Ford’s new Puma Gen-E has lots going for it, but will it be too expensive?

Ford’s comeback has been slow and steady and certainly hasn’t been without its moments and definitely hasn’t been as smooth as the drive from the electric powertrain boasts.

But here we are now in April 2025 and Ford has three EVs on their fleet. Joining the Capri and the Explorer is the brand new baby of the family in the form of the Puma Gen-e. Yes, yes, I know there are the Mustang Mach-e too but that never really took off so let’s just focus on these three. And in particular, the newest arrival.

I am in Barcelona and the motoring press have gathered around the compact crossover to find out what all the hype is about. Announced a few years ago and technically launched in December 2024, we have been waiting to see how the facelifted car looks and drives now that it is an EV.

There is definitely a familial look going on here, but the Ford bosses are keep to stress its aerodynamic (there is a longer spoiler on this version) and fun designs when talking us through the car.

In truth I didn’t need a team of experts to tell me it is a good-looking car; bubbly in looks as well as nature because it has some fun features that I will get to later.

For starters though let’s talk range they are claiming 376km. They also claim you can get 13.1kW per 100km and over the course of two days of testing it wasn’t far off that number.

There is clearly an average range calculator installed because there were times when the number was frighteningly high, but don’t stress – over five hours of driving in rush hour urban settings as well as the picturesque Catalan mountains around the city, we got much closer to an average of 15kW per 100km.

Oh, and you can also charge up the batter from 10 to 80 percent in just 23 mins when hooked up to a 100kW DC charge point.

It will come with three trim lines that have four options and six colours to choose from. Here in Ireland they are offering an 8-year warranty or 160,000km also on the battery offering buyers some peace of mind.

Inside is neat and comfy with some clever storage options and a well-laid out dashboard.

Aside from the usual two-screen layout there are actual tangible buttons for changing the ‘Drive mode’, parking camera and when you want to turn the climate control to ‘max’.

Ford has placed all other climate controls in a row at the bottom of the touch screen, so you don’t have to go exploring too far but we did find those controls a little finicky and hard to manipulate while driving. Everything else is behind the touch screen.

The dash is cushioned by an as-standard Bang & Olufsen premium sound system that stretches across two thirds of the entire width.

Other as-standard features include a Sensico synthetic leather-effect seat trim, wireless smart phone charger, a Driver Assistance Pack that includes speed sign recognition and pretty good rear-view camera.

There is a 12” centre touchscreen which allows Apple Carplay and Android connectivity and there is a hands-free tailgate too.

On the subject of that section – Ford has upgraded the slightly-gimmicky-but-wholly-practical megabox boot to something they now call the Giga Box Boot which offers a further 65 litres of storage compared to its previous iteration. It is now offering 574 litres in total which is a phenomenal amount of space to have at your disposal in a car this size.

Boots shouldn’t be sexy, but this feature is the car’s major USP and would even shock the Skoda designers, who for years have been working dark arts on their respective boot spaces.

The rear seats are a little bit tight for adults, but I fully envisage the kids having no problems with it later in the year when I get a full test week in it.

Drive wise – it is a good solid performing car that can do 0-100km in 8 seconds and loves to be thrown into corners, especially around the incredible mountain routes of Barcelona.

Road and wind noise is at a minimum here too and if you ever do get it creeping in at higher speeds the B&O sound bar is there to drown it out.

It is an altogether better car that has a lot going for it, but there is one big red flag and that is the pricing.

If Ford were able to knock a few more thousand off the asking price and get it in under the €30k mark I think it would fly out of the showrooms but with an entry level of €32k and a realistic asking price of €35k for the popular versions, they are asking a lot of Ford customers when you compare the cost to some of its competitors.

That aside, I know Irish car buyers will still buy this car. It’s a great looking car, it has a good range, it is fun, safe and comfy to drive, it has THAT boot and while it isn’t the cheapest B Segment EV option on the market it is also far form the most expensive too.

This week did prove one thing for sure. Ford is heading in the right direction again. They have a fleet to be proud of with some great cars and with more to come in both the passenger and commercial vehicle space.

You might not be able to get the Fiestas and Mondeos anymore, but the new batch are impressive and are here to stay.

We will do a full test week in the Puma Gen-E later in the year