ON PAPER, small SUVs look to be a hard sell; they’re usually several thousand dollars (at least) dearer than their hatch alternatives while not offering all that much more space and in theory at least, inferior dynamics.

And yet the segment continues to boom with an ever-growing number of brands jumping on the bandwagon of what has quickly become one of the most crucial markets within the industry.

Ford’s first effort, the EcoSport, wasn’t much cop and it failed dismally on the sales charts.

Now however, the Blue Oval has had a rethink and tried again, and we’re thrilled to say the results are much more promising, if a little on the pricey side.

Based on the Fiesta city car, the Puma entered the Australian market towards the middle of last year armed with just one engine choice and a three-variant line-up determined to make amends for the EcoSport’s failures.

To find out if it’s up to the job, we spent some time in the mid-range ST-Line and, spoiler alert, it turned out to be one of the most likeable and charismatic little cars we’ve driven recently.