The Ford Puma ST was originally unveiled in 2020 as the performance flagship of the B-SUV range with a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder producing 197 hp (147 kW / 200 PS) and a six-speed manual gearbox. Three years later, Ford has quietly introduced a new powertrain variant of the SUV, featuring a tiny 1.0-liter mild-hybrid engine in its most powerful guise yet which is exclusively mated to an automatic gearbox.
The new version of the turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost mHEV engine produces 168 hp (125 kW / 170 PS) in the Puma ST, sending power to the front axle through the Powershift seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Note that the mild-hybrid powertrain with the belt-driven starter/generator and the 48-Volt lithium-ion battery has been available in the Puma since its debut back in 2019, with either 123 hp (92 kW / 125 PS) or 153 hp (114 kW / 155 PS). As for the automatic gearbox option, this was introduced in 2021 but wasn’t available in the ST until today.
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Ford has yet to reveal the detailed specifications of the new 1.0 mHEV besides the CO2 emission figure of 144 g/km which is incrementally less than the 149 g/km of the non-electrified and more powerful 1.5-liter. However, it is safe to assume that the 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration will be quicker than the 9 seconds of the ST-Line, but slower than the 6.7 seconds of the flagship ST.
It will be interesting to see if the 1.0-liter ST will be visually differentiated from the 1.5-liter ST which comes with a sporty bodykit, 19-inch alloy wheels, and dual exhaust pipes. Weirdly, the automaker hasn’t shown or officially announced the Puma ST 1.0 EcoBoost mHEV in its press channels, and we discovered its existence in the pricing catalog of Ford Greece. The 1.0-liter model is listed for €40,893 ($43,604), being slightly cheaper than the 1.5-liter which costs €42,258 ($45,060) in the Greek market. The hot SUV is completely absent from many local websites in major European markets, suggesting that a full reveal could be imminent.
The Ford Puma is expected to receive a mid-lifecycle update in 2024, together with the already confirmed fully electric variant. We don’t know the extent of the exterior and interior updates that will be introduced by the facelift, but the EV will most likely be visually differentiated from its ICE-powered siblings. It will also act as an indirect successor to the Fiesta supermini which will be discontinued this year.
H/T to Pete Panagos from Carandmotor.gr