Puma vs Cougar

They are the exact same hull. The FTD models have the same rear deck wit hrear fuel tanks. The standard Puma and Puma Premium has the under seats fuel tanks and different rear deck. The difference is layout on the front deck between a Puma FTD and Cougar FTD. There is a slight weight difference but performance is very close on both. The Puma FTD does have the front navigation light built into the hull where the Cougar FTD is the plug in style like has been around for years. Id say ride and performace are very similar. Most ppl just pick the layout they like best. You cant go wrong with either boat !!!!

Thanks for the input and info. Very helpful. One other (novice) stupid question….can someone tell me what the “FTD” moniker stands for?

I have the Puma FTD and when looking at boats I had it narrowed to the Puma and Puma FTD. Like what was said, the hulls are all the same, just the top layout is different. The Cougar bow sits highest out of the water, the Puma sits lowest and for that reason is probably better for open rough water. The Puma FTD bow sits somewhere in between.You can look at it as the Cougar FTD and Puma have different layouts. The PumaFTD is sort of a marriage between the two. It has the Cougar back and Puma front.The Cougar has two large open comparments up front. The Puma and Puma FTD have a net storage which divides the front compartments. I like the net storage and the divided compartments though. It actually helps me organize things better though you have to be creative to get your stuff in right. The Cougar is probably easier to organize tackle with no divider as you can just throw your stuff in the box. The Puma and Puma FTD have a larger ice chest up than the Cougar. They also have a day box next to the ice chest which is handy for scents, dips, culling bobbers, etc. The Cougar has a day box in the front compartment. I bigger ice chest in the Pumas also create a nice seating area for changing lures. I sit on the rod locker lid with the middle tackle compartment open. Im sure the Cougars is fine but I like the Puma front set up better.Moving to the seating area to point out differences. The Cougar has cup holders on the floor board by the seats which is nice. The Pumas cup holders are up by the ice chest so pretty much not used with me so I put some of those cup holders with suction cups next to the seats. The Cougar and Puma FTD have under seat storage and an ice chest between the seats. I like the underseat storage for things I dont use all the time. I like the ice chest between the seats to hold food with the blue ice that doesnt melt to water and get food wet. I will also use that ice chest as a trash can catch all box. The Puma doesnt have underseat storage or the ice chest since the gas tanks are under seat.The Puma back compartments are much larger than the Cougar or Puma FTD so you have more storage area in back with the Puma. A partner will appreciate that. It would also be nice to be able to store big things back there. The Cougar and Puma FTD are pretty small. You cant fit anything like a tackle bag in them but can fit plano 3700s. The Puma has square live wells where the Cougar and Puma FTD have the triangular livewells. The triangular live wells are suppose to be better on fish – when riding in waves the water folds over on itself instead of sloshing back and forth. I have found when removing fish out of the triangular livewells it is easier since you can corner the fish better and they cant splash around as much. But they are deep so I drain much of the water out before getting the fish. With that being said I dont see the triangular livewells being all that much better than the square – they are just different and kind of neat. They do hold a lot more water than needed though.

OK, I have to ask. What does the full team deck option get you. An deck extension over the cooler?

I never really understood the FTD other than just a naming difference. The Puma and Puma FTD have the same front decks. Unless I am overlooking something.

So basicaly same boat just different compartment layout?

I had a couple of Cougars before getting my Caracal. The reason I picked the CougarFTD over the Puma, was simply the fact I liked the top cap configuration better. Thats the only reason why a person would pick one of those two models over the other as the hulls of any given year are the same. The Cougar used to be somewhat lighter, so supposedly it was maybe a bit faster than the Puma, but the difference wasnt very much.