| Product: |
Ford Ka in general |
| Date: |
06.07.08 (182 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: cheap, reliable, nippy ride
Disadvantages: not the comfiest or attractive
Bought my first car soon after obtaining my licence late 2004, new KA Collection with air-con for under 7k with 1 year's insurance. Bargain considering for a decent second-hand KA, I was looking to spend 4-5k + approx 1k for insurance with being a new driver. Also other costs to consider on second-hand cars is the road tax, road side assistance and repairs if out of Warranty period.
A lot of people under estimate the KA's acceleration, power to weight ratio it out-performs a wide range of cars, which expert/official stat's say otherwise! The 0-60mph offiicial stat can easily be beaten without trying and been heavy on the accelerator with good quick precise gear-changes you can achieve 0-60mph in around 9.5-10second mark, seriously! Not recommended though, as it will damage the engine and will provide a poor MPG.
Handling is excellent, especially on corners; you can take them both tightly and fast. Turning circle is good. CD player and speakers are good. Comfort for passengers - fine for front seat passenger, I don't think my friends were impressed on the space/comfort in the rear as they would always offer to drive their hot-hatches on long trips. Nothing to do with my driving I must add, but there's a plus to that it meant I could drink! Air-con is an essential feature.
MPG - according to my maths I'm getting 41mpg on average with steady driving.
Bad features - the girly curve on the rear of the body, the pathetic storage compartment on the dash-board, cup-holder is not deep enough - drinks can fly forward over the handbrake / gear-stick. Road tax = £115, due to the KA's emissions.
Safety - Euro Ncap 3 * rating, which is an average rating. I have not been in a crash, but I can imagine the KA been ok on slow-speed crashes. Worth looking and watching the Euro Ncap videos of the KA and other cars.
After 30 months I bought a new KA Style Climate (late 2007) for under 3k after part-ex of the KA Collection with air-con.
New features to the Collection heated front windscreen, electric heated wing mirrors, new dash board design and aux-port on the stereo.
The new dash board design is a massive improvement and includes a decent storage compartment. The aux-port on the stereo is handy for connecting ipod for listening to your music files in perfect sound quality, as there is no more need for the FM transmitter on the ipod, which produced a poor signal/sound quality.
Features which were in the Collection and not in the KA Style Climate are front seats height adjustment, rear seat head rests, leather steering wheel / gear stick.
The KA Zetec Climate may only be an extra £500 but its not really justified. The features which I had in the KA Collection are in the Zetec model and to be honest they are not missed. The Zetec model also has a spoiler and alloy-wheels, but the KA is cheap/ugly looking car, so regardless of those accessories it still looks cheap/ugly.
I recommend the KA Style Climate not only as a first car but long afterwards. Reliable, nippy, ideal for a run around and decent mpg.
If you disagree and favour the Zetec, just a word of advice make sure you get the Zetec Climate, as air-con is an essential feature.
Also if your looking at second-hand KA's, avoid the models with the old dash-board design and old stereo that have no aux-port, I believe these features came as standard from 2007.
Additional:
You may be thinking, that my review is biased due to giving the impression that all I know is the KA, so how do I know any better! Well I shall put your mind to rest... I learnt to drive in a Focus 1.6. I have driven Focus ST, Mondeo 1.8, Saxo VTS, Megane 1.4d, Fiesta 1.25, Micra 1.2 and a few super-cars on those red-letter/experience days!. I am a named driver on a Mondeo 2.0, Megane 1.5d. I was previously a ND on a Clio 1.2 16v.
My fav (excluding the super-cars) is easily the Focus ST and the 1.6 which I learnt in. If it was not for the house prices and having to save approx 20k deposite, i'd be writting a reviiew for a Focus Zetec 1.6. The Clio 1.2 16v is probably the best of the small cars with regards to safety and MPG. However I did find the Clio to be slightly slower than the KA and it does cost slightly more. I certainly do NOT recommend the Saxo or Micra, awful!
Summary: give it a ride
| Processing/Quality: |
|
 |
| Reliability: |
|
 |
| Driving comfort: |
|
 |
|
|
