mc5

Thinking of changing my Alfa 156 V6 for something a bit more economical.

Choices are:-
Civic Type R (Driven - everyones got one & dead steering)
Clio 182 (not driven one)
306 gti (i owned before and are cheap to buy)

Now ive not driven a Ford racing Puma & theres one for sale near me. Anyone driven one before. They look & sound good. But whats build quality & performance & mpg like compared to the above.

MY93WRX

The puma's are nice cars but they never look right with a bloke driving them, they allways seem to be driven by girls. Then again the Racing Puma does have the nice flared arches, so that may be the exception to the rule.

16vmarc

I think they really look the business. They dont really have the performance to back it up in my opinion.

1.7 16v 153bhp
1174kg
132.42bhp/ton
0-60 8sec
0-100 22.58sec
60-100 14.58sec
1/4 16.44sec @ 85.33mph

chrisowe

Certainly one of the most overpriced from new cars ever made. Worth buying one secondhand though. Based on the Fiesta.

R1916v

Yet proven by topgear mag a few years ago to be convincingly faster around a track than a 172 and DC2 Integra, got the article extract somewhere.

Teg did the track in 1 min, 15.48 secs.
172 did the track in 1 min, 15.40 secs.
Puma did the track in 1 min, 13.75 secs, and it started to rain just before the fast lap.

Granted straight line it's not going to set the world on fire, but if you do a lot of driving on the good ol' twisties or plan on taking it on track then they are great.

Servicing can be pricey as are parts, front discs from Ford are over 200 each, pads 100 a set. Also the alcon 4 pots don't have dust seals so need a recon every 5 years or so.

JamieMiller

I've been a passenger in one, down a twisty road and being driven by a good driver. I was impressed. They are rare, only 350 odd exist, and they certainly look mean. Build quality seemed pretty good, they were all handbuilt by Tickford. I don't know about mpg but I would imagine it would be ok. The only problem my friend had with his was a women ran into him and it needed a new wing. This took months to get sorted.
But it is completly different from the standard Puma.

JTaylor

I loved them when they first came out - better get saving for replacement panels in case you have an off. Biggest complaint about them is that the power doesn't do the superb, Fiesta based chassis any justice. You can of course carry a lot of speed through corners. Great seats.

stilover

Nice cars. Lovely seats. Was at the Motorshow when it was first shown. I was interested in buying one. Filled out all the forms for more info to be sent to me, and only then did I think of asking the price. Expecting it to be about £15-16k, concidering a Puma was about £13k. £21k was the reply

Needless to say, I didn't bother buying one

JTaylor

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW...ch_full=SEARCH

The effort 2nd from bottom seems like a good buy. Under 30k miles and with the LSD, no longer 21 big ones either.

106rallye

Am i right in thinking ford made a loss on each one sold as well? They look great how much is it going for?

Andy

stilover

Yes, your right, they did. Just like they made a loss on every single Focus RS. It cost them £27k to make. They sold for £20k Nice one Ford.

craigdmcd

iTrader: (2)

Apparently they had a few problems with the quality of the paint, especially on the front wings, but this is poor 3rd hand info, so it may noy be absolutely gospel. I personally think they are quite cool, in a girly sort of way (a bit like a Honda VFR400 NC30 - you'll get pissed all over up straights then **** them off through the corners.)

Stiver3

I've been in a chipped 170Bhp version, it literally bounced of the limiter in every gear, revved like nothing i'd ever seen! and didn't half handle well, As said not the quickest car in the world, but what an experience!

SiDHEaD

Rear wings chip like hell. If you are tall, expect to smack your head on the sloping roof.

MY93WRX

Can't except that, i had an NC30 (grey import) and i gave ZXR750R's a hard time on the Cat'n'fiddle and they looked like sex!!!! and sounded better

craigdmcd

iTrader: (2)

I'm assuming that you mean you can't accept it, not except it. I re-read my post and would clarify that I meant that the VFR was (relative to large powered machinery) "slow" up a straight, with getting over 115 -120 a bit of a chore (I only had a standard one). However, the VFR was amazing through the bends, with an almost telepathic feel to how simple it made cornering feel. I later had an early ZX6R, which constituted a drive of get into warp speed, then hard on the brakes, get to sensible cornering speed and then manouvre what seemed like (after a NC30) a heavy bike through the corner, then start again. It was all too frantic and hard work after the NC30.
As for looks and sound, these are all subjective, but I did see a few NC30's with Repsol,Telefonica or Castrol paint jobs and race cans that looked and sounded superb, and not just another Jap jelly mould.

Back to the original topic, and if the Puma is at a sensible price, I think it may well be a wise purchase.

mc5

The Pumas priced at £8995 with 63k which is overpriced imo.

Performance stats seem a bit tame but I guess its one of those cars that you have to drive.

MY93WRX

Funny old thing, i had an earley ZX6R to, Dynojetted with k&n Filter and sports pipe, and have to 100% agree they accelerated at warp speed and they too looked Fantastic. But back to the Puma's, do you not think they are a girls car based on the fact that 90% of the people you see driving them are girlies!!! Which is why they seem odd with a male driver.

PG

Great looking cars !!
The standard puma is a cracking drive. I would certainly consider a FRP.

NJ.

Rear arches get very stone chipped as the front is wider than the back, but you can get and most do have the large mud flaps for the front to stop this. My partner had one for a few years, top speed was around 140, you can rev it really hard, can't remember it having a problems other than the tail gate lock breaking. Brakes need cleaning regularly or they start to squeal. You really don't want to be a tall or a larger person, or suffer with back problems, this car is very very stiff, handling is excellent and is great fun.

Jamescsti

Absolute bargain in my opinion, I didn't realise they could be bought for 7-8k now, superb car's having driven one.
If I had the cash i'd be tempted

MY93WRX

They may look nice, handle well and be good value but they don't look right if a female isn't driving it. Will some agree or disagree with me as know one seems to have an opinion on that side of thePuma

MooseRacer

Look out for rust - I looked at a couple last year and they were both suffering

PG

Standard Puma maybe.
Racing Puma Deffo not.

craigdmcd

iTrader: (2)

Fully agree with PG

Diablo

Cracking cars

Only front wheel drive car I've ever driven which was up there with the DC2 Integra for fun. More lateral grip than the 'Teg, but not as quick.

Most tests I've seen suggest 0 to 60 in 7.5, 0 to 100 in 21, 135 ish flat out. Very similar performance to 1.9 Gti pug (albeit a higher top speed as the Pug was all out around 130 on a good day).

Cross country, I doubt anything could live with a FRP.

One of the few cars I've driven where the fact it wasn't that fast in a straight line did not actually matter one bit. these cars are not about straight line speed.

Tremendous character and sense of occasion. Fantastic seats, gearchange, driving position, brakes, sound (intake and exhaust) and suspension. I'd say probably more focused than the Integra, in many respects. Fells like all thats missing is a roll cage and you have a competition car.

Would absolutely anihilate any Impreza in the tight twisties, and much more fun.

You could live with one day to day in the same way as you could an Integra.

What to look for:-

Rusting front grill
Stonechips everywhere, especially on rear arches and sills
Rust where rear over wings are attached both in the lower arches and sills.
Rust on the original arches (they were not removed, but just cut IIRC)
Wheels, brakes, suspension will be expensive to replace.

HTH

Rasher

always liked these cars but never driven one, rare as rocking horse poo

get them Armourfended, problem solved

Adidas

IIRC they were meant to be making 500 (or perhaps 1000) but they had trouble shifting them, probably due to the price, so they cut the production.

LASH

I used to own 1 of these babies frp328! I pxd my 99 impreza turbo for it.
I think there were about 505 cars made about 80 of them fitted with the LSD.
Apparently there are only about 380 of them left in the uk due thefts, crashes etc.
Obviously nowhere as near as fast as the scooby in a straight line but in the twisties the frp was in a league of its own!
If you get one make sure you take it to a puma specialist to have any work done, as per usual ford main dealers havnt got a clue what there working with...
As for fuel economy i was getting roughly about 27 mpg an that was with a heavy right foot, also due to the exhaust popping and banging every time you take your foot off the excelerator over 4000 revs, couldnt resist ( one of the best sounds ive heard from a car)
Have a look on www.fordracingpuma.com if you need any more info.

mightyyid

Correct - the original aim was 1000 cars but due to a number of issues including cost, this number was never reached. Many had warranty claims as well which effected a number of things (like the bottom line) but as someone else has pointed out, they made a loss on the cars. What I don;t see is why this is a problem, given the brand value, halo effect and many other items we marketers talk about all day long.

They are great cars - still very many going and I saw, quite recently, one of the first ones off the production line that was very tired. But then it was my bosses when I worked in marketing in Ford Racing (at the time the FRP was developed and sold) so saw the inside story. I also saw how he drove the car and that is why it looks so tired.

The ones with LSD were often considered to sharp and could kick you out in a bend, which was why most did not have it. However, it seems with some other tweeking the LSD is the way to go...

Andy