Cute and chunky Ka big news in a small car world

Ford has recently transformed its small city model, the Ka, which now looks different, drives better and has more features than before. There was a certain image attached to the old Ka and Ford aims to change that with this new model, which is certainly more attractive to look at. The Ka is compact and affordable. There are now two engine options, either a 1.2 litre petrol engine or a bigger 1.3 litre diesel unit. Both engines deliver a low CO2 rating, which indicates to me that the petrol-powered Ka, which is the lower priced of the two, will be the popular choice. This latter model is the car I had on the road recently in the higher specification Titanium style. It"s a two-door hatchback with adequate space, reasonable comfort and a good driving style. The new Ka traces some of its origins to the Fiat 500, another iconic car in a sense. Ford uses the same chassis and some other mechanical features wrapped up in a different body style that is uniquely Ford. The latest Ka feels that bit bigger, even though there"s not a lot more room for rear passengers. The 1.2 litre petrol engine delivers 67bhp, which is the same engine performance from the Fiat 500. The slightly bigger and heavier Ka comes with a top speed of 159km/h and achieves a 0 to 100km/h rating of 13.1 seconds. While the petrol engine revs well and has a sporty feel, when it comes to acceleration performance, it"s not in the Formula 1 league. But it"s faster off the blocks than the new Ford Fiesta, with its slightly bigger 1.25 litre petrol engine. It is also a lot more economical. The 1.2 litre engine replaces a 1.3 litre version to give a 27 per cent improvement in fuel economy. That converts to an economy jump from 6.6 litres/100km to 5.1 litres/100km (43mpg to 55mpg) - pretty impressive. What makes that change doubly impressive is that the new Ka is faster than the old one and has a lower CO2 rating. The CO2 rating drops from 156g/km to 119g/km, which is part of the move to make this car driving more economical. This lower CO2 rating brings the new Ka into the lowest CO2 band, meaning an annual car tax rating of just €104. Add to this the extra economy and you"d have to say the 2009 Ka has a whole lot going for it. The other bonus for pending Ka drivers is the car"s cost. Ford has shaved about €800 off the price of the new Ka compared with the older one. The entry price is now €11,535, before delivery charges, which makes it a real competitor for first car drivers. The Ka starting price is keener than that of the Fiat 500 but there are other competitors lying in the long grass. Renault"s new Twingo is one of them. Its more powerful 1.2 litre engine delivers more pace, but at the price of higher CO2 ratings - even if the starting price is better than that of the Ka. Toyota"s new iQ will be another competitor. Its 1.0 litre engine is slower than the 1.2 litre Ka, buts it"s more economical, while also being more expensive. Ford offers an optional Bluetooth system in the Ka to allow the combination of a mobile phone with the car"s radio system. This was a feature of the test car, and while it was easy to set up, in practice, its operation was less than consistently satisfactory. In a style sense, the Ka looks well inside and out. The gear lever is mounted high in the central dashboard area where the dash styling is very impressive. The driver"s seating position is relatively high. That aids road visibility even though it might not give a sporty feel to the car. The Ka"s front seating is easily adjusted. The rear passengers, however, will crave short journeys - 'Are we there yet?' - as they dream of stretching their legs. The rear seats fold as a single unit on the basic models or split folding on the Titanium versions, to give more loading space. The boot space is adequate for such a small car and Irish Ka drivers get a space-saver spare wheel. The combined offer of Ka pricing and running costs means that this is a top-end contender in the small/city car market. Value comes in many guises and, in the case of the Ka, it blends style with low running costs and entry price.