Ford Ka 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 4

John on the Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi – part 4

In terms of parking and manoeuvrability, it’s hard to fault the KA. Despite having plenty of headroom and a decent amount of shoulder room in the front, it is a dinky little car. When you turn round to reverse you feel like you can almost touch the back window, and where the window is is where the car ends, so reversing in to tight spots in car parks is a breeze.

But those compact dimensions – belied by the space in the front – manifest themselves in the back. I don’t think the new KA has any more back seat legroom than the old KA had. I have the seat all the way back, and there was just 3″ from the back of the driver’s seat to the front of the back seat squab. But if you want a small family car you’d buy the Fiesta, so the back seats of the KA will probably only be used occasionally or by children – so it’s not a big issue.

So in terms of a city car used to transport one or two people around town on mostly short journeys the Ford Ka is very much up to the job. Economical to run (we averaged 58mpg), easy to park and very zippy and manoeuvrable, it ticks a lot of boxes on the wish list for buyers of this type of car. But…

I tried really hard to like the Ford KA, but I ended up feeling it was a Curate’s Egg of a car. Good in parts but let down by the compromises forced on it by its Fiat 500 underpinnings. It’s lost the retro-cool of the Fiat and replaced it with something competent but ultimately disappointing. But as a Ford it will sell well, particularly in the UK, to anyone wanting an able, decent-looking (just don’t look at the sides) and economical city car. Ford has been pragmatic with the new Ford KA, and built a car that will compete, but hasn’t cost them a fortune to develop. Will it harm Ford’s hard-won reputation for good-driving cars? No, it’s far from that bad, and by any measure it’s very competent – just not up to Ford’s normal high standards.

But it’s a little sad to think what Ford engineers could have done with a proper budget and the brief to build a mini-Fiesta, instead of having to engineer a Ford KA from a Fiat 500.

Not quite Liza Minelli, but better than Julian Lennon.

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Go directly to section:

1. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive
2. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 2
3. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 3
4. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 4
5. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 5 – Claire’s drive
6. Ford KA 1.3 Zetec TDCi: On the Drive – part 6 – conclusion and quick tech specs

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