Faults:

HT leads and spark plugs needed replacing at 15,000 miles, then again at 24,000 miles. Apart from that, just general wear and tear.

General Comments:

The Ford Ka is a superb small car. It is cheap to run, fun to drive and reliable. From a male perspective, morons tend to judge this as a girls car or a hairdressers car. The Ford Ka may be under powered with only 70 BHP but the steering and ride quality are both excellent. I admit that sometimes you will wish you had an extra 70 BHP when it comes to things like hills, but all in all the power isn't bad for the size of the car.

The steering is very direct and responsive meaning that when the car is driven enthusiastically it is great fun. For a young drive like myself this car teaches you how to drive quickly yet smoothly. The lack of power in turn makes you optimize corner speed and corner exit. On roads such as the Fosse Way (B4114) the car can travel along at 70-80 MPH with ease and really become fun in the faster corners. EVO magazine has praised the Ford Ka on its good chassis dynamics and that says a lot for the car, seeing as EVO magazine test drive cars from Impreza Turbo's to Porsche Gt2's.

In regards to driving the car on a day to day basis, the car is easy to park and very easy to drive. My back sometimes suffer on long journeys regarding the size of the car (I'm 6'3). The size of the boot isn't huge but the car is big enough to transport all my stuff to University between terms.

Parts for the car tend to be quite cheap and because it is a Ford, all garages know how to fix them. One bit of advice I would give is, make sure you have the best quality tyres you can afford on the car, they really make a difference.

All in all, a very good car which is fun to drive, cheap to run and reliable.

Faults:

Power steering hose damaged, due to being too close to hot engine manifold.

Steering rack requires replacing @ 55,000 miles.

General Comments:

A very practical little car, offering good mileage consumption (average 40 mpg), and a responsive engine.

Ideal for nipping in and out of traffic, and easy to park in small spaces.

Seats are firm, and maybe regarded as uncomfortable on a long journey!

Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

Not for everyone I guess, but has never let me down. Does exactly what it says on the tin!

I've had this car for coming up on 4 years now and it has done just over 40,000 miles. I have not had any problems with it yet...

I have just had the brakes replaced which is the first major outlay I've had on it as eveything else was covered by warranty.

When I took it back to the dealer for it's 3 year service they told me the suspension needed a lot of work which they then failed to carry out properly. I took it to another garage who told me the car didn't even need this work done to it. I have had more problems with the car dealer than with the car.

This car may be cheap and cherrful and quite often people laugh when you tell them what type of car you have but it does everything I need it to. It is safe and reliable, nippy and easy to drive. It's cheap to run and to look after and believe it or not you can actually squezze quite a lot of stuff in there! I'm sure it's not that great for tall people or as a family car but since I'm small and don't often have many passengers it suits fine. Having read the other comments I just wanted to leave this to prove that there are some happy Ka owners. I will buy one again next time around, I am very happy with my Ka!