RE: Ford SportKa | Spotted

[MC Bodge]

Was the Ka much different from the late 90s Fiesta? My Mum had a Fiesta with the atrocious, vintage pushrod 1.3 with fuel injection bolted on.

The handling was good up until you cornered a little too hard and then the back would roll disconcertingly.

[JaguarsportXJR]

My other half had one of these for years. Brilliant fun but a hard ride. I suppose the engine was a bit gruff but I've owned a few Minis so tend not to notice too much.

[alorotom]

Loved mine - I was gutted when the alternator packed up on the A19 and it was vandalised in the 2hrs it was left for.

I can see these being valuable.

[blongs]

ahhhh good old B3 NKA number 2. Moved up from a 1.3 KA as my 2nd car and fully paid up member of the ka owners klub back in my late teens.

We did Ford Fair shows, and Trax etc back in the Max Power days.

Never had the pace of the Saxo VTRs etc of the time though and yes the engine did let it down. Stainless steel gear knob also very chilly for quite a few months of the year. Didn't have it long enough to rust as someone smashed into me and wrote it off. No big injuries though :-)

[Bennet]

Poor mpg for its size and £260 to tax.

I want to like them, but part of the appeal of this sort of thing is meant to be that it's dirt cheap to run. But these aren't.

[rickygolf83]

Mother in law had a street ka which she left with us while she emigrated for the winter.

Great wee car, keep the revs up, gear changes quick and it got down the road nicely. Loved a wee bit of handbrake action round wet or icy corners

Felt a bit ropey wrong side of 70 though!

She eventually exported it to Cyprus, and I think its winters with me took its toll; totally rotten front chassis legs! it got welded up and still hoons about the island!

[okenemem]

3500 no thanks

[greenarrow]

I think the Sportka will become a collectable like all sporty Fords...just look at prices of the once derided XR2 and XR2i...

We've got a basic Ka and its a lot of fun, but the rust, oh my, its like owning a Mk2 MX5 again. I'm not sure how many MOTs we can suffer before we get rid.

Anyway, isn't it time PH started recognising another Ford which drives equally brilliantly, has better engines and is less rust prone than this Ka? I'm talking about the basic non ST Mk1 Ford Focus. I keep seeing what look like very tidy 1.6 and 1.8 Zetecs for sale at £500-£600. A bit bigger than a Ka or Puma maybe, but an outstanding drive with many of the qualities present in those cars....... Surely they cant be far from classic status?

[aaron_2000]

greenarrow said:

Anyway, isn't it time PH started recognising another Ford which drives equally brilliantly, has better engines and is less rust prone than this Ka? I'm talking about the basic non ST Mk1 Ford Focus. I keep seeing what look like very tidy 1.6 and 1.8 Zetecs for sale at £500-£600. A bit bigger than a Ka or Puma maybe, but an outstanding drive with many of the qualities present in those cars....... Surely they cant be far from classic status?

ST170 can be had for around the same money. I remember paying around £250 for a 2.0 Ghia. Sold it for £400 not long later and the new owner has taken it from 137k up to 155k this year. Noticed I don't see too many MK1 Focus' anymore. Maybe 1 or 2 a day.

[ToothbrushMan]

good shout about the mk1 focus - the 1.6 zetec with heated screen aircon and heated mirrors is all the car you need at budget money.....

i see posts like this and go start trawling ebay looking at whats out there.....

[VAGLover]

A school friend of mine managed to flip one at 90 mph plus! Thankfully no injury’s

[aaron_2000]

ToothbrushMan said:

good shout about the mk1 focus - the 1.6 zetec with heated screen aircon and heated mirrors is all the car you need at budget money.....

i see posts like this and go start trawling ebay looking at whats out there.....

Zetec 1.6 is always my pick of the bunch. The Ghia is a little elderly for my liking

[Aluminium]

My wife had one, it was immense fun to drive, with a low grunt from the 8v 1.6 that was amazingly responsive. Great car despite not being rated by all for the top end power and some rust prone elements in the original design.

[rallycross]

I saw a bronze metallic one today never seen one before in that colour, made me think of this thread!

[njw1]

ToothbrushMan said:

good shout about the mk1 focus - the 1.6 zetec with heated screen aircon and heated mirrors is all the car you need at budget money.....

i see posts like this and go start trawling ebay looking at whats out there.....

My mother's got an '03 1.4 CL, as basic as they come and absolutely gutless but the handling is so good and it's so predictable you can drive it with your foot flat on the floor everywhere. It's also ridiculously smooth, quiet, refined and well screwed together. Unfortunately I can see them all disappearing before people realise what bloody cars they are.

[MC Bodge]

njw1 said:

My mother's got an '03 1.4 CL, as basic as they come and absolutely gutless but the handling is so good and it's so predictable you can drive it with your foot flat on the floor everywhere. It's also ridiculously smooth, quiet, refined and well screwed together. Unfortunately I can see them all disappearing before people realise what bloody cars they are.

We have a slightly later Fiesta with the same engine. It's great. There are still lots of the Fiestas about around the Manchester area. They must resist rust better.

[GeordieInExile]

alorotom said:

Loved mine - I was gutted when the alternator packed up on the A19 and it was vandalised in the 2hrs it was left for.

I can see these being valuable.

The clutch on mine went on the A19. Total rotbox, scrapped after a month - took a punt on it because it was 300 quid, but it was 300 quid for a reason. Ah well.

Crap engine but sensationally good gearchange.

[A1VDY]

Worst pos Ford ever made.
The factory rust proofing consisted of a thin coat of primer. Floor pans, inner and outer sills, rear inner arches, rear suspension mounting points, nsr quarter panels ect all rotted out quickly.
Try changing an alternator or power steering pump on one... Lol...

[mcholeboy_59]

Out of interest what engine appeared in the 1.6 Fiesta Freestyle at this time? I'd assumed it was a detuned version of the one fitted to the Fiesta Zetec-S, however is it the same as this one in the Ka?
[/quote]

The 'Normal' fiestas fitted with the 1.6 were the same as the ones fitted to the zetec-s... no de tuning.

Basically a zetec-s without the insurance prices or bodykit

[mcholeboy_59]

MC Bodge said:

Was the Ka much different from the late 90s Fiesta? My Mum had a Fiesta with the atrocious, vintage pushrod 1.3 with fuel injection bolted on.

The handling was good up until you cornered a little too hard and then the back would roll disconcertingly.

The ka was based on the then 'new' mk4 fiesta... maybe a tad shorter wheelbase