Ford Puma ST: A mini SUV that goes fast, warms your hands and HATES crashing

FORD has a sporty Fiesta and a feisty Focus – but the Puma is often forgotten.

Thankfully there’s a fast, furious and brilliantly practical version of the Puma that ticks just about every box you have...including a racy ride.

The tech-tastic Ford Puma ST is the powerhouse version of the car, with serious motoring credentials – and a body just big enough to be classed as an SUV.

Of course, you’ll pay about £30k for the pleasure of driving one, although that’s good value – all things considered.

For a start, you’re constantly reminded that this is a sporty car. And rightly so, since you’ve chucked extra money at the posh version.

It’s powered by a 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine – offering a bit of extra torque, and just shy of 200 brake horsepower.

This helps the downsized SUV manage a zero-to-60mph speed of about 6.7 seconds.

Oh, and it’s manual. So you’ll properly feel like Vin Diesel as you scoot to and from Tesco, power-shifting to the Tokyo Drift soundtrack. If that’s your thing.

The car’s built-in Ford infotainment system is decent enough – it’s got all the bits you need, like audio playback, digital radio, mapping and so forth.

But you probably will (and in my opinion, should) make use of the built-in Apple CarPlay.