The Fiat 500 scored a maximum five star rating for adult occupant protection in official European crash tests, however the Ka was only awarded four stars. Unlike the Fiat (which comes with seven airbags as standard) the Ford only has driver and passenger front airbags as standard fit – pelvis and thorax side airbags, along with curtain airbags, are optional.

So Ford Ka safety levels aren’t as as good as rivals. ESP stability control is also an option on all models but all cars (except Studio) get Isofix mounting points.

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.