Puma could take inspiration from larger models, to give it a more upmarket appeal. The current car comes with an eight-inch central screen and in higher-spec models a 12.3-inch driver’s display. The dash layout of this prototype looks different however, which could hint at the use of the Focus’ 13.2-inch touchscreen.
We should see the same selection of mild-hybrid 1.0-litre three-cylinder powertrains with figures ranging from 123bhp to 153bhp. With no Fiesta ST anymore, cheap thrills will hopefully be provided by the turbocharged 1.5-litre, cylinder Puma ST with 197bhp.
The Puma currently costs from £24,940 which will most likely increase with this facelift to over £25,000. Looking to make more upmarket vehicles, Ford recently told Auto Express “Ford cannot continue to be a volume manufacturer making okay products.”
Now check out the latest on the pure-electric Puma…