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Ford KA?

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bestpud
bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
We currently have a very expensive to run Mondeo and want to get a smaller car - cheaper tax, insurance and running costs.

Most of the time there is just me and dd age 5 in the car at one time so we think a KA will be ok for us. We do between 13000 and 15000 a year but it is less than 10 mile trips at a time usually (ie no long runs) and country rather than town driving.

We want to spend a max of £3500 and want to get as new as possible for that - basic model as less to go wrong! We will only get a Ford and if not a KA, it will be a fiesta.

Does anyone have a KA and if so, how do you find it to drive and how economical is it? I know they only have four seats but what size is the boot in comparison with a fiesta or other similar sized cars?

Tia
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Comments

  • bestpud wrote: »
    We currently have a very expensive to run Mondeo and want to get a smaller car - cheaper tax, insurance and running costs.

    Most of the time there is just me and dd age 5 in the car at one time so we think a KA will be ok for us. We do between 13000 and 15000 a year but it is less than 10 mile trips at a time usually (ie no long runs) and country rather than town driving.

    We want to spend a max of £3500 and want to get as new as possible for that - basic model as less to go wrong! We will only get a Ford and if not a KA, it will be a fiesta.

    Does anyone have a KA and if so, how do you find it to drive and how economical is it? I know they only have four seats but what size is the boot in comparison with a fiesta or other similar sized cars?

    Tia

    A friend of the family said that a KA is a dangerous car to drive. When involved in accidents, it gets badly damaged and would never recommend anyone buying one.

    Sorry
  • dzug
    dzug Posts: 2,260 Forumite
    There's plenty of space in the two front seats, back two (3 ? - I think there's a centre one) a little cramped (OK for a 5yo and for a short journey an average adult). Boot is small - smaller than a Fiesta but not non-existent.

    Driving fine - it's got a big engine (1300) for the size of car. Not sure on economy - never calculated it that closely. Not overly thirsty though.
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    Ok, I will check that out thanks.

    What I have read so far has been quite positive as far as crash testing goes (for a small car that is). confused-smiley-013.gif
  • I don't have one but two of my friends do, and they seem to be ideal for economy (don't know anything about crash safety!).

    My friend's car is pretty economical on petrol (40-45mpg), although she is a careful driver, and the main benefit is that you can afford a much newer car for your budget!
    Mortgage | £145,000Unsecured Debt | [strike]£7,000[/strike] £0 Lodgers | |
  • My garage had a KA as a courtesy car. I cannot comment about the fuel economy, but it is certainly fun to drive. With a wheel - literally - on each corner, the handling is brilliant.
    The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in my life. :)
  • I had a Ka on hire in France and it was fine utnil its clutch disintegrated halfway up a French mountain. Of course, it may just have been hammered to death because it was a hire car but it tainted my view of them forever. Mind you, one upside was that I learned that the French for clutch is "Ambriage"...
    My eyes! The goggles do nothing!
  • Have you looked at a Toyota Yaris? Great on the NCAP crash ratings, really economical and insurance group 2! Also very cheap car tax, service and repair (which it hasn't needed in the four years i've had mine).
  • If it were me I'd go for a fiesta. With just that little bit more room and a better ncap rating it's a much safer bet. Apparently, the Ka is based on a very old, dated platform. I'm not techie enough to explain but i'm sure someone who is will be along shortly....
  • Minimoneysaver makes a very good point. If you look up "Yaris" in this forum you'll find multiple threads all singing the praises of a Yaris with very little (if anything) bad to say about them.
    My eyes! The goggles do nothing!
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    Hmmm, food for thought....

    I like the yaris but we tend to stick with Fords as fil worked at the local main dealers pretty much all of his working life and still gets parts for trade price now. He also knows lots about Fords, and if he doesn't, he knows who to ask! For this reason, our cars rarely go to garages (well, never except for tyres etc tbh) and we are better equipped for dh to service and fix it himself.

    The KA being based on the fiesta is one of the reasons we want one - cheap parts and pretty much all the niggles dealt with. We would be happy with a fiesta though as have had 2 in the past and they are great little cars. I cried when our last one was driven away by it's new owner!!! :o

    The accident issue is one to think about though.

    Basically we want it to be as basic and easy to service/fix as possible which is another reason for looking at KAs. Our current Mondeo has all sorts of electrical issues and it's put me off for life - give me manual window winder any day!!!

    Having said that, the heated front screen is bliss in winter.... :rolleyes:
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