USED Ford Ka Hatchback (96 - 09)

My car

This is a fantastic little car, very fun to drive and very easy on the wallet.

It is a car that is comfortable travelling anywhere, motorways, cities and the countryside, although I find the ride very hard in cities at low speeds.

In the cabin the car is very cramped, I am 6ft 2 and my head touches the roof in the front and the back of the car, I find the legroom in the front and back acceptable though.

The car does about 45mpg on average and travelling on the motorway at about 65mph it somtimes tops 50mpg!!!

The equipment is the only thing that lets the car down, I bought it new and I had to pay extra for passenger airbag and cd player - things that I expect to be standard on cars now.

I would buy this car again, and recommend it to anyone who wants a cheap and affordable car to buy and run, and also a fun and exciting car to drive.

My car

This car was my wife's choice and she drives it mostly. She picked the SE spec and so the car was fitted with a leather interior, air-con, electric windows, mirrors etc.

She chose Imperial blue which goes very well with the interior.

Overall we have been delighted with the little car. It looks far better than the standard car and drives great, in fact it seems to drive very similar her old Ford Puma 1.7 which we miss very much.

Our main family car is a Mondeo so this was intended as a second run around, however its so good the Mondeo has bearly moved recently.

Unable to fault it except the fuel consumption seems a little high, but with only 1500 miles on the it still has to be broken in. Overall its a great fun little car, totally recommended.

My car

The Ka is nippy and very easy to drive. It performs OK on the motorway. In town you do need air-conditioning to get through the summer traffic.

My previous car was a Micra 1.0, which was faster but had quite a heavy clutch.

The dealer managed to break the glovebox during the first service. Then, during the second service, they cracked the windscreen and fitted the wrong-size wiper blades.

I rate the service department as dreadful. I am selling the Ka before the next service and will never buy another Ford.

My car

Bought this car more than three years ago because I liked the funky internal styling.

I did my research and it looked quite economical on paper plus a low insurance group too.

That's just how its proved. I did 55,000 miles in more than three years, from long journeys, to touring, to medium range, to lots of runarounds. I always found it very comfortable, and me and the dog shared it really well.

Less mobile passengers find the back a little difficult to get out of, though. The only problem I've had is excessive tyre wear, despite balancing etc. I check pressures and set them as recommended before most long journeys but have been through two sets of fronts and one set of backs in three years.

Apart from this, it's been fine. The only reason I am considering changing it is the three or four children I regularly take out are now strapping teenagers and I can't get them, their day packs and the dog in comfortably any more.

One little niggle - the external Collection trim on the door jams wears away in the wind and after violent flapping eventually breaks off. However, since it's cosmetic, it's not important.

It has great fuel economy, nice styling, is easy to park, and I've never found it uncomfortable whatever the mileage. It's cheapish to service, and easy to get spares for.

It is one I'd definately go back to, if and when the kids stop wanting to go out all together. It's been real fun - hence the mileage.