FORD has struck gold with its latest Puma model thanks to a huge fanbase of followers.

It was a brave step after the rather spectacular social media Boaty McBoatface naming incident a few years back.

And there have been other splendid examples such as Mister Splashy Pants for an endangered humpback whale and even Spirit of the Walletsuckers for a new ferry following ticket price hikes.

But nevertheless, Ford entrusted this limited-edition model to its fans who came up with design ideas as well as the ‘Gold Edition' name.

The result is the rather striking Puma ST Gold Edition and it is quite the head-turner thanks to 19-inch alloy wheels with a gold finish, a special ST body-styling kit, including large rear spoiler, bespoke vehicle decals and Ford Performance embossed splitter plus red brake calipers.

A black painted contrast roof and dual tail pipes set off this five-door model perfectly.

Moving inside, the flat-bottomed ST sports steering wheel has gold stitching and the sports seats feature similar gold craftwork. Both the seats and steering wheel can be heated to fend off the winter chill and there is a unique ST gear shift knob, plus alloy sports pedals.

On-board tech levels are generous, including a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and Ford SYNC 3 Navigation with an eight-inch touchscreen, Bang & Olufsen sound system with 10 speakers and subwoofer, DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charging pad and plenty more besides.

Powering this limited-edition car is the same 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that drives the normal Puma ST.

Delivering 200PS and 320Nm of torque, it can sprint from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds, maxes out at 137mph and can achieve a combined 41.5mpg with carbon emissions of 155g/km.

Our car had a six-speed manual gearbox and there are drive modes to flick through called Eco, Normal, Sport and Racetrack that alter the driving performance and reactions of the car. An S button offers instant access to the Sport setting which is handy when faced with tempting, twisting lanes.

With a nice tight 10.5-metre turning circle, the Puma ST is perfectly suited to busy city centre driving with lots of weaving in and out of traffic. Plus, the additional parking features will help you find a suitable space and then automatically park the car.

The Puma ST is such a fun model to drive with punchy acceleration, great road holding and ample power to overtake slower moving vehicles.

There is quite a raspy engine note as you power away, which rather matches the dynamic design of the car. And the dynamic suspension and steering set up has been designed for thrill-seekers out there. Yet this car still ticks all the practicality boxes along the way.

There's also a glovebox, deep trays, front cup holders, seatback nets, a cubby box and a boot that can swallow 466 litres of luggage. Drop the 60:40 split-folding rear seats and that capacity increases to 1,200 litres.

But it's worth looking beneath the boot floor too as there is a huge storage compartment there. This area is called the Megabox and is ideal if you need to transport muddy boots or the likes, as it can be rinsed out when you get home which is all very clever.

Safety specifications are comprehensive with pre-collision assist with autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection and post collision braking, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, electronic stability control, hill start assist and a full suite of airbags.

The Gold Edition, which is now sold out, cost more than £2,000 than the standard Puma ST so cost buyers £33,125 and our car also featured a Driver Assistance Pack with parking that added £600 to the total.