Speaker 1: When I was 13 years old, my history teacher at school decided to retire. Apparently it was nothing to do with me. And as a retirement present to himself, he decided to buy a Ford racing humor. I thought this was amazing. And I, obviously my first question to him was, was he gonna get the optional limit slip? Diff apparently only 75 people actually did outta the 500 fus [00:00:30] that were built. He thought this was slightly bizarre given that I couldn't remember which of Henry the eights Catherine's was beheaded and which survived, but he said, yes, he was getting the limit slip diff my word, this history teacher went up in my estimation. No end. My question is if I was 13 years old today and my history teacher said, I'm getting a humor St. With performance pack and the optional limited slip diff [00:01:00] would that make me think they were cool? Should it make me think they're cool. Let's find out.
Speaker 1: It has certainly got all the right badges to impress for a start. We've got these all Ricard seats, which are familiar to anyone that's been in a hot for recently. I always think they sort of, they look quite bulky, but [00:01:30] they certainly hold you very well. The bolsters both up here and down here by my thighs really do hold you very well. Then there the mission pilot sport for S tires, a really performance orientating tire, something you'd expect to see certainly on something, uh, much more expensive, really. And they were born out of the old mission and super sport. They struggled a bit and say in the cold and wet of today, even snow, [00:02:00] but generally a very good tire back in here. We've also got the 10 speaker BNO science system, which is excellent. It's really good for a, for a little car like this.
Speaker 1: You, you wouldn't expect to find a stereo, this good in something like this, but, um, no ACE of course the Puma St does provide its own oral entertainment. It virus three pot engine. And I think it sounds fantastic. In fact, talking of the engine, we've got slightly ahead [00:02:30] of ourselves in this review. So let's cover the basics, just like the original humor. Here's a photo for the youngsters among you. This new one is based on a Fiesta specifically the current St. Which is a very good thing, indeed. That means under the bonnets, a one and a half liter turbo charged three cylinder engine putting out 197, brake horsepower and 236 pounds foot of talk. That's slightly more talk than the Fiesta to help compensate for it. Being 96 kilos heavier at 1,358 kilos. The north 62 mile hour time is [00:03:00] just a couple of tens down 6.7 seconds. And the top speed is only seven miles an hour slower at 137 miles an hour. Visually there are very few changes over a standard PMA. The right height is 10 millimeters lower. There is a small chin spoiler at the front and a corresponding roof spoiler at the rear. This paint is the optional mean green, by the way, personally, I think there is something about the size of the grill and the perch position of the headlights. That looks rather awkward. However, I don't mind the rear though. And I do approve of the exhausts,
Speaker 1: [00:03:30] Nothing fake about the slash ended stain the steel pipes poking out the back of this.
Speaker 1: I love the sat number three cylinder. I also love the fact it's got three pedals. It is so nice having a manual gear box. It's not the greatest shift in the world. It's distinctly forward. Actually. I think if you were blindfold [00:04:00] and put in the car, then your instinct could be no, that this is a, a Ford gear box. I also love the fact that it looks like it's come outta the Sierra, the rest of the car, that a modern gear shift, very old fashioned with the performance pack that adds the qua limited slip diff the Puma T cost 29 and a half thousand pounds, which is about 5,000 pounds more than a similarly spec fre T3. It really does come very well spec though, with L E D headlights adapted, cruise control, apple CarPlay and Android auto, [00:04:30] heated windscreen, heated seats, heated steering wheel.
Speaker 1: In fact, it's got just about every convenience you could wish for and talking of controlling the temperature it's time. I had a wander around in the snow again, given the that you're going to buy a Puma St rather than a Fiesta St because of practicality. I thought we should have a chat about practicality starting with getting in and out. Obviously this is just a little bit higher up than a Fiesta. So Ingres and [00:05:00] egress is just a little bit easier moving on to the back seats. Now, obviously I'm sitting behind myself and I am quite tall, but I, I can fit in leg. Room's not enormous. And if I want to look at the camera, well, I can't see. I can really talk at you, but there we are. The big win. However of PST is around the back because you see in a Fiesta T you get 292 [00:05:30] liters of boot space with this.
Speaker 1: You're gonna whopping 456 liters of boots space and get the amazing 80 liter mega box down there, which you can chuckle your muddy train news in, and then SL sight afterwards, take the plug out and clean it out. You might think, well, why not just get a focus St. Well, that only has 375 liters of boot space, and it's bigger and heavier and less economical. [00:06:00] So really pub T for the practicality win. Now, whilst I get back into the car, here's an interesting fact about the canal and the Ford racing puer. You see this particular waterway is the grand union canal. And if you followed it north from this particular lock, you would reach the outskirts of Daventry. And that is where ticked had a factory in which it assembled the Ford racing puer. If you follow this same canal south, then you'll find yourself amongst the concrete cows of Milton Keens. That is [00:06:30] where ticked developed the Ford focus RS.
Speaker 1: You see, you knew there was a reason that we were parked next to a cloud. Didn't you? I wouldn't let you down. We've got various modes in here and you can toggle quickly between sports and normal by using the big S button on the wheel here to actually yellow modes. You've got the mode here, but to be honest, sport and normal, all you really want track feels like it's overdoing it and eco, well, [00:07:00] just not much fun. What's more from my experience. It seems like 40 MPG is perfectly achievable even without using eco mode. The steering is 25% quicker than a standard P, which is an awful lock. It can feel arguably too quick. When you first get into it. I had the same feeling when I drove the FIEs St. You just have to, you have to have calm hands. You do get used to it.
Speaker 1: And actually it's, it's full of feel. It's [00:07:30] really easy to work with the steering and the limb slip diff it's not, it's not too aggressive. So again, you can, you can meet right that traction. It's really no small on daylight today, where there really isn't a lot of grip on the roads that direct experience makes a Puma feel quite small. And you do feel like you can Chuck it around quite easily. The grippy front end also means you can easily adjust the angle of the rear in the corner with a lift of throtle or a touch of trail breaking us. It's on passive [00:08:00] dampers. So inevitably there's gonna be some sort of compromise in terms of the way that they're set up the modes in here, change steering and throttle response and things like that, but they don't change the, the ride of the car, but although a little bubbly to start with, it's certainly not uncomfortable in order to try to improve the ride comfort compared to the FIEs RST, while still retaining role control will put a lot of work into the Hitachi dams with a new valve that opens when subjected to small high frequency inputs to give it more sensitivity over rough [00:08:30] Tarek, tip it into a corner.
Speaker 1: And you do feel obviously like you are that much higher, up a bit teetering perhaps through the corner, certainly on a day like this, where the roll stiff priest, because we've got less grip again, you can, you can play with the throttle and it's just such an enthusiastic little engine. 200 break horsepower might not be much, but you can enjoy revving it out is then this new humor St. As cool [00:09:00] as the old Ford racing humor. No, no, it's not. It, it just can't be, it doesn't look good enough to be as cool. But is it a disgrace to the St badge? No, certainly not that either. If you, you want the added practicality, if you would love a FIEs St but you just can't, it doesn't fit into your life then a PMST yeah. Is very well worth. Considering [00:09:30] Does put a smile on your face.
