New Ford Puma Gen-E: Britain’s best-selling car goes electric

• New electric version of the Ford Puma SUV
• 43kWh battery and up to 244 miles of range
• Arriving next year; expected to cost over £30,000

You’re looking at the new Ford Puma Gen-E, and it’s a pretty big deal. Those four extra letters signify that the Puma has gone fully-electric for the first time, swapping its mild hybrid petrol engine for a 43kWh battery and an electric motor. It gets tweaked styling and a bigger boot than its petrol twin, but Ford also claims that it will offer “the most fun-to-drive experience yet” in the Puma range.

If you live in the UK, you’re probably familiar with the Ford Puma. It was the best-selling car of 2023, and it’s shaping up to retain that crown for 2024. The small SUV is popular for good reason – it’s practical, fun to drive and fairly affordable, a combination that has won over family-car buyers across the nation. The new electric Puma Gen-E will be sold alongside the petrol model, and while we don’t have an official price tag yet, it’s expected to cost a fair chunk more.

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What are the important specs for the Ford Puma Gen-E?

Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first. The Puma Gen-E is available with one battery and motor setup: a 43kWh battery connected to a 166bhp motor that drives the front wheels. That battery is a bit smaller than you’ll find in a Hyundai Kona Electric or a Kia EV3, but its range falls between those two rivals.

Ford claims that you’ll be able to travel up to 244 miles on a charge in the Puma Gen-E. While Hyundai and Kia offer buyers the option of a larger battery and a longer range – up to 372 miles in the Kia – the Ford is stuck with just the 44kWh battery for now. Charging speeds peak at 100kW from a rapid charger, so a 10-80% recharge should take about 23 minutes.

The Puma Gen-E is surprisingly light for an electric SUV, weighing in at 1,563kg, although that’s still about 200kg more than a petrol Puma. The EV is the quicker model, accelerating from 0-62mph in 8.0 seconds – only the sporty Puma ST can beat that. Drivers will also be able to choose a 'one-pedal driving' mode, where regenerative braking as you lift off the accelerator means you rarely need to touch the brake pedal.

What else do I need to know about the Ford Puma Gen-E?

From the outside, the key change for the Puma Gen-E is the new front grille – or lack thereof. It gets a body-coloured blanking plate in place of the petrol car’s radiator, with a similar horseshoe-shaped trim piece to the Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s first EV. Ford claims that this improves aerodynamic efficiency, which helps to boost range.

That’s about in terms of exterior styling changes, other than a set of new alloy wheels and a choice of two new paint colours, including this rather bold yellow. The headlights, tail-lights, and big Ford oval badge are all carried over from the regular Puma’s recent mid-life update.

You also get the new infotainment screen from the updated Puma, measuring 12.8-inches. It’s a big panel, and Ford had to remove some of the physical switchgear to make room for it when it updated the Puma – it’s no surprise that the switchgear hasn’t returned for the Gen-E. The Gen-E does get a different centre console, though, as it no longer needs to house the regular Puma’s gear selector.

Ford has somehow squeezed even more boot space into the Puma Gen-E, too. Total luggage capacity is up from 456 litres to 574 litres, thanks to the underfloor ‘GigaBox’ storage space.

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How much does the Puma Gen-E cost and when can I buy one?

We still don’t know official UK pricing for the Puma Gen-E yet, but it’ll no doubt be more expensive than its petrol counterpart. That model costs from around £26,000, so a starting price beginning in the low £30,000s sounds about right for the Gen-E. We’ll find out more before the Puma Gen-E goes on sale next year.

Electric cars not for you? Read our list of the best hybrid cars on sale today…