FIRST DRIVE FORD KA:The original Ford Ka was revolutionary in its day, but today's version, courtesy of Fiat in many ways, is not in the same league says Paddy Comyn
IN THE motor industry, 12 years is a long time. When the Ford Ka first burst on to the scene in 1996, not only was there nothing like it at the time, but there wasn't even anything like it from Ford. The Escort was still on sale, and would continue for another couple of years until the Focus came to shake up the family car market.
The Ka was radical, hugely quirky and despite winning a cabinet-full of awards was initially, in some quarters, soundly rejected. It took a number of years before the car would really grow into itself. This was a car that genuinely was ahead of its time, and probably a little too radical for the palate of 1996.
Roll on to 2008 and the motoring industry is in about the same state as it was back when the first Ka appeared, although this time the smallest of Ford's is no longer just the brainchild of some forward-thinking boffins in Ford's German headquarters.
This time the new Ka has an altogether more Italian flavour to it. Collaborations within the car industry are sometimes to be feared. Through gritted teeth motoring executives speak about shared wealth of knowledge of putting some of Europe's finest motoring minds together, while in reality you know that one thinks the other has no taste, and few can agree about what makes a car really drive well.
Ford, at the launch of the new Ka told us that due to economy of scale, it figured that instead of building its own small car which would sell about 100,000 units, it would share ideas with another company with whom together they can build 300,000.
They figured that since Fiat had made such a fine job of the Panda, then they would approach them about sharing platforms and indeed a factory.
And that is the reason that the new Ford Ka can just about call itself a Ford. Sure, there is a Ford badge on the front and there is indeed a Ford design and Ford body panels but it sits on a Fiat platform, has Fiat engines, has lots of Fiat switchgear and is built alongside the Panda and 500 in a factory in Poland.
Don't for a second think that we are criticising it off-hand just for that reason. Fiat's 500 was last year's European Car of the Year, and the Panda has been one of the most successful city cars in Europe. It's just that we thought the new Ka, would be a little bit more Ford-like.
Having watched the new Ka zoom around the streets of Havana in the latest James Bond product-placement orgy, Quantum of Solace (or Quantum of Argos) there was plenty of buzz around the new model which doesn't look at all like a Fiat 500 aside from a similar side-on silhouette. While the 500 takes cute to diabetic coma levels of sweet, the Ka manages to do cute and cheeky without making its driver look like they work in PR and have an addiction to fake tan.
It is, as you would expect, available in a series of lurid colours, the type that you usually see reserved for emergency vehicles, but we fell in love with a pearl-white version sitting on 16 inch alloy wheels. The choice of engines are 69bhp 1.2-litre petrol or 75bhp 1.3-litre diesel. Both are Fiat engines and both are tried and tested, but neither would be what you call sparkling.
Climb aboard the cabin and it feels and looks airy, with even tall drivers such as me able to get reasonably comfortable if you don't intend taking more than some legless shopping in the rear seat. The gearbox is positioned on the centre console as in the Fiat 500, and should your wallet and taste get into an argument, you can personalise the interior with inserts to match the exterior colour.
We tried the petrol version first, on the island of Ibiza, chosen we presume for its reasonable weather, funky reputation and quiet roads. However, the choice might have been erroneous because its hilly twisty roads highlighted some of the things that we liked least about the new Ka. Yes, it is achingly cute to look at, but drive it and some things instantly become apparent.
First is the gearbox which is straight out of a Fiat, and I know this because it felt imprecise and flimsy, like changing gear with a drinking straw. Secondly the 1.2-litre petrol engine really didn't have the guts to manage the hills and certainly hadn't the torque to pilot two over-fed motoring hacks up steep inclines.
The steering felt fine but the handling was plain weird. Turn the wheel and at a certain point there was a rapid jerky change of direction that was neither smooth nor particularly reassuring. We really hoped that the Ka would be fun to drive, but it just wasn't. And this was the same when we got into the diesel version too, and a number of my colleagues reported the same thing.
The diesel wasn't that bad, with a better gearbox but it was noisier than the petrol, and while the increase in power and torque was welcome it certainly wouldn't be worth the €2,000 premium required for its limited services. Since both engines are Band A and both frugal there really isn't a point and that will be reflected in the 5-10 per cent uptake in it when it arrives in time for January sales.
That is not to say that the Ka won't do the job that it's asked to do perfectly well. It just depends on what you ask of it. Ask it to be a decent city runabout that will be easy to use, cheap to run, fun to look at and good value for money then it's up there at the top of the list.
With a starting price of €11,535 then at that price not only is it superb value, but because it's a Ford, then the residuals are likely to hold up quite well too. For this you get a reasonable level of specification which includes alloy wheels and front fog lights and driver and passenger airbags.
But if you want things like air conditioning and you are moving up in price, this is where things stop making sense. Add Titanium specification, if you want things like extra airbags and ESP, and if you want a diesel engine which will make motorway driving that bit more bearable and the price starts creeping up towards the price of an entry-level Fiesta.
And when you can get cars such as the Suzuki Swift from €13,495, then you need to shop with caution when shopping in this segment.
There is nothing especially wrong with the new Ford Ka. It looks really good, it's good value, economical and perfect for city driving. And we are not criticising it for being too like a Fiat, just not enough like a Ford. The new Ka will be on sale in time for January, with prices starting from €11,535 for the 1.2-litre petrol Style.
It is one of the best of this class of car, and the one to go for if a city car is your thing, but it's run close by cars such as the Hyundai i10 which might not have the style, but certainly have the substance.
Factfile Ford Ka
Ford Ka prices
Style 1.2 €11,535
Style 1.3 TDCi €13,320
Titanium 1.2 €13,325
Titanium 1.3 TDCi €15,125
Ford Ka 1.2-litre petrol
Engine:1242cc, four-cylinder petrol engine, 69bhp, 102Nm torque
Performance:0-100km/h 13.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 159km/h
Fuel economy:5.1 l/100km
CO2 emissions: 119g/km
Tax band:A €104 per annum
Ford Ka 1.3-litre diesel
Engine:1248cc, four-cylinder diesel engine, 75bhp, 145Nm torque
Performance:0-100km/h 13.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 161km/h
Fuel economy:4.2 l/100km
CO2 emissions:112g/km
Tax band: A €104 per annum