| First Drive | Ibiza, Spain | Ford Ka |
Ford's PR machine is making the most of the second generation Ka's appearance in the new James Bond film, and despite ostensibly being a quite cynical forcing together of coincidentally timed new releases, it's actually an apt pairing. There has of course been a raft of Bond films, but as current leading man Daniel Craig's sophomore performance,
Quantum of Solace is arguably a sequel. The previous bond film,
Casino Royale, represented a seismic shift for the franchise under Craig's new stewardship of the starring role.
The new Ka is a true sequel - the bigger, bolder, Hollywood-esque follow-up to the iconic,
hugely successful original, with a sizeable budget and the increased weight of expectation that accompanies all second instalments. It really has been a long time coming too - the Ka hit showrooms a dozen years ago. So has it surpassed the original? Has Ford given us a Godfather Part II moment and made us an offer we can't refuse, or is it more like Jaws 2 - about to sink without trace?
In the Metal
It looks a lot bigger, but in fact the new Ka is exactly the same length as the outgoing version (3.62 metres) and ten centimetres higher. Its chunky styling makes it appear almost a class up, and from the front in particular it suffers from the same scourge as many cars whose makers employ a specific design language; Ford's 'kinetic design' has made the Ka look like a shrunken
Fiesta. There are flashes of the old Ka - especially in the sloping roofline, the angle of the rear hatch and the short rear overhang - but other than that it's a generic Ford. Even worse, it's arguably a generic small hatch.
However, it's certainly handsome, if a little high sided, but all the personality Ford somehow imbued the original Ka with is missing. Compare that to the quirky flair of the car it shares its underpinnings with (
the Fiat 500) and the Ka is a visceral disappointment. And that's a problem in a car like the Ka - you can almost feel the 'back to its roots' advertising campaign brewing for the Ka 3 already. Ford has tried to inject some uniqueness into the mix by offering 'personalisation' options like themed exterior graphics, but it almost seems like an afterthought.
Inside it's a similar story. The Ka is impressively efficient in its use of space and packaging, squeezing plenty of leg and headroom from the small cabin. Nonetheless, the rear will be a struggle for full-sized adults, but it genuinely feels like a bigger car inside - Ford calls it a 'sub-B segment' car. The boot's 20 percent bigger than the old car (244 litres) and there are a load of decent-sized cubbyholes - the glovebox, for one, is surprisingly big. The dashboard is a bit of a random mess of shapes and buttons, though, and if you go for a base model it's actually a bit bland - nice, and very well put together, but lacking personality.
What you get for your Money
Ford has kept the pricing strategy fairly simple, offering four trim levels (well, three and a half, really). Base model 'studio' cars start at £7,995 and don't get too much kit - you'll have to wind the windows down, which tells you everything you need to know. All versions get at least two airbags and ABS though, so Ford expects a respectable four star Euro NCAP rating. Mid-level Style and Style + models get electric windows, remote central locking, heated mirrors, and the latter adds air conditioning. For £9,495 you'll reach the upper echelons, with the top of the range Zetec variant adding alloys, front fogs and a body kit. This is the only way to get into a diesel version too, which adds an extra £700. All cars get a CD player.
Then there are the customisation options, basically split into three themes: Tattoo, Grand Prix and Digital Art. The first is, according to Ford, where the whole personalisation idea stemmed from (funny - I was sure MINI had started it), so it's ironic that it's the least convincing, adding a few tribal graphics inside and out and not much colour. The remaining pair are much bolder, both genuinely lifting the car's ambience inside and out. They start from around £300, and sit alongside more conventional options like leather seats and Bluetooth to form a quite comprehensive, and pricey, list.
Driving it
It's a new Ford, so it's good. Very good, in fact. Blue Oval engineers have quite comprehensively overhauled the Fiat 500's basic setup. For a start, they've added an anti-roll bar at the back to prevent spongy wallowing around corners, but at the same time they've softened the springs by 30% and adjusted the dampers to suit. The logic is that the ride improves, but so does the handling because the car feels more planted - and on the road it's a success: sharper than a 500 and nearly as refined as the new Fiesta.
Ford is making much of the new Ka's 'go-kart' handling, which is wishful thinking really, but that's not to say it's at all bad. The electric assisted steering has been given a proper overhaul, both in the physical geometry and via the software, and while it feels over-light at low speeds, on the move it's pointy like a good little car's steering should be. In general, like the Fiesta (whose engineering team helped develop the Ka's tyres) the Ka feels bigger than it is: comfortable yet sharp, composed yet chuckable. The problem is, in being that way it's lost much of the feisty small-car charm of the outgoing Ka.
We drove the 74bhp 1.3-litre TDCi diesel first, an engine Ford expects will account for only four percent of sales. It's quiet at low revs but gruff further up, and because it's clearly been tuned for economy and low emissions (at 67.3mpg and 112g/km), it lacks the forceful lump of low end torque so satisfying about modern diesels. It's linear, but it feels slow. The 68bhp 1.2-litre petrol fares much better, and with economy in the mid 50s it's little wonder that Ford doesn't expect to shift many derv Kas - most low mileage city cars simply won't claw back the extra initial outlay and fuel cost of a diesel. The eight valve petrol motor isn't particularly striking, but it is of course naturally more revvy and therefore more in keeping with the nature of the car. The petrol Ka is notably lighter at the nose too giving it a slightly more pointy nature, thought it seems to lose a little front end grip at the limits.
Worth Noting
Ford took us to Ibiza to drive the Ka because it fits with its 'youthful, cheeky' spirit - to use Ford's adjectives - but as it turns out we probably should have been in Blackpool - because the average age of the 1.5 million who bought a Mk1 Ka is 'about 50'. That revelation came during the launch press conference when a Ford boss was caught off guard with the question after spending some time championing the Ka's 'young person's car' status. Whether this one is quite edgy enough to genuinely appeal to a younger audience is debatable, but time will tell. It's interesting, though, that Ford expects the percentage split between take up for lower, middle and top end models to be around 20/30/50, meaning the majority will leave the forecourts for around £10,000 - hardly a young person's price tag.
Summary
In many ways it's a shame that the new Ka is the new Ka. On its own merit it's a very good car - fun to drive, good-looking, well packaged, comfortable, reasonably priced and safe. But it's absolutely lacking the charm, edginess and soul that made the original such a hit - much like many a cash-in Hollywood sequel. It's far from a straight-to-video flop, and there's no doubt it will be popular, but an icon? Nope. It has more in common with the new Fiesta than it does the old Ka. The real yardstick will be how many you see with the names of estate agents and bars plastered all over them... I bet there won't be many.
