With the hype still surrounding small crossovers and SUVs, Ford has turned its Puma into a near 200bhp hot crossover. Say hello to the Ford Puma ST.

We know what you’re thinking, isn’t this just a Fiesta ST with a top hat and on stilts? Well, yes and no. It carries over the 1.5-litre, three-cylinder 197bhp engine found in the Mk8 Fiesta ST, but Ford says that it is 40% stiffer than that of the Fiesta and this is to compensate for its higher centre of gravity and to make sure it handles and performs like an ST should. This is aided by retuned damping and anti-roll bar settings. Good news then.

What else do you get? Bigger brakes, sharper, quicker steering, 19-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and an option for the Performance Pack, which comes in at £950. This puts a Quaife Limited Slip Differential in between the front wheels. Probably not a necessity here, though.

Performance from the 1.5-litre is strong, much like the Fiesta ST. You’ll do 0-62mph in just 6.7 seconds and go onto 137mph. Not bad for a Fiesta on stilts, ay? You’ll also get 41mpg, so this seems to be the big brother to the Fiesta ST, aimed at those who have grown up and got a family, but still has a bit of a wild side.

Inside you’ll get the famous Ford Recaro seats, which are delightful. It’s also nice to see there is no automatic option in the Ford Puma ST, just a good old-fashioned manual setup with three pedals. You also get a 12.3-inch digital instrument display and a sport button for flicking through the modes, which includes a track mode that turns off the stability control and adds in the pops and bangs heard on the Mk8 Fiesta ST.

Ford’s Performance manager for Europe said: “Real driving enthusiasts aren’t going to settle for less excitement just because life demands a more ‘sensible’ car, so our number one priority was that the Puma ST had to be as exhilarating and capable as every ST model, without sacrificing any of Puma’s practicality. We believe that we have the best-handling small SUV in its segment. It really does feel connected and has the true ST feel. It is a joy to drive.”

For those in the market for a crossover with some performance, we’re willing to bet the Ford Puma ST will deliver on that front, and given it doesn’t have any direct rivals, it should sell well, too. We know Ford makes some cracking chassis and we’re sure that it’s team of engineers have transformed what is a fairly ugly crossover (we’re not going to sit here and pretend it’s pretty) into a car that is at least great to drive. We just hope this £28,495 crossover doesn’t spell the future of hot hatches.

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Say hello to the new BMW M3 & M4, and we know exactly what you’re going to say, what on earth is going on with those grilles? Well there’s more to these cars than meets the eye. It has a 3-litre, turbocharged straight-six engine developing 503bhp and 479lb ft! 

It’s been well documented that the new BMW M3 & M4 would feature those grilles. It’s probably the biggest talking point and most contentious issue that has faced a new car launch. It’s also not hard to see why, it’s not exactly divisive, with the majority deciding it just doesn’t work. But, look past that for a moment and look at the facts and figures, the new BMW M3 & M4 are aiming to be class leaders again.

Anyone who’s into cars will be excited by a new BMW M3. BMW says that it has listened to its customers who wanted M cars that differentiated themselves from the regular run-of-the-mill and tepid models, and there’s no denying the latest set of cars do that. While the regular M340i is free from the large grilles, the new BMW M3 brings them in from the BMW M4, so that’s the biggest and most obvious difference.

Next up, and continuing at the front, you have those angled air intake vents that point directly towards an oil cooler and of course the brakes/wheels. On the bonnet, there are sculpted vents, or none vents as they aren’t open, just an aerodynamic design feature. Follow your eyesight down the side of the car and you’re met with thumping great wheel arches, some 80mm wider than the standard 3-series. This is reminiscent of the BMW E30 M3 that had flared arhces.

At the rear you have a shark-fin style diffuser with signature quad exhaust, while the carbon roof remains on top, you get more sculpted aerodynamic design features, further differentiating itself from the regular BMW 3 and 4-series. You also get extended sills for better air control underneath the car.

Don’t forget, there will also be an estate version coming, too!

New BMW M3 & M4 – let’s talk numbers

Right, let’s get to it. Under the bonnet is the new S58 engine, 3.0-litres in displacement, in-line six cylinder motor with twin-turbos (each of which works three cylinders). The cars you see here are competition spec and get 503bhp and 479lb ft, mated to an eight-speed autobox, making 0-62mph sprint times of 3.9 seconds. Remember, this is rear-wheel drive, so traction is still an issue. In the future you’ll see the M four-wheel drive system added which will drop that figure significantly. It’ll also mean that you can shift some of the power rearwards at the tap of a button, and that same button, if pressed twice, will allow for full rear-wheel drive to create new clouds.

Interestingly, the UK is only getting the competition-spec cars and sadly neither the new BMW M3 and M4 (in the UK) will be fitted with a manual gearbox. Simply put, the manual option isn’t up to the job of withstanding the increased power figures. We say increased because abroad, buyers will be given the option of a second engine, which reduces power to 480bhp, but does allow for a manual gearbox.

There’s a fancy limited-slip differential for the RWD-only cars and in the all-wheel drive versions due later, it does away with a diff and replaces it with a clutch pack to allow power to be sent each way. There’s also a new fancy traction control system that has 10 settings, yes 10. At the lower end you have traction settings for wet weather, the middle for dry on the road driving and at the top, all-guns-blazing track mode with limited assistance.

There are some other cool, if not a little gimmicky, tech on board including an “M Drift Analyser” that apparently records the length, time and angle of your drift and compares you to the best scores via the iDrive. Maybe we borrow one and get Baggsy behind the wheel to set some records…

Other cool tech includes settings for even the brake pressure you require, now that the braking system is brake-by-wire. You also have control of the now industry standard adaptive dampers as well as steering wheel weight, throttle response, transmission, sound and traction control.

A new track-spec pack is also available which brings about a 25kg weight saving thanks to carbon ceramic brakes, carbon fibre bucket seats and some lighter wheels mated to semi-slick tyres. We bet that costs a lot…

There will also be M-performance parts available for the new BMW M3 and M4 cars, photos of which are now appearing online and feature a central quad exhaust, a small wing, new splitter, wheels and various other parts including carbon sills and a carbon diffuser.

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