The Ford Puma Gold Edition was designed by 275,000 people but is the same great family SUV | Daily News Byte

WOULDN’T life be better if we chose our own gifts?

Instead of someone else buying us a tattoo we don’t want.

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I don’t know about you but I have a drawer groaning with new socks, wash bags and Old Spice aftershave that I will never use.

But if we are honest and tell people what we want we can 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.

Ford seems to agree with me.

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

You chose gray paint. You chose gold and white stripes. You chose the golden wheels.

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

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

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

Well done, everyone, I think you’ve got your pick – everything but the stripes. It’s not a Mustang Shelby. Or a Vauxhall Corsa Sting. So what about Puma itself?

It’s a crossover

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

Like the Fiesta, it has a peachy chassis, good steering, and a 1-liter mild hybrid that’s ready and numbers well.

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 the Fiesta, it is a crossover.

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

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

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

Other things to please: Manual handbrake. You can fit a Costa coffee cup in the rear door pockets. And the brilliant Megabox. Under the boot floor – in place of the spare tire – is a large 80-litre sink with a plug hole underneath.

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.

No other crossover is as useful as that.

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