Ford Puma 1.4i

rG-tom · 23 Nov 2006 at 12:06

Hey fellas,

My girlfriend passed her test a couple of weeks ago, and is looking now for a car.

After seeing conanius' puma at the RR and me realising they are available in 1.4 guise, she has her heart set on one of these. They are in budget (around 3k give or take a bit to play with).

I test drove one the other day and they seem very tidy cars, and exactly what she'd need.

Are there any known problems / things to look out for when getting one of these?

Cheers,

Tom.

SDK^ · 23 Nov 2006 at 12:18

rG-tom said:
things to look out for

Annoying photographers

No major problems I can think of.
The only other difference with the 1.4 is that it doesn't have ABS brakes and the basic traction control that is fitted as standard on all the other models.

rG-tom · 23 Nov 2006 at 12:35

SDK^ said:
Annoying photographers

No major problems I can think of.
The only other difference with the 1.4 is that it doesn't have ABS brakes and the basic traction control that is fitted as standard on all the other models.

ABS isn't standard? Most of the ones im looking at have it, the one i test drove definitely did (kicked in when i went over a grid whilst braking)

Tom.

davidstone28 · 23 Nov 2006 at 13:19

All Pumas with ABS do a self-test at about 12mph without you even pressing the pedal. No known major problems with the 1.4 as far as I'm aware. Would be better to try and find a 1.6 if her budget can stretch to it as these have the infinitely better Zetec-S engine though I think these are 2000 years onwards or possibly later. Obviously the 1.7 is better in every way though if you get one of these the main thing to look out for with these is premature engine wear caused by thin bore linings of the Yamaha engined 1.7. I drove one some time ago and although you hear everyone going on about the handling etc, the one thing that struck me was how unrefined they are in term of NVH. It was like they had forgotten to fit sound deadening materials between the engine bay and the passenger compartment. Apart from that, it was pretty good car - from another generation - but a good car nonetheless. Would be cheap to run too.

rG-tom · 23 Nov 2006 at 18:09

davidstone28 said:
All Pumas with ABS do a self-test at about 12mph without you even pressing the pedal. No known major problems with the 1.4 as far as I'm aware. Would be better to try and find a 1.6 if her budget can stretch to it as these have the infinitely better Zetec-S engine though I think these are 2000 years onwards or possibly later. Obviously the 1.7 is better in every way though if you get one of these the main thing to look out for with these is premature engine wear caused by thin bore linings of the Yamaha engined 1.7. I drove one some time ago and although you hear everyone going on about the handling etc, the one thing that struck me was how unrefined they are in term of NVH. It was like they had forgotten to fit sound deadening materials between the engine bay and the passenger compartment. Apart from that, it was pretty good car - from another generation - but a good car nonetheless. Would be cheap to run too.

:s the puma i testdrove said zetec-s on the 1.4 block under the bonnet i'm fairly sure :s

Insurance won't let her go above a 1.4 really, even that is pushing it as that is group 9. She's 17 with pass plus but is still slightly struggling to get sub 1500 even with her mum as policy holder.

Tom.

Conanius · 23 Nov 2006 at 18:57

rG-tom said:
:s the puma i testdrove said zetec-s on the 1.4 block under the bonnet i'm fairly sure :s

Insurance won't let her go above a 1.4 really, even that is pushing it as that is group 9. She's 17 with pass plus but is still slightly struggling to get sub 1500 even with her mum as policy holder.

Tom.

rubish ! pay the extra

Being serious, the 1.7 is the one to go for really, Racing Puma's are stupidly overpriced, so a decent 1.7 is where its at. Chip, Exhaust + Filter will get you near the racing puma's straight line performance, and the extra handling it gives you will never see use on a daily drive.

As you know, mines up for grabs at the moment, however its out of her budget, be prepared to hunt around for a while as there are some disgusting examples about

Fusion · 23 Nov 2006 at 19:10

The 1.4 unit is a 16v 90bhp Zetec. I'm not sure why the 1.6 is seen as 'infinitely better', as the 1.4 was co-developed with Yamaha and is a smooth, free revving powerplant. Obviously it only produces 90bhp, but the 1.6 is no fire breather at 100bhp.

Conanius · 23 Nov 2006 at 19:29

the 1.6 is the same engine that features in the zetec s fiesta, and provides good fun there, id imagine that the power graphs of the 1.4 and 1.6, along with gearing etc gives a difference that is slightly more than '10 bhp'

remember, peak bhp is er, peak, nothing else

Axeboy · 23 Nov 2006 at 19:34

Conanius said:
remember, peak bhp is er, peak, nothing else

Very good point, many forget this.

Moorron · 23 Nov 2006 at 19:58

My missus bought one about 3 years ogo. its the 1.4 also and is a very nippy car.

The things 'I' have had to fix which i found to b common faults were the folowing:

1: The heater may not produce warm or hot heat, this was down to the water valve under the front window (engine bay), it controls the water entering the heater matrix inside the car and often fails. so check the heater is warm. This valve also effected the air con, after replacing it with a new one from ford (£70 and about 1 diy hour) we found the air con was much more efective. its the same item on the KA and fiesta.

2: This just happened so take care, she noticed the dash lights werent working, after i got into it i found it was also the sidelights and tail lights!!! 1 whole week with no visable rear lights on the car. very lucky. The headlights still worked fine, but only as its on another circuit. After taking the dash apart and messing with all connections and relays good old google saved me. The headlight switch is prone to just failing. u cant even take it apart to fix it, so ford wanted me to hand over £100 for one!

i went to the local scrappy for a replacement for £20, but be aware there are 2 types and i was lucky to find the common faulty one as they had al gone, showing it was a very common fault. It doesnt wear out so if it feels worn u proberbly have a good one.

exhausts arnt cheap either, £100+ for a ford factory item, not easy to replace either so if it needs doing dont diy it! 1 whole day it took me. lol

The 1.4 engine does use oil. its just the design so dont worry, but it shouldnt smoke. The only engine fault i know is the cam lobes wear so check its not noisey and rattly.

all the 1.7's we looked at were thrashed or nails thats why we got the 1.4 and its been very good for us both. Visability isnt the best for a first car, but its a girls car alright.

The boot flor can rott, so lift the carpet up in the boot and check it.

ps. watch how u get into it, the front A pillar is very low and u WILL whack your noggin on it. its not nice :mad:

Conanius · 23 Nov 2006 at 20:30

Moorron said:
its a girls car alright.

OOF !

rG-tom · 23 Nov 2006 at 20:51

Conanius said:
rubish ! pay the extra

Being serious, the 1.7 is the one to go for really, Racing Puma's are stupidly overpriced, so a decent 1.7 is where its at. Chip, Exhaust + Filter will get you near the racing puma's straight line performance, and the extra handling it gives you will never see use on a daily drive.

As you know, mines up for grabs at the moment, however its out of her budget, be prepared to hunt around for a while as there are some disgusting examples about

The 1.7 really is out of range, the 1.4 is pushing it enough at the moment. The power of the 1.4 will be more than enough, she is used to a 1.2 micra at the moment. 10.9 to sixty will be sufficient.

Thanks for the input Moorron :>

davidstone28 · 23 Nov 2006 at 20:54

Never understood the thing about it being a girl's car - it isn't IMO. Women just tend to prefer small cars (of which a Puma is one) as well as stylishly designed cars (which the Puma is, and so is the BMW Mini etc).

Moorron · 24 Nov 2006 at 11:58

please dont get me wrong, i love the car. its got a great front end, the engine is very good for a 1.4 and the handling is as good as my old renault 5 turbo (after fitting sports shock/springs and 17" alloys to the puma). but it was still good before this.

Its just not a car i would go and buy for myself. like the KA, its a good car and a fiesta is the same but i would never buy the Ka and have the fiesta.

i think a puma with an engine transplant and something done to the huge rear end (the bumber) it would b a great car.

i think the rs version of the car with the larger arches makes the car look a lot better as the rear end looks less in your face.

Considering i own a kitcar thats silly fast i enjoy driving the puma and if i was a girl and looking for a first car i would b over the moon with any puma.

PS, what colour are u looking at? i think silver, moon silver and black are the ONLY colours u should get. the green, yellow and red ones look really :eek:

Toryglen-boy · 24 Nov 2006 at 12:39

dont know much about problems with one, but i have driven one, and i found it an enjoyable, responsive drive ... kinda cramped, and vision out the back wasnt fantastic, but its a nice little roller skate

Virdi · 24 Nov 2006 at 14:15

My sister's had a 1.4 Puma from 2000 - She's never had any problems or issues.

...however, I have heard of the Heater Control Valve issue - That's def' a common problem.