The Ford Puma Gold Edition was designed by 275,000 people but is still the same great family SUV

WOULDN’T life be better if we picked our own presents?

Rather than let other people buy us tat we don’t want.

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I don’t know about you but I’ve got a drawer groaning with novelty socks, wash bags and Old Spice aftershave that I’ll never use.

But if we were honest and told people what we want we could avoid all this.

We might end up with Lacoste instead of Lonsdale or a Kelly Brook calendar instead of an RSPB handbook on endangered birds.

It looks like Ford agrees with me.

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This is the first car to be designed by “crowd sourcing”, which means the public got to say what they wanted.

You chose the grey paint. You chose the gold and white stripes. You chose the gold wheels.

You chose the gold stitching inside. You even named it – Gold Edition.

Ford says it had almost 275,000 votes on social media to create this limited-run Puma, which is based on the fully-loaded ST-Line X.

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So, apart from the ST which is a different beast altogether, this is the king of the Puma range.

Well done, everyone, I think you chose well – all except for the stripes. It’s not a Mustang Shelby. Or a Vauxhall Corsa Sting. So what about Puma itself?

It’s a crossover

Excellent car. I once described Puma as a tall Fiesta in a puffa jacket with big pockets – and it’s true.

Much like Fiesta, it has a peachy chassis, beautiful steering and a 1-litre mild hybrid that’s willing and does good numbers.

Our test car averaged 47mpg, a smidge lower than the official WLTP figure of 49mpg – and it’s not often you can say that. Unlike Fiesta, it’s a crossover.

Which is the shape everybody wants these days and means Ford can charge more for it. There’s a pure electric Puma coming in 2024.

The ST-Line part of the name refers to the sporty styling, sport suspension and selectable drive modes – including Slippery and Trail.

The X bit adds luxuries like heated front seats and heated steering wheel, on top of the slick 8in touchscreen, B&O sound system, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, and so on.

Other things that please: Manual handbrake. You can fit a Costa coffee cup in the rear door pockets. And the brilliant Megabox. Underneath the boot floor – in place of a spare wheel – is a huge 80-litre sink with a plug hole in the bottom.

Use it to store dirty boots, as an ice box for picnics, or whatever. It’s deep enough to stand a golf bag upright, or carry tall plants home from B&Q.

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No other crossover is as useful as that.

Puma has long since overtaken the soon-to-be-axed Fiesta as Ford’s best-selling car. Order one in this dream-spec and you’re golden.