Ford’s Puma crossover is now the brand’s smallest vehicle in Europe following the demise of the Fiesta this summer. Henry’s team is preparing a facelifted version of the now four-year-old crossover that we could see before the end of this year.
Our spy photographers have previously snapped the revised car in full ST guise complete with red brake calipers and 19-inch wheels, but this time they’ve captured a milder variant being put through its development paces while wearing a comprehensive camouflage wrap.
The shape of the front bumper, the size of the lower air intake, and the style of 18-inch wheels point to this being a mid-spec ST-Line X Puma, rather than the entry-level Titanium, which has a different front fascia, or the posh Viganle, which gets its own grille mesh and rims. But the Titanium is also the only model to have hidden tailpipes, which this prototype also does. All ST-Line cars in the current range feature a single tailpipe on the right-hand side, while the real ST has a pair of pipes in the same location.
Related: 2024 Ford Puma Facelift Makes Spy Debut In ST Guise
It could be that this is simply an early test car and has been put together with various different parts, but we know for sure that some facelifted Pumas won’t have visible exhausts for the simple reason that they’ll be EVs. Ford is adding a fully electric model to the Puma lineup for the first time, which will be built around the same component set we’ve already seen in the new E-Tourneo Courier and E-Transit Courier. If the specs perfectly match those of the MPV and van duo, the Puma EV will have 134 hp (136 PS / 100 kW).
We’re expecting the current lineup of 123 hp (92 kW / 125 PS) and 153 hp (114 kW / 155 PS) 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost mHEV engines to make a return appearance in base and mid-range cars, and if the performance-focused ST makes the leap to 2024 with no major changes that will give buyers a choice of a 168 hp (125 kW / 170 PS) 1.0-liter in the auto-only ST Powershift, or the same 197 hp (147 kW / 200 PS) 1.5 found in the recently axed Fiesta ST.
One thing that seems certain to change is the interior. Previous spy shots revealed a set of air vents on the top of the dash where the 8-inch tablet touchscreen is located on the current car, so don’t be surprised to see a larger portrait setup mounted further down the console, like the one seen on the new European-market Ford Explorer EV.
