Ford Ka (09 on) - Review

The Ka's main strength is its superbly supple ride which does an excellent job of dealing with uneven or rough roads surfaces and makes for a very refined ride - especially on the motorway. Engine and road noise aren't too intrusive and the Ka feels more suited to long distance cruising than the original car. That said, the seats lack support, although they are comfortable nonetheless. The steering wheel doesn't adjust for reach and the seat could do with being placed slightly lower, but the driving position is still good and this doesn't detract from comfort levels.

It may look larger, but the Ka is actually the same length as the original model and at around 3.5 metres it's very easy to slot into tight parallel parking spaces. The reason it appears bigger is a higher roofline which helps improve rear passenger space. Like the previous Ka, legroom is still tight, but head space is far better and it feels less claustrophobic than many small three-door cars. The boot is 20 per cent larger than before and with 224 litres of luggage capacity with the rear seats in place, it's similar in size to the Vauxhall Agila. In the front there's decent stowage with a shallow cupholder in front of the handbrake, a useful slot for iPods or mobile phones, an impressively large glovebox plus door pockets which are the ideal shape and size for CD wallets.

Unlike the original Ka, there are no painted metals on show, instead the interior has the feel of a far more grown up car. There's little surprise that there is much in common with the Fiat 500 of course, with the same column stalks and some familiar switches, but it has its own modern style with a neat central console layout and funky circular air vents. The three-spoke steering wheel has a sporty feel and the neat backlit dials are easy to read while there's a wide choice of interior colours and trims to brighten things up. The only letdown is the rather cheap-looking stereo.