FORD KA 1.2 Style 3dr (2009)

New Ka Review - Good with a couple of silly problems

I knew the Ford Ka had a bad reputation, and I also know that the first version of any given car model tends to be rubbish, and they iron out the problems in the second version. So I bided my time (and spluttered along in my rubbish old Corsa) until the new Ka came out.

By that time I'd also saved enough for a brand spanking new car anyway, so I got the Ford Ka new, so that I could get the warranty and free servicing and breakdown cover and stuff. My partner and I give as good as we get with sales patter and we did a whole lot of shopping around in order to argue the price down.

I have to say I'm impressed so far. The fuel economy is maybe the best thing, mid 50s. Now that fuel prices have gone up even further, I'm almost thinking that we should have got the diesel version, which we also found on our shopping around and saw it got almost 70 mpg. That might be our next move if our Ford Ka holds up in terms of bodywork.

The only really silly thing in the car happened last winter, when it got really cold, and the windscreen washer completely froze over. We had antifreeze in the water mix itself, but the bit where the water comes out was frozen completely. You'd think that would be the kind of thing car makers had worked out how to prevent these days.

It drives really nicely, so simple and reliable on the roads, and the stereo system is amazing given that it's supposed to be a fairly cheap car. It feels very safe generally, in terms of sticking to the road, and usually doesn't seem bothered by different surfaces. It can get a bit grumpy when it's full of people though, and usually needs a gear change at the sight of a hill. It's a balance though between fuel usage and power, and I'm happy with how that's worked out with the Ford Ka. No complaints really. Give it a few years and I'll know whether Ford have managed to really iron out the problems.