Ford Puma Gen-E review

If you’re familiar with the regular Puma, which got a refreshed interior back in 2024, then there won’t be too many surprises here.

That brought a new squircle steering wheel, a 12.8in digital instrument display and a 12.0in centre touchscreen, as well as deleting pretty much all the physical switchgear. That’s all present and correct here, with the biggest difference the two-tiered centre console, thanks to the absence of a gear lever and manual handbrake.

That allows for more storage, a wireless phone charger and a sliding armrest. At least, if you don’t mind sacrificing the rearmost cupholder. It’s also finished with faux piano wood, which is a magnet for fingerprints. And while there’s plenty of large pockets, it could do with somewhere to store the key. Some foam padding where your knees rest would have been nice to cushion out any bumps too.

Upper spec versions get suede upholstery which runs along the dash (along with the B&O speaker) and doorcards which is all very nice, though.

Will my technophobe grandma be able to get on with it?

Well, the widescreen digital instrument is clear and easy to read if, slightly limited in customisability. Worse though is that depending on her driving position, she might find the steering wheel does block the view of the dials somewhat.

In the centre of the dashboard the high-def infotainment display boasts Ford’s latest SYNC 4 system, complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus built-in Alexa. So yeah, it’s big, meaning she shouldn’t have a problem seeing it. What she might not like however is the absence of physical buttons.

You do get a couple, including for volume, drive mode, the reversing camera and demister, plus shortcuts to the climate controls that live permanently at the bottom of the screen. But it's still a bit of a minefield to operate.

Will she be able to fit the grandkids in at least?

Depends how old the grandkids are. While space is fine up front, in the rear the position of the battery underneath the floor means any lankier teens might find their legs up by their ears. Headroom feels adequate, at least.

But the Gen-E’s real trump card is its boot, with up to 523 litres making it even bigger than that of the standard Puma. Ford’s ‘MegaBox’ (the deep rubber-lined tub that sits below the boot floor, complete with plughole that allows you to jetwash it out) having morphed into a ‘GigaBox’. More room for dirty wellies.

Fold the seats down and you get 1,283 litres of space, and if you’re still lacking room for gubbins there’s always a 43-litre frunk to chuck anything extra in too. Though, we reckon that’s best kept for storing and accessing any dirty charging cables.