Home News New Ka gets a full makeover

New Ka gets a full makeover

Thursday, 04 June 2009

Ford seems to be the only company doing reasonably well in what is a very bad year for new car sales. The ever-popular Focus continues to sell and the new Fiesta, which was named Irish Small Car of the Year last November, is also holding its own. Then there’s the Ford Ka, which shares the same platform as the award-winning Fiat 500. The Ka, which has been with us since 1996, badly needed an upgrade. Ford couldn’t afford to completely design a new small car, so the Ka is based on the same platform as the Fiat Panda and the Fiat 500 and all three are built in the same factory in Poland. The Ka, which is only available as a two-door, needed a revamp to get rid of that horrible looking rear end. I remember one reviewer compare the back of the old car to a big safety pin on a baby’s nappy. Harsh, but you could see where he was coming from. Thankfully most changes are at the back where Ford has made a huge improvement. The rear end now looks normal and is dominated by two huge red light clusters. Side-on the Ka looks a little bit like the Fiat 500, but really you wouldn’t confuse the two cars I know in these times of political correctness it’s probably not right to say that a car is made for a male or female. But I don’t think I will be taken to court if I say that the Ka is geared towards female drivers. The dash has a strong touch of cream which may or may not be to your liking. The controls on the dash are not up to the usual Ford standard. You get a jack for your iPod, but the radio controls are tiny and not really user friendly. To use the old adage you get what you pay for in what is a relatively cheap motor. There is a colourful design on the seats which does lift the décor and combined with that strong touch of cream on the dash the cabin certainly looks ‘different.’ I drove a black model, but the Ka is available in a range of ‘funky’ colours. The back seat could just about cater for two children. But you wouldn’t want to take them on a long journey as the back of the seat is very straight and it would prevent the children from relaxing. It would of course be ideal for dropping children to their weekend activities, such as ballet, music lessons, sports etc. Normally you find sensors for reversing in long cars, so it was unusual to find them in a small car like the Ka. But I’m not complaining; anything that helps prevents a dent when reversing is welcome. In such a small car it’s only natural that the boot would be small. But with such small wheels the good news is that you do get a full size spare wheel. And the very good news is that the new model is e800 cheaper than the previous one, with prices starting at e11,535 for the 1.2 petrol and going up to e15,125 for the 1.3 diesel. Road tax is only e104. The Fiat 500 is probably cuter looking, but long term we could find that more Irish people will opt for the Ford Ka.