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DESPITE ITS NAME, Ford’s new Ka+ is not a replacement for the old Ka. In fact, this entry-level hatch is more closely related to its bigger sibling the Fiesta.
Even though the Ka+ is the smallest car in the Ford family, it certainly doesn’t lack in space. There is plenty of leg and head room up front and – to my surprise – in the back too. It has a whole load of useful storage areas including a decent-sized glove box, pockets in the back of the seats, four cup holders and a dock for storing, mounting and charging phones.
The boot is a really good size for a city car and can hold 270 litres with the seats up or 849 litres with the 60/40 rear seats folded. (As a comparison, the Renault Twingo can hold 219-980 litres and the Skoda Citigo can hold 251-951 litres.) However, there is no external mechanism to open the boot and it can only be opened by pressing a button on the central console or the key fob. I found this a little impractical.
Styling wise, the exterior is a tad bland and unlike many of its competitors there are very few personalisation options. That’s not to say it is a bad-looking car. It’s not (and looks are subjective).
Inside things do get better. The dash and centre console are similar to that of the Fiesta and feel well built – however, there is a lot of hard scratchy plastic around making the cabin a little ‘budget’. But at least it’s durable and easy to keep clean, which is great if you have child passengers.
The test car was powered by an 85hp 1.2-litre Ti-VTC petrol engine (which is derived from the same family as the 1.25-litre unit in the Fiesta). A five-speed manual is the only transmission on offer.
Once behind the wheel, the ride is composed. The Ka+ has decent road manners and absorbs bumps with little fuss. The steering is good. It is accurate and unlike some small cars it feels well weighted, if lacking in a bit of feedback. The five-speed transmission is slick and moves through the gears smoothly and overall the Ka+ feels agile and easy to manoeuvre.
This is despite the fact that when cornering, it didn’t feel very surefooted and there is a bit of body roll.
The engine is quiet and smooth but it lacks any real urgency. I found myself dropping down a few gears to get the speed up on inclines and on the motorway – however, around the streets of London it felt more than adequate. The ride is quite refined and the cabin well insulated from engine, wind and tyre noise.
The Ka+ is available in two trim levels, Studio and Zetec. The entry-level Studio model is powered by the 70hp 1.2-litre petrol engine and is priced from €13,050.
For the Zetec model, powered by the 85hp 1.2-litre petrol engine and priced from €14,650, you get 15-inch alloys, manual air-con, Ford DAB radio with 4.2-inch screen, SYNC and Emergency Assistance, a leather steering wheel and cruise control.
There’s also MyKey, which allows owners to program keys with restricted vehicle modes including limiting vehicle top speeds and decreasing audio volume – handy if you have novice drivers using the car.
Both engines have CO2 emissions of 114g/km placing them in tax Band A4 (€200). The more powerful 85hp engine would be my pick of the two especially if you do a lot of motorway driving.
Overall, I think the unimaginative styling of the Ka+ can be overlooked as the ride quality, handling and comfort are very good for a car this size, so too is the space on offer, especially for rear passengers.
Is this the right car for you?
If you are looking for a practical and spacious city car that drives better than it looks then the Ford Ka+ should be on your consideration list.
However, if you want something with a little more style and fun factor then check out the Skoda Citigo, which costs from €11,375 for the entry-level five-door model or €13,656 for the more comparable Ambition model powered by a 75hp 1.0-litre engine.
Looking for something cheaper? The Dacia Sandero is priced from €10,190 for the 75hp 1.2-litre Alternative model – but it doesn’t drive as well as the Ka+ and doesn’t feel as well built.
Well we can all sleep peacefully now that that’s sorted.
Not the best comparison really considering he retorted with a figure for the domestic market rather than all operated markets combined.
The greed of the music companies is line one endless stream. The artists complaints are a joke. Plays on Spotify are like having your ads paid for
Streams on Spotify are a pittance and a poor source of income for musicians. More power to her if she wants to remove her music from Spotify. She clearly doesn’t need it as she’s by far the best selling artist this year.
Taylor Swift and her record company are just in it for the prestige of record breaking sales and the history books, not people who listen to the music. Nowhere is questioned what is better for the consumer (or fans as they used to be known)?
Spotify has obviously not cannibalised the album buying public, as her album has one of the highest number of record sales, which is in addition to any income from streaming and video services.. Spotify replaces the radio, not albums sales, and it gives people to opportunity to spend a small amount to listen (not own) music for a low cost. But not low enough that If all you wanted to listen to was taylor swift, then you could buy her back catalogue for less than a few months of spotify.
What the record company don’t get is that the spotify income, small as it is compared to if everyone who listened to a track bought the album instead, is a top up from people who would just download it from a torrent, or listen to it on the radio. It is never about being paid for their work, as she has the highest income per effort in the world, but instead just making sure parents pay what a record company exec told her each fan was worth.
She is probably the most popular pop artist out there at the moment and she would only make €400k/year on Spotify? Most artists must only be making pennies on it
I like her songs.
don’t know why. but her and her songs really annoy me, even more than Cheryl cole
Oooooh no, she only earned €398,000 in the last 12 months. Boo focking Hoo.
Taylor Swift and music in the same sentence . . . ? Jaysus.
Nope.
Maybe?
Depends!
On?
have your say