| Product: |
Ford Ka in general |
| Date: |
25/06/04 (4981 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Cheap to run, Cheap to insure
Disadvantages: slightly soft foot brake.
It was a nice sunny day early in May when I found my self standing on the forecourt of a ford dealer surrounded by cars of all models and sizes, I was quite sure It was going to be either the Ford Ka or the Ford Fiesta.
I am still learning to drive at the moment, something I?ve often thought of doing but never really got around to but now with mobility problems starting to slow me down I thought it?s a choice of becoming house bound, dependant on other people or taking up the challenge and taking some driving lessons. I?m a carer for house bound people so I know what to expect and don?t really want to join them just yet.
I thought I would buy my own car so I can have extra lessons with a qualified driver like my son sitting beside me as professional driving instructors are expensive and on my budget have to be limited to a couple hours a week so in between I can drive my own car and practice what I?ve been taught.
I went to a main dealer so I would have a good choice and that?s exactly what I had. There were Ka?s and Fiesta?s a plenty so much so it made it more difficult to choose which one to choose when suddenly, I caught sight of little bit of bright blue paint work, I moved in closer to take a better look and it was love at first sight. There he sat all alone and abandoned, cast side for a newer model, he was small blue and perfect, his paint work shone in sun and I knew I just had to make him mine all mine, my very own little Ford Ka.
Some people including my self seem to be a little unsure of just how to pronounce the word Ka, I have heard several versions so I asked the head mechanic in the service department and he assured me it is pronounced ?Ka? as in the sound of the word ?car? so that?s good enough for me.
When I told the salesman that I wasn?t sure whether to buy a Fiesta or a Ka he informed me that the engine and the chassis is the same and the only real difference is the bodywork.
Blue, that?
s what I have decided to call him, had one previous owner since his first registration in 2003 and has a 1299 cubic capacity Duratec 8V engine with catalyst, is fuel injected, five speed gear box, power assisted steering, immobiliser PATS (Passive Anti-Theft System), drivers air bag, side-impact door beam?s, opening rear windows and a 40 litre capacity fuel tank. The only disappointment was he had a cassette player instead of a cd player which I would have liked.
Blue is a three door hatch back and although he seems small to look at the interior is surprisingly roomy even in the back seats and there is ample leg room back and front. The boot is fairly small but more the adequate for a weekly shop but if you need more room the rear seats fold down giving you loads of room.
I was a little disappointed with the size of the glove compartment which is very small and like a little pot that would struggle to hold a bag of sugar with a lid but then I found a huge lidded pocket in the side just behind the drivers seat that would easily hold most things I would have a need for so I was more than happy.
So far in my very short life as a driver I have driven a brand new Ford focus, a three year old Peugeot 206, 10 year old Rover and a 3 month old Mercedes A class but the very first time I pulled away in Blue the first thing that really struck me was just how smooth and easy to driver he is, much smoother and easier than all the rest I had tried.
To buy a brand new Ka would cost you from £6,775. The asking price for Blue who is just over 1 year old was £5,299 but I have a mind of my own and after a little straight no-nonsense talking with the salesman we struck up the deal of £4,800 and they would replace the cassette player with a nice cd player I saw in a similar car, I left the show room a happy woman.
The showroom was approximately thirty miles away from where I live so when we went to pick Blue up I asked the salesman if he
had enough petrol to get us home, he assured me there was a quarter of a tank but I was so excited when I started him up and drove away that I did not realise he had lied and half way up the duel carriageway I notice the needle was on the E and the warning light was on.
Luckily we did make it to the nearest station where I found it cost me exactly £27.90 to fill Blues tank to from empty to completely full, after I had driven 118 miles without using any heaters or such, the needle was still only on the half way mark, proving him to be very economical. I was very surprised to learn that when you use heaters and such in your car it actually uses a lot of petrol; I always thought they ran off the battery.
I have now had Blue just over a month and have driven him for miles without any problems what so ever, I couldn?t be more pleased with him. I would recommend the Ford Ka to anyone wanting an economical easy to drive small car.
The only real grumble I do have is the foot brake is a quite soft, I spoke to the service mechanic and he told me all Ka?s have soft brakes, he even showed me this brand new demo Ka?s and yes it was very much the same. They are not too bad but just seem a bit soft at first but once you depress a bit further they are quite sharp, I?ll just have to get used to them.
All I need to do now is pass my driving test so I can ditch the gooseberry that is my qualified driver so me, Blue and my little dog Jack can drive off into the sunrise on our very own little quest for fun and adventure.
Thanks for reading.
Kim.
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