When I first skimmed through the spec sheet of our new Ford Ka+ at the start of its time with us, one question was uppermost in my mind: “Is this car really going to be up to the cut and thrust of daily British motoring?”.
After all, it was equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre engine that emits a modest 83bhp – and our car was the more powerful of the two outputs on offer.
What I have since learnt is not to judge a book by its cover. Almost immediately, the Ka+ destroyed the idea that it wouldn’t be up to the task of dealing with my daily commute, shopping trips and frequent visits to friends and relatives.
I’ll come to the (very few) negatives in a moment, but for now let’s look at all of the ways the Ka+ impressed me. For starters, its interior uses numerous bits from the Ford Fiesta’s parts bin, so it’s logically laid out and well assembled. A tall roof line means there is space aplenty inside, too.
Ford claims that adults won’t feel cramped in the back because there is ample rear leg room and enough space to easily fit three across the rear bench. However, when I carried a trio of passengers in the back, they described the experience as snug. Nevertheless, two adults were able travel long distances in the back in comfort; a 200-mile round trip with four adults on board left none of us suffering from any aches or pains at the end of the journey.
The coup de grace is the Ka+’s chassis. This little car rides really well when you potter around town but it’s also good when you want to drive in a more spirited fashion, thanks to weighty steering and its keen turn-in.
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Economy 39.7mpg
Paying extra for the ecoboost engine would save a great deal of money in the long run, and, got you their quicker. Better still get something less dull!
Great little car
I've had one of these (in the free colour - Yellow!) in zetec form. I've had it since March '17 and other than a cable to open the filler cap becoming detached after a week and being unable to put fuel in it (repaired within 24 hours by dealer), it is a surprisingly comfortable (seats are VERY comfortable) and fun little ting to drive. I've done just over 2,000 miles now, and fuel economy is around 45mpg for driving around country roads, and 50+ on a motorway run. It cost me £10,795 with some add on parking sensors (didn't go for the extra pack which added some other bits like electric rear windows and folding mirrors) which the dealer did themselves. It has bluetooth so you can play music from your phone and go hands free - marvellous. Just been away for a long weekend and covered around 200 miles with luggage and family, and it has been a pleasure to drive, is easy to park and turns on a sixpence. I've never owned a Ford before (previous car was a 2008 Mini Cooper, and bits were going wrong with it and getting expensive to repair), so took the risk with the Ka+, and can say I'm pleasantly surprised at the handling. It obviously doesn't have the same acceleration as the Mini,and needs a good chage-down and revving to get up some hills, but you can throw it into corners and the grip is tremendous - If you want a cheap £10k new car, you can't go wrong, and the looks grow on you - honest! NCAP levels are only 3 stars, but that's because it doesn't have lane departure, autonomous braking etc. - these days it seems manufacturers have run out of things to improve so to want to absolve drivers of any form of driver responsibility. Also in bright yellow, that's a safety feature in itself ;-) I hope they bring out an ST version....I'll be all over it.
Why must the headlamps have