Living With The Ka

An objective review of the standard baby blue oval, with notes following modification in red italics.

Dynamics

The Ka isn’t quick in a straight line.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that with the standard humble Endura-E generating 60 PS and 105 Nm, it was never going to be quick. However, this output reaches the road through a close ratio gearbox. So whilst it isn’t especially quick, it does have quick responses.

We’ve made limited improvements to Kermit’s linear performance. The main difference is we have applied the Bluefin device to Kermit, which has improved power and torque. Although this has helped overall acceleration, the greatest difference is the improved flexibility of the engine. We can hold on to a taller gear for longer.

We also tinkered with the Ecotek valve, which as it turns out is reputed to improve acceleration too.

The suspension and chassis set up is especially impressive. It feels very nimble - it darts into a corner with very little take-up of any slack from either the steering or the suspension. Once you’re in the corner, there is plenty of grip, despite the relatively skinny 165-width tyres. Press on harder and you do get more body roll, which eventually leads to understeer. Suddenly lift off the accelerator, and you can even get the tail to hang out a little, but under rather extreme circumstances. In the dry, you need a slight pressure on the brakes to incite this behaviour. It’s all very composed, and the Ka doesn’t snap back at you like a Peugeot 205 does.

Most of Kermit’s modification has been to the handling and ride respect. We’ve fitted the Ford Racing Suspension, which stiffens and lowers the Ka. We’ve also added a front strut brace and finally, we’ve replaced the standard 14” 5J Ford alloys with XR2i 13” 5½J rims. These wheels also have a lower offset so the Ka has a wider front and rear track, which improves stability. The overall improvement is less body roll, improved stability and a comparable ride.

Overall, in the handling and ride respect, the Ka is as competent as a hot hatch from just a few years before its’ genesis.

However, these quick responses are not at the expense of ride quality: the Ka is surprisingly composed on a motorway, and reasonably smooth on a bumpy country lane.

The brakes are arguably a weakness. They’re very adjustable in use, and stop the Ka well enough, but there is a certain amount of dead play on the pedal – you have to move the pedal some way before you can feel the anchors. Because of this, they do not feel as responsive as the steering wheel or accelerator pedal. Still, ABS is there if you need it, and plenty of airbags if you still manage to stuff it.

There’s nothing that we wish to improve about the brakes. They work just peachy.

Ergonomics

Ford got the key ergonomics right for their small cars around thirteen years ago, with the introduction of the Mark Three Fiesta. The Ka benefits from a similar stalk layout to this Fiesta, which mounts the indicators and light controls on one stalk, and all wiper functions on another. The stereo features large buttons, which makes it much easier to use than traditional units, together with the switch for the heated front windscreen. Under this you’ll find the three rotary controls for the heating and ventilation system. Finally, under these dials, you’ll find the switches for the air conditioning, heated rear windscreen, rear fog lamp and air re-circulation.

Some of the minor controls are difficult to reach, but in fairness, they’re easy to find without taking your eyes off the road. One could also argue that it is not often that you need to use these switches, whereas you are more likely to want to change the stereo settings.

The dashboard is very simple but effective, showing just speed and fuel, plus the usual series of warning lamps. I was initially disappointed at the lack of a coolant temperature gauge, however after use, I don’t really miss it: I just have to remember to be gentle on the Ka during the warm up period.

We’ve added a GPS satellite navigation system and the OBD-II Scanner, but both of these are via a personal digital assistant and are temporary installations.

Interior Space

The front seats are comfortable, with plenty of head and leg room. All modern Kas come with a driver seat height adjustment.

The Ka has four seats, but most people would consider it a 2 + 2 than a proper four seater. The curved roof steals headroom from the back, although rear leg room is on a par with the mark four Fiesta. Overall, it is not especially spacious for the class, where cars such as the Daewoo Matiz and Fiat Siecento have more interior room. This said, it is usable enough such that four people (the smaller ones in the back!) can go away for a weekend providing they’re prepared to travel reasonably light.

Luggage space is reasonable, given the small size of the Ka, and superior to that of the Siecento, for example. You can adjust the angle of the rear seats and tilt them forward, but you cannot move the seat base (thus you are unable to get a flat loading bay area).

Visibility

Generally good, but then it is difficult to produce a small car with poor visibility! However, the Ka does have quite thick pillars, especially the Cs, which can hinder your three quarters view, especially when joining a main road at just the wrong angle. The A pillars are also reasonably chunky, but this is less of a problem because you can easily move your head!

The windscreen wipers and washers all work well, but then you’d expect this from a Ford!

The headlights’ dipped beam does initially feel rather low and quite dim. This is a feature of all of Ford’s “Edge” styled vehicles to date. The Ka and the Puma have rather disappointing dipped beam lights, but are certainly up to scratch on main beam.

A brownie point goes to the car for the heated front windscreen, which is excellent for clearing frost, ice and condensation, and air conditioning – which means you can keep all glass free from condensation.

Running Costs

No manufacturer these days is going to design and sell a small car without some purport to making it cheap to run. Small cars are the most popular new car purchase for the private motorist, and we won’t know the true impact on the 2002 Company Car Taxation Law changes for some time now (which may well skew more people towards running a small car as a company vehicle).

You can read more about why small cars are cheap to run from new here, but suffice to say it all boils down to depreciation.

In this respect, the Ka has traditionally done very well – especially for a Ford. Quite what the impact of heavy discounting from around 2001 onwards, and the introduction of the 2003 Ka, will do remains to be seen – but it probably won’t be all that negative, since the Ka hasn’t really changed all that much since introduction in 1996 (note to all Ka fans, yes I know there have been a great many detail changes, but all Endura-E equipped Kas drive in a very similar manner). Other small cars lose less value, such as the Lupo, but the price from new is higher.

Depreciation figures vary, with What Car? Quoting that a Ka will be worth 40% of it’s list price after three years and 36,000 miles. So for an £8,000 Ka, you’ll lose £4,800 in value. The equivalent specification Lupo costs around £10,000, and although it’s worth 50% after the same period, you’re actually losing more! Oh, yeah, and you have to drive the Lupo too.

Against this backdrop, the low insurance group (most Ka models sit in group 2E) helps, but doesn’t make much difference to the over-21s.

Fuel consumption is not as good as the competition. The quoted Euromix figure for most Endura-E equipped Ka models is 42·2 mpg (those with 13” wheels) but 41·5 (for those with 14” wheels, such as Kermit) and you’ll do much better elsewhere – the newer 1·3 Duratec powered Kas have a higher combined cycle fuel consumption result thanks to using taller gearing. But readers should note that comparable fuel consumption figures are very close between the two engines!

Over sixty thousand miles, Kermit’s long term average has remained under 40 mpg, but I should explain that a lot of city running dented consumption. Following my new commute, fuel consumption dramatically improved. Then we added cruise control and with the ability to maintain a steady economical pace, hey Kermit’s capable of returning close to 50 mpg.

Service charges are competitive, thanks to the huge Ford dealership network and a car that has been designed to be easy to fix. Sharing bits with the mark four Fiesta also helps keep the running costs down.