The tiny Ford Ka was a successful car with 1.4 million sales worldwide since its 1996 launch, but can the new version do even better?
Well, the new Ka is cute and chunky and it needs to be in a sector that features delightful machines like the Hyundai i10, Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1, Peugeot 107, Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 where value for money and low servicing costs are priorities for buyers.
The old Ka was built on the Fiesta platform but not so this one. In fact, despite being the same length as the old Ka the new Ka isn’t really a Ford! The cute four-seat city car is built alongside the Fiat 500 and Panda and this Ka is a direct collaboration between Ford and Fiat. Underneath Ka is the same platform that underpins the 500 and Panda with a few minor modifications to meet Ford’s requirements to improve handling. Inside the layout and switchgear is mostly Fiat too. Is that a bad thing? Well not really as Fiat is pretty good at making small cars and the plus side is that the Ka’s residuals will be good thanks to the car having the blue oval badge.
Ford tells me that in order to be economically viable a manufacturer has to shift at least 300,000 cars in order to justify the research & development and factory production line necessary to bring a new car to market, so in 2004, Ford wisely teamed up with the Italian giant on this project. Even the two engines in the range (a 1.2 petrol and 1.3 diesel) come from Fiat but with minor tweaks that allow ford to re-badge them ‘Duratec’ and ‘Duratorq’.
The exterior styling is fresh and fashionable so the Ka is on a winner here. Inside the cabin is bright and airy and, even with the Fiat switchgear, fresh. The electric power steering is light and the gear lever is close to hand, although the shift itself is a little sloppy. Ford predicts a four star Euro NCAP score, which is good for such a small vehicle and down to extensive use of high strength steel.
On the road the Ka is fun about town and only struggles a little when you need to hurry it along on the open road. Both engines deliver similar performance and the price premium for the diesel Ka is simply not worth it. The suspension has been given the Ford treatment so it is firmer than its sister Fiats. The ride is fine for city driving but on more challenging twisty roads can be upset a little when turning in to bends. With smooth inputs the Ka is predictable and stable. Ford has greatly reduced the level of cabin noise and the new car is remarkably quiet compared to say the city car trio of Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107.
All in all, the New Ka is a massive improvement on the original car. It is safer, bigger inside (more headroom and 224 litres of boot space) and more economical thanks to the Fiat sourced engines (95% of Kas will feature the 1.3, 75bhp petrol engine). Ford Ireland is bringing in two specifications called ‘Style’ & ‘Titanium’ with further visual styling packages available on special order only for now.
Ka is a good town car so if you’re tempted my advice is to buy the base model and then get bigger alloys to make it look smart.
Michael Sheridan
