SportKA: yay or nay
Discussion
SWMBO had one for two years which I have been running for the last 12 months. Great car in my view and very undervalued at the minute.
In terms of reliability mine has never let me down and all the common faults are maintenance items such as lower front wishbones, rust on boot & fuel filler, etc.
MPG is stuck at 35 in my hands - if you read around the forums this is a pretty high figure, when it was in SWMBO's hands it was more like 25, but that was stop/start town driving.
I service mine myself so costs are fairly cheap - front wishbones are around £100 per side at a garage and you will notice a knocking over acceleration/bumps if these are required.
The only other car I have driven on your list is the zs fiesta which TBH are pretty similar but you get a noticeable older car for your money.
Also I would opt for the SE which gives you leather and AC for not much premium.
Any questions feel free...
In terms of reliability mine has never let me down and all the common faults are maintenance items such as lower front wishbones, rust on boot & fuel filler, etc.
MPG is stuck at 35 in my hands - if you read around the forums this is a pretty high figure, when it was in SWMBO's hands it was more like 25, but that was stop/start town driving.
I service mine myself so costs are fairly cheap - front wishbones are around £100 per side at a garage and you will notice a knocking over acceleration/bumps if these are required.
The only other car I have driven on your list is the zs fiesta which TBH are pretty similar but you get a noticeable older car for your money.
Also I would opt for the SE which gives you leather and AC for not much premium.
Any questions feel free...
Yay.
Not that fast, interior's a bit crap, noisy on a run.... but soooo much fun to punt along a good road. The steering, gearchange, damping and grip are all wonderful
On a windy UK B-road with pot holes, ruts, surface changes, cambers all over the place etc one will keep up with far more exotic machinery. I know from experience. Also great fun on a go-kart track 
You don't see many of them around either, so there's a slight smugness too in driving something a bit different!
Won't be as good as a mint, unmodified 106 GTi, but then you won't get a mint, unmodified 106 GTi for anywhere near the price you'll pay for a mint SportKa.
Not that fast, interior's a bit crap, noisy on a run.... but soooo much fun to punt along a good road. The steering, gearchange, damping and grip are all wonderful
On a windy UK B-road with pot holes, ruts, surface changes, cambers all over the place etc one will keep up with far more exotic machinery. I know from experience. Also great fun on a go-kart track You don't see many of them around either, so there's a slight smugness too in driving something a bit different!Won't be as good as a mint, unmodified 106 GTi, but then you won't get a mint, unmodified 106 GTi for anywhere near the price you'll pay for a mint SportKa.
Another yes vote here. Girlfriend has just bought one and it is really good fun to drive. I think the interior is pretty decent for the type of car it is. Would echo the comment about getting the se with leather and aircon. It's pretty nippy and handles very well on the b roads. It is somewhat loud on the motorway....75mph is about 4k rpm, but apart from that for about £2k you can get a very decent example and I think that represents good value for money!
Wife had one from new and kept it for 3 yrs!
Very fun car and bar the fact that it couldn't make it's next service interval before needing yet more suspension and steering items a reliable car!
Tyres aren't that cheap for they type of car that it is but I guess that's the same with most sporty looking cars.
Very fun car and bar the fact that it couldn't make it's next service interval before needing yet more suspension and steering items a reliable car!
Tyres aren't that cheap for they type of car that it is but I guess that's the same with most sporty looking cars.
Nice enough fun car in their own right, good to chuck about and have the pace the standard KA needed.
The engine is a crude old lump, though, and really shows it's age against the 16v in the 106 GTI and Saxo VTS. It's a lot slower, power delivery is dull and uses considerably more fuel. The Saxo/GTI is also a more rewarding car to throw about. SportKA performance is more VTR than VTS.
The KA has several things in common with the original mini- wheel at each corner, cheap, fun, surprisingly practical and they rust for england.
The engine is a crude old lump, though, and really shows it's age against the 16v in the 106 GTI and Saxo VTS. It's a lot slower, power delivery is dull and uses considerably more fuel. The Saxo/GTI is also a more rewarding car to throw about. SportKA performance is more VTR than VTS.
The KA has several things in common with the original mini- wheel at each corner, cheap, fun, surprisingly practical and they rust for england.
Considering how good the basic Ka is the sport Ka is a real duffer - don't buy one expecting it to be sporty, it's let down by a real rough engine that does not like to rev, it's too low geared, annoyingly noisy on the motorway and revving it's nuts off above 85 mph.
The 16" wheels with 45 series rubber and stiff springs give it an appalling jarringly hard ride quality which make speed bumps and pot holes/ruts a real pain. The seats are a very poor shape with little support for hard cornering (they do corner very well) and are uncomfortable on long trips.
I bought one for my mother to replace her puma, thinking it would be a modern alternative but compared to the previous puma and Ka 1.3's she'd had it was a disappointment and we replaced it after only 10 months and 5,000 very uncomfortable miles.
It's a shame because it could have been great but ford produced a real dud. Tyres are expensive, wishbones and drop links regularly need replaced and even driven Flat out has only limited go.
Great round round abouts and looks better than a normal Ka but it's a barely lukewarm hatch.
The 16" wheels with 45 series rubber and stiff springs give it an appalling jarringly hard ride quality which make speed bumps and pot holes/ruts a real pain. The seats are a very poor shape with little support for hard cornering (they do corner very well) and are uncomfortable on long trips.
I bought one for my mother to replace her puma, thinking it would be a modern alternative but compared to the previous puma and Ka 1.3's she'd had it was a disappointment and we replaced it after only 10 months and 5,000 very uncomfortable miles.
It's a shame because it could have been great but ford produced a real dud. Tyres are expensive, wishbones and drop links regularly need replaced and even driven Flat out has only limited go.
Great round round abouts and looks better than a normal Ka but it's a barely lukewarm hatch.
wackojacko said:
They're a great alternative to the french 1.6 hot hatches aswell as offerings from Vauxhall and other 'sporty' ford models.
A great alternative apart from being slower, less fun, less comfortable, less economical, more expensive to run and more prone to rust. But they do look nice.
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