Love and hate

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Neil

Active member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
8,061
Location
Berks
As the thread title says really, what do you love and hate about your Puma (or current car for all you ex owners :lol: ). Obviously this can include any mods you've done to the car!

My first Puma

Love

+ Looks, especially Panther Black when polished
+ Gearchange, still the best gearbox I've experienced yet
+ Good compromise between handling and ride quality (before I ruined it by fitting Powerflex bushes)
+ Props!

Hate

- Rubbish on the motorway, could really do with a sixth gear
- Drivers seat is too high, even on the lowest setting
- Rubbish unsupportive standard seats (the phase 1 Puma seats were much better)
- The harshness after I'd fitted said Powerflex bushes

The FRP

Love

+ The looks
+ The looks from passers by
+ Scarceness
+ Awesome brakes (once warmed up)
+ The overrun from the exhaust
+ Great Sparco seats

Hate

- Setting my expectations of the car far too high.
- Running costs
- Too harsh and unforgiving to run daily, especially with a Piper exhaust system
- Unreliability
- Didn't offer enough over a standard Puma to justify the extra outlay
- Awful commuting car
- Mounting expense to get things fixed
- Insane prices for spares

Current - Mini Cooper S (R56)

Love

+ Perfect driving position
+ Cabin ambience, especially when illuminated at night
+ The turbo (works from 1500rpm onwards with no lag)
+ Exhaust burble, and the pops from it too!
+ No rattles!
+ Positive steering
+ Quiet and brilliant motorway cruiser

Hate

- Ubiquity
- Slightly notchy gearchange (nothing has matched the Puma yet)
- Can torque steer quite a bit
- Engine sounds rubbish on idle
- Prefer the original Cooper S alloys
- Pathetic boot
- No supercharger whine.
 
so the need for a sixth gear is a characteristic of all puma's?

I thought it was just my gf's high mileage example
 
My ex Puma

Love

+ Looks with the 17" Multi-spokes - looked planted and purposeful.
+ Cornering : not much could keep up with it when the tyres were warmed up. (Even Jacko couldn't loose me on the way back from Chatsworth in 2009)
+ Running costs : 40+mpg no matter how I drove it.
+ Exhaust note : Milltek cat back that sounded deeper than a full system and still popped on overrun when hot.

Hate

- Constant battle against rust.
- Dent that a 4x4 put in the rear 3/4 3 months after getting it.
- Not very big for carrying passengers.
- Unsupportive seats after 300+ miles trips to Scotland.
- Drone of the exhaust after 300+ mile trips to Scotland.
- Harsh ride with the powerflex - wish I'd have kept it OEM.

Current Mondeo ST TDci

Love

+ Road presence : You feel safe and secure.
+ Torque : Having over 350lbft makes motorway driving a breeze at any speed.
+ Comfort : Even with 18" alloys and skinny tyres, it's totally comfortable. The 8 way electronic Recaro seats help too.
+ Economy : 50+ mpg helps with the 70+ mile daily commute. (As does the 6th gear)
+ Looks : Even tough it's just a Mondeo, I like it in Performance blue with the multi-spokes.
+ Parking : Parking sensors make it a breeze.
+ ICE : DVD player / sat nav / USB all in one job is great.
+ Space : Can take 5 with loads of luggage with ease.
+ Heated washer jets / heated seats : Been great over the recent cold spell!

Hate

- Other Mondeo drivers trying to race you when they see it's an ST
- Diesel clatter when cold.
- Stone chips : What is it with blue fords?
- £100 for a tyre?
- Size when I want to wash it!
 
I have to say I'm definitley with you on the Powerflex. If I do 'reaquire' my old Puma again, they're coming straight back out again.
 
First Puma 1.4

Love
How good Red looked when washed and polished
How quick it was for a 1.4
The cornering
The Red and Black theme I had going

Hate
Rust
HCV :twisted:
Unsupported seats on long journeys

Second Puma 1.7

Love
The power upgrade from the 1.4
Bigger brakes
All major work was done before I bought it
The 9 spokes, I do love the props, but I think the 9 spokes suit Silver

Hate
Rust
HCV :twisted:
Unsupported seats on long journeys
 
love;

its an frp in rally colours!
the fact it really isnt a road car!! its harsh, loud, rare, temprimental, a sod to buy bits for, the challenge of keeping her running....

Hate;

really could do with another £20k to get her how i want ;-)
and a garage, with a ramp, and a full time mechanic to help me :)
 
My puma millennium
Love

How the car looks! (often get people looking and telling me the cars lovely :grin: )
How fun the car is to drive
How it handles


Hate
How much work i still need to do to it when funds are short right now!
 
There's >this< one Vix?

This thread seems a bit more descriptive though.
 
Bee
Love
Colour scheme I'm running
The few one off touches I have that make Bee unique amongst the others.
Handling
Fuel usage when its good
Rare
The 'Grin' factor it gives me when you bury the throttle

Hate
Cars history
Work still to do
Fuel usage when its bad
Slight wheel wobble at 65mph upwards
the rubber splitter at the front coming off
 
Scotty1.7 said:
Bee
Love
Colour scheme I'm running
The few one off touches I have that make Bee unique amongst the others.
Handling
Fuel usage when its good
Rare
The 'Grin' factor it gives me when you bury the throttle

Hate
Cars history
Work still to do
Fuel usage when its bad
Slight wheel wobble at 65mph upwards
the rubber splitter at the front coming off

Your slight wheel wobble is probably the tracking as it was happening on my sisters. I think she piad about £15 (I don't know if that was for each wheel though :S)
 
Love

My daily commute taking an hour instead of 15 minutes
Smiling like a retard when driving on my favourite road
Like new interior (no melted steering wheel)
Pin sharp handling
The looks
I'll never sell it
I'm the second owner
That my first car was rated so highly


Hate

My daily commute making me late for work
People probably think I'm a retard driving fast
Repaired arch showing signs of bubbles
Dent in the side where a brainless lady hit it
Fuel economy not the best (my fault)
Tracking often out
 
PUMA

Love

The way it feels to drive
Gearchange
Rev-happy engine
The brake upgrade - still the best mod I've done to the car; makes it much more drivable
The condition
My 'cherished' numberplate

Hate

Harsh and crashy ride
Not as grippy as it used to be (T1-R's at the front over T1-S's)
Rattles
Annoying temperature gauge (to sort this year)

POLO

Love

Solid, well-built feel
Reliability
Minimal costs to run (only spent £250 on it in the two years I've had it - that includes servicable parts)
Fuel consumption
The feeling that it wants to keep on running and never wants to be turned off

Hate

Nothing - it's that good.

But if I had to say anything, it would be that it now looks slightly dated (inside and out)
 
thfc said:
Your slight wheel wobble is probably the tracking as it was happening on my sisters. I think she piad about £15 (I don't know if that was for each wheel though :S)

No It's defo the wheels.

I have had it tracked about 4 times last year and it still has the slight wobble.

I also now that my front wheels are buckled ever so slightly due to the wonderfull british cart tracks we call roads.
 
For my Milly..

Love:

The amount of feedback to the driver
The slick gearchange
The way it handles
The engine loves to rev, feels so urgent compared to all other cars turbo'd cars I have owned (S13 200sx, Forester, Leon Cupra). It is fun having to make the engine work hard to get your desired torque.
The Recaro leather interior (just makes it feel a bit 'premium')
Everything still works (AC is fine, still on original clutch, still on the rear tyres it left the factory on)
Milltek full system sounds great, with popping on the overrun.
Getting Toyos for £30!

Hate:

Paint fade :( and colour
Collection of stupid noises (squeaky alternator belt pulley, missing retaining clip on exhaust manifold makes it hiss on gearchanges like it thinks it has a turbo BOV, boot seal squeaks when its frosty)
The brakes feel inadequate when you have to emergency stop, although fine for normal use
Parcel shelf made from tissue paper (stays at home now, added lightness)
Stupid ratio on 5th gear, problem compounded by noisy 'zorst (If it can do 100mph in 4th, why does it need to be at 4k revs at 80 in 5th?)
Wheels are made of putty and bend if you hit any potholes (not helped by the fact ford want £140 a corner for them, although you can get them bent back into shape cheaply)

All in all the car is a true B-road warrior (although it is difficult thinking of anything cute and yellow as a warrior) and is the perfect tool for my drive to work through narrow twisty west sussex b-roads. I only bought the car as a go between and that was just over a year ago now..


p.s. I used to get exactly the same 65mph wheel wobble and was only cured by having the wheel bent back into shape and then getting the tracking done, cost £50 in total
 
For my beloved Pips.

Love

Very quick for a 1.4 - shows what FSH, mechanical care and no daft mods can do.
Economy - 45mpg + astonishing :)
Quiet - the car was silent, no rattles, no road or engine sound.
Looks and spec, one of the last 1.4's built.
Character - the remote central locking mumble, his tendancy to hate the rain, the exhaust burble :wub:
Comfortable seats.
Smooth and coped well with Motorway work.

And lastly, because he was Pips - and everyone loved him.

Hate

I never hated anything about this car, just grumbles.

Rusty wheel arches.
Weak point under seat mount (after fella reversed into us).

I hated myself for selling him, but needs must and I will add getting in/out as a grumble.
 
like the handling although not as fast as my old vectra gsi 2.5 v6.economical,easy to maintain and cheap to rpair as i work for a very big uk ford parts supplier.(no i cant get parts sorry).the downside is the rust but not ging to do anything with mine.but next car that will be as much fun is poss an mx5 or might go for a volvo c70 t5
 
Ex Puma, S reg 1.7 in Melina Blue

Loved
The engine, just revved and revved like nothing else
Milltek 4-2-1 and catback system. Wonderful noise and overrun chatter
Really comfy drivers seat, I drove from Edinburgh to Dover in one day and didn't feel sore or ache at all
Fuel economy was pretty reasonable, 40mpg more or less
Could carry a huge amount of stuff in it, provided you could think logically about the space filling

Disliked
Mine needed super unleaded. Very expensive when I sold her a year ago, even more so now
The expense that she was about to hit me with to keep her going.
 
Ford Puma 1.7 Jan 1998 Panther Black

Love:
Driving hard on the corners
Acceleration, especially over 4k rpm
The Look :cool:
Gear changes
The sound
Good mpg in highway/motorway

Hate:
VERY POOR mpg in Urban situations
Hard/Expensive to maintain (here in Portugal)
Unconfortable in bumpy roads

Citröen C1 Airdream 1.0 2009 Scarlet

Love:
Agile/Lightweight
Very good mpg
The sound is awesome for its size and engine
Urban's Best Friend

Hate:
It dies after 3500 rpm
Cornering (you could end up turned upside down)
 

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