Ford’s best-selling Puma goes fully electric – will the £30k Gen-E be an EV that entices buyers?

Ford is a brand of history, legacy and hardcore Americana heritage. But in the last few years, its bold electrification plans haven’t gone quite as well as hoped.

It will hope its electric fortunes could change with the new Ford Puma.

That’s because last year’s best-selling car – that filled the gap when the Fiesta was culled in 2023, enticing buyers who wanted a pleasing crossover with impressive carrying capacity – has now been unveiled in all electric form, and Ford claims it’s ‘the best ever Puma’.

Aimed at the ‘busy city dweller’ or ‘young family’ the Puma EV offers more space and storage than ever, but still promises to ‘re-energise the fun to drive character’ that makes the Puma a fan favourite. 

Freda Lewis-Stempel saw a first glance of the Puma Gen-E in Marseille in October – and can now reveal what to expect when it arrives.

Here are all the details you need to know.

Puma Gen-E: the entry point to Ford’s electric offering – a sub-£30k price point

So far out of Ford Europe’s ever growing electric lineup, the Mach-E SUV arrived in 2020, followed by the Ford Explorer family SUV this summer and most recently (to much furore) the new electric Ford Capri.

The Puma Gen-E then comes in at the bottom of Ford’s expanding SUV EV range, and fills a gap in the electric small SUV market Ford currently doesn’t cover: the Mini Aceman and Volvo EX30 and new Kia EV3 will all be competition for this compact crossover.

And by simply updating its best-seller for an electric market but not changing it too much, it could prove to be a better strategy than Ford’s recent attempts to rework historic nameplates as completely new electric cars. Sometimes playing safe wins out. 

During the reveal, Ford called it the ‘Puma for a new generation.’ UK pricing starts at £29,995 for the Select Model and £31,995 for the Premium Model.

While it’s not the cheapest new electric car on the market (which is currently the Dacia Spring which starts at £14,995), it is £3,645 more expensive than the current hybrid model (£26,350). 

Also, the Gen-E isn’t being built on a bespoke platform (unlike the VW platform-sharing Explorer and Capri) but instead is using the same B2E architecture as the internal combustion Puma, which helps keep costs down.

Many electric versions of popular petrol cars come with a circa £10,000 premium: the Vauxhall Corsa electric for instance starts at £26,895 compared to the £18,505 petrol version. 

Ford keeping costs down, especially for a crossover, should mean a new generation of  buyers will actually be able to afford it.

What’s new for the EV and what’s the same as the petrol Puma?

Ford Europe’s Director of Design Amko Leenarts said: ‘We know our customers love the Puma’s design. For Puma Gen-E we built on this, giving it its own style with unique features while staying faithful to the brilliance of the original’.

The Gen-E is definitely an EV that is just a slightly tweaked version of the original fuel car when it comes to looks.

The hybrid Puma had a facelift in 2024, and the Gen-E gains the same alterations: the new Blue Oval badge on the front grille and all-new daytime running lights.

The main differences are the blanked-off grille and the efficiency-optimised front end, and aero-optimised alloy wheels – in fact, Ford promises class-leading efficiency of 13.1 kWh/100km.

Inside there’s a two-tone horizontal split but overall it’s very similar to the new ICE interior – based around the fully-digital cockpit with a 12.8-inch driver’s display and a 12-inch central touchscreen with Ford’s SYNC 4 system for ‘seamless connectivity’.

Wireless phone integration – Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – and wireless charging are also standard, as is built-in Alexa.

But the ‘party trick’ of the interior is the cargo space.

There’s a sliding central armrest and raised centre console, but the main pull is the Gigabox rear which offers 574-litres (more than a Mondeo station wagon) thanks to the adjustable second floor.

There’s also a 43-litre handy frunk which is great for keeping charging cables.

The panoramic roof (which doesn’t open) helps add to the spaciousness of the interior which is very family-friendly size-wise. But those who don’t love screen-heavy interiors should note the lack of buttons in the Gen E.

Range, batteries and trims and colours

To launch the Puma Gen-E will come in two trims: the Gen-E Select and the Gen-E Premium.

Both are front-wheel drive, offer 166bhp and cover 0 to 62mph in eight seconds.

The Gen-E claims to manage 233 miles of range on a single charge or almost 325 miles of city range while the Premium version manages 226 miles or 314 miles of city range – both use a 43kWh battery.

Both charge from 10 to 80 per cent in around 23 minutes. 77 miles of charge can be added in just 10 minutes.

Vibrant colour options include Electric Yellow and Desert Island Blue – and ‘Electric’ really means electric as the yellow is brighter than the sun – offer a bit of fun and youthfulness to the crossover electric market.

The Premium trim comes with B&O Premium Audio System 9, keyless entry and Dynamic Matrix LED headlights with Glare-Free High Beam as well as keyless entry and a hands-free tailgate.

If you want these features on the Gen-E entry-level then you’ll need to add the Comfort Pack.

What else do you get in the Puma Gen-E? And when can you buy the new Puma Gen-E?

Standard kit includes four-way adjustable driver and passenger seats with lumbar adjustment, power heated door mirrors, automatic rains-sensing wipers and cloth front sports seats.

And you also get advanced driver assistance systems to help to reduce driver fatigue, with Lane-Keeping, Wrong Way Alert and Cross Traffic Alert with Active Braking as well as rear parking sensors.

The Puma Gen-E is available to order from today with deliveries beginning in Spring 2025. 

It’s being built at Ford’s assembly plant in Romania but will use electric drive units assembled at Ford’s facility in Halewood, UK – so there’s a bit of British in there too.