Ford Puma Gen-E: Entry-level electric SUV revealed

Stepping out in a cheery shade of yellow, the new Ford Puma Gen-E is the Blue Oval’s new entry point to electric vehicles in company’s European range. Outwardly, the Gen-E shares all of its body panels with the petrol-powered facelifted Puma that was unveiled at the beginning of this year. 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The biggest visual change takes place up front, with the Puma Gen-E sporting a unique front fascia with a fake grille reminiscent of the one featured on the larger Mustang Mach-E. Those with keen eyes will also notice the more aerodynamic alloy wheels, and a different rear spoiler. Under the bonnet there’s a electric motor making 124kW and 290Nm, and driving the front wheels. That’s only a kilowatt less than the Puma ST, which is powered by a 125kW 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine. According to Ford, the Puma Gen-E is capable of dispatching the 0-100km/h standard in 8.0 seconds, or 0.6 seconds slower than the ST. Top speed is electronically limited to 160km/h. Although the Gen-E is second only to ST in the Puma’s performance hierarchy, Ford is keen to talk up the Puma Gen-E’s “exceptional efficiency” of 13.1kWh/100km. With a 43kWh battery pack living under the floor the Gen-E has WLTP range of up to 376km. Despite ceding 7kWh to the Peugeot e-2008, the electric Puma has 35km more range. The Puma Gen-E supports DC fast charging up to 100kW, allowing the car to be recharged to 80 per cent capacity in 22 minutes. Thanks to the compact nature of its EV drivetrain, the Gen-E sports not only a 43L frunk under the bonnet, but more boot space. The area under the boot floor has been enlarged, and rechristened the GigaBox, allowing the electric Puma’s derriere to hold up 574L worth of stuff with the rear seats in place. The rest of the Gen-E’s cabin is carried over from the petrol-powered models, and includes a completely redesigned dashboard with a 12.0-inch touchscreen and a 12.8-inch instrumentation display. In the UK, the Gen-E carries a premium of around $7000 over an equivalent petrol variant. Production of the Puma Gen-E will take place in Romania alongside the petrol-powered Puma, and the closely related Transit Courier. MORE: Everything Ford Puma