SPY PICS: 2024 Ford Puma can’t hide

The Ford Puma joined the Blue Oval’s global inventory in 2019 and arrived Down Under in the second half of 2020, meaning it’s now ripe for a mid-life update – and that’s exactly what’s in store for the pint-size SUV, as you can see from these fresh spy shots

A heavily camouflaged 2024 Ford Puma prototype has just been spotted testing in Germany fitted with a mildly revised front bumper and headlight graphics, however, a badge relocation and new tail-light graphics are also expected to feature on the production version at the very least.

The new exterior is tipped to be supported by a similarly tweaked cabin design centring around a revised dash layout and a potential tech upgrade on some grades, from the current 8.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system to the latest 12-inch unit seen in other Ford models.

Safety should also be a priority for Ford, given the current model was stripped of its five-star ANCAP and Euro NCAP safety ratings at the start of this year.

At this stage no changes are expected to be made to any of the Puma’s internal combustion engines – just one is offered in Australia – but the facelift is set to coincide with the arrival of the long-teased Puma EV, a model already confirmed for the Australian market next year.

Details of the Puma EV are especially thin on the ground at the moment, but it’s thought to share its platform and running gear with the Europe-only E-Transit Courier van, in which case it will be powered by a 100kW electric motor and a 54kWh battery pack, thereby ruling it out as a direct rival for the more powerful Volvo EX30 due on sale here later this year.

Instead, the Puma EV will lock horns with the 2024 Jeep Avenger and its Fiat 600e sibling, plus the eventual Alfa Romeo Visconti, however, only one of these models (the Jeep) has so far been confirmed for our market.

The Puma is already one of the more expensive offerings in Australia’s light SUV market, and chances are the facelift will only reinforce this positioning with marginally higher asking prices – especially when it comes to the electric version, which will be more expensive than petrol-powered Pumas.

But the Puma EV should still be cheapest of five battery-electric models that Ford Australia plans to sell by the end of 2024, including the E-Transit and the upcoming Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit Custom and, potentially, the first Ford Ranger hybrid.

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