This forum has been really useful when researching the Puma's so thank you to everyone. I was originally looking at Audi's and BMW's but after some research the Puma ST was real value for money. I got my Puma ST a few months ago, Frozen White with the Performance Pack. I managed to find one in stock but I had to travel 300+ miles to get it, they are like gold dust at the moment especially with the lead times. It's my first Ford, I've owned many German cars and I'm really surprised by the build quality and the number of features that come as standard with the Ford. Heated windscreen.... enough said!
I've applied the Mountune m235 upgrade which has made a real difference, the throttle response isn't as sharp or jolty like with the stock map and is smoother giving instant power throughout the entire rev range. In ASMO performance calibration mode the exhaust overrun coupled with the pops and bangs are ridiculous and puts a smile on my face! It will invalidate my engine warranty but with their heritage I'm not concerned that their upgrade will create any issues and I will stupidly take a calculated risk on the engine. I took the decision to remap the ECU over the Tuning Box route, Mountune specialise just in Ford's and the tuning boxes are not focussed on reliability and sustained performance. For example Mountune claims " included additional months of in-cylinder pressure monitoring to ensure engine robustness, whilst retaining all safety parameters". I'm not too sure how a Tuning Box can provide these guarantees when they cater for so many manufactures and different engines. I drive it like a Grandad day to day in Eco Mode so I don't envisage extra stress on the clutch or flywheel and open it up on the B Roads, just like the ST line was intended for. For the UK people, Ford finance have had no issue with authorising the upgrade, they were super responsive through their online portal and added nothing onto my insurance premiums. I hope this helps for anybody researching the upgrade process, but please make sure you get it authorised by all parties, finance, leasing and insurance.
Here she is:
