Ford Puma Forum

hi , just a few observations on the gearing on the puma , I've covered just under 5k miles , and I have the 155 puma .
it feels to me that the gearing is just out a tad , ie driving at 30mph you need to be in 3rd, 40mph you need to be in 4th, 50mph you need to be in 5th , if you change to the higher gear as recommended by the display on the dashboard the engine is labouring . obviously when the speed is over 50mph the engine is much more efficient and so you gain on the mpg , but driving in town or on slower roads its quite annoying. just my opinion of coarse, but would be interested to hear what other owners think.

kam88 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 3:15 pm hi , just a few observations on the gearing on the puma , I've covered just under 5k miles , and I have the 155 puma .
it feels to me that the gearing is just out a tad , ie driving at 30mph you need to be in 3rd, 40mph you need to be in 4th, 50mph you need to be in 5th , if you change to the higher gear as recommended by the display on the dashboard the engine is labouring . obviously when the speed is over 50mph the engine is much more efficient and so you gain on the mpg , but driving in town or on slower roads its quite annoying. just my opinion of coarse, but would be interested to hear what other owners think.

Both the 125 and 155 PS manual versions feel a bit laboured in 4th at 30mph. I've got used to choosing the gear that feels right, and ignoring the gear change indicator. My theory is that 3-cylinder engines are more prone to feeling laboured at low revs, because at a given rpm you are having to do the same amount of work with fewer combustion strokes - ie. more powerful bangs with longer intervals in between them (by comparison to a 4-cylinder engine), hence more torsional vibration in the driveline. Of course, this could be BS, so I'd be interested to know what others think . I like the short gearing in 2nd and 3rd, which makes for very good acceleration. Incidently, the instananeous fuel consumption readout seems to show that economy is not harmed by ignoring the gear change indicator and choosing the best gear by skill and judgement

Previous post edited to say combustion strokes.

Tested this last night.. In the Auto, at 30mph cruising speed the gearbox is in 4th (checked by pressing the upshift paddle, it moved into 5th) and the engine rpm is approx 1200. Doesn't feel laboured. I suspect it would drop down to 3rd and higher revs if accelerator demand necessitated it.

The recommended gear shifts on the dash are BS. Introduced by EU legislation to supposedly cut down on emissions. Drive the car like you drove your other cars without the gear shift prompt. you and the car will be much happier.