SummerKa

Ah, the joys of motoring in the summer. Windows down, stereo up a little, all rather carefree and happy.

If only!

All too often, you’re stuck in a city, enduring the grind, and you’re baking in a hot, humid car, really wanting to be free to roam to the countryside. Or to the beach!

That’s where the Ka’s air conditioning comes in handy. Sure, it does produce a lot of hot air, and I do keep my eye on it via KITS, however, I would struggle without that lovely little button marked “a/c.”

When considering the summer trips that we did back in 2002, yeah, the Ka was a fun little machine to take to Runswick Bay.

So why do I rate the Ka for the summer? Besides the small size, which is useful for nipping about in cities, and of course the air conditioning system, the Ka is about fun. And it usually doesn’t get much more fun than in the summer!

So here are some tips for your SummerKa experience.

Bugs – and you’re en route to a show

Bugs are a pain, especially when you’re going to a show and you’ve just spent an hour washing, waxing, and scrubbing the Ka. They just can’t get out of your way quick enough!

But there are ways to help reduce the effort involved in cleaning the Ka! The first is to try to avoid driving at dawn or dusk, because this is when most insects are on the prowl.

If you have to get up early to go to a meet, and if you’re determined to keep the Ka as clear of bugsplat as you can, keep the speed down. You’ll collect far more bugs driving at 60 rather than 40. But how can I drive at 40 all of the way to a meet?

Well, here’s the clever bit. You’ll get far more bugsplat in rural areas compared to motorways and dual carriageways – because insects would rather stay over greenery then tarmac. So, by all means, increase speed on the motorway – but you’ll catch far fewer bugs at 60 rather than 70. And if you think this will make a huge impact on your average speed, it might if you’re going to break the speed limits, but see here for further details.

Summer Rain

Rain in summer can be very bad news indeed. There are a few reasons for this. One is that, if it has not rained for several weeks (which, believe it or not, can actually happen in the UK!), the roads get very greasy, and it takes some time for the grease to be washed away.

It’s when the roads are greasy that they become very slippery – somewhat like driving on ice. And this can catch people out, leading to nasty accidents.

The other aspect a British summer is that the weather can be very changeable. Two minutes before this picture was taken – on the M1 – we were in the sun, heading south at 70 mph indicated. And then it starts to rain – getting very heavy, too!

We were at an indicated 45 mph, with the speed bleeding off, and the wipers at full tilt. Visibility is poor, and the road surface is starting to flood (note the tracks that the Focus has left) – which leads to the danger of aquaplaning.

Hot Leather

I love Kermit’s leather seats, steering wheel and gear lever. But, boy, do they get hot when left in direct sunlight!

A sneaky tip involves tea towels, which you leave on the steering wheel and the base of the seat!

One other point about leather is that it absorbs a lot of heat, and it takes a long time to release all of that seat – so it’s useful to work the air conditioning system hard if you get into the Ka at mid-day in the summer.

And if you wear shorts, don’t worry you won’t stick to the leather, you just might find it rather hot!