RS Grant

One of my friends is looking at replacing his runaround now he's moved house and is travelling a wee bit further to work and back... interested to see what sort of problems these cars are known for and also what sort of mpg he can expect on a predominantly motorway hack to work and back. I guess that repairs are likely to be typical ford, cheap as chips and easily manageable in your driveway, yes??

I've had a couple as courtesy cars and always remember them being amazing little cars around the bends.. and reasonably comfortable to drive even for normal sized people (although the rear seats were useless if a tall person was driving)


Cheers,
Grant

CrisPDuk

MrsD had one for three and a half years, and we never had any problems with it mechanically The doors were starting to show a bit of rust on their bottom edges when we parted with it, which considering it was new when we bought it wasn't that impressive, but as a secondhand cheap runaround I'd highly recommend them.

Don't get a fully loaded one, the basic ones are just as good, if not better, the leather chairs are not particularly comfortable, and the air-con kills the engine (and battery). Power steering is a must though, they are as heavy as **** without.

The chassis is the same as that beneath the Fiesta and the Puma, and really is an absolute peach Everything they said about the handling in the press at the time is completely true

MrsD used to average 40-45mpg with hers, but I could get it down in to the high 20s if really tried

Attu

My Wife has a Ka and does about 100 miles a day in it mainly on motorways.
The only thing she has had problems with is the front anti roll bar link bar which broke on several occasions but after replacing it with a genuine ford one (£30 as opposed to £5 from a motor factor) its been fine since.
As far as I know the main probelms are with front suspension parts but they are easy and cheep to replace.
I find I get cramp in my right leg when driving it for more than half an hour, I think its the way the pedals are in the car but my wife doesn't have any probelms at all.
All in all not a bad little car but I don't know if I could live with it as an only car (wife could).

Ray T

Girl friends is a 2001 model just passed 25k miles, just needed a new power steering rack , apparently quite common for them to fail(if you go to ford bank on a grand suppy fit), failed mot on top suspension mounts, round town 26mpg seems the norm maybe into the 30s on a run, not much cop on the motorways, though we did do london/south devon in it, but getting more that a weekends cloths supply in the boot is a problem (bag bin bags are best for filling the space).

would we get another, probably not.

ray t

Allan

iTrader: (1)

Daughter has one, brilliant cars.

We have the dreaded idling problem, even the dealer can't fix it the moment. Usually an issue with the idle control valve or throttle sensor, not ours though.
Suspension can creak, air con can drip in the foot well, rusty sills and door bottoms. Also rust around the rear wiper area on the hatch. Thermostat housings can leak, plugs can get corroded in the head. Some engines have very noisy tappets.

Excellent to drive, and well recommended. Friend bought a new C1 the other day, but I didn't rate it over the KA.

scoobyjay7

My partner has brought one, not bad for a ford usual rust areas around filler cap and bottom of doors.
Also a horrible rattle has popped up not sure if its front wish bones or front anti roll bar link? apart from that a nice nippy motor (for a ford )

Ray T

scoobyjay,
check the bonnet prop arm we had a terrible rattle, turned out it was the disingetrated rubber bush were the prop hinged in the engine bay also worth putting an extra gromit at the other end were it clips in when its laid down.

ray t

Olly

Just bought a bit of a rarity, a Ka van (stripped out Ka1 with no back seats: Ka ClubSport??) for nipping around at work.

It's brilliant. Handles a dream, turns in for fun. Nippy and torquey. Amazingly spacious in the back too. Chucked it down the lanes the other night grinning like an idiot. Genuine fun to drive.

Can't comment on reliability yet, but well recommended so far.

Matteeboy

Oddly enough, I have a mate looking at a Ka later too.

scoobyjay7

Cheers Ray, that was one other problem it had that was sorted not long after she had the car

Shark Man

Camshaft followers are the main thing to watch out for...the result is a very calckety sounding engine which needs consistant tappet adjustment to fix. Basically the followers and camshaft material isn't as hard as the ones found in the old kent engine. Thus they wear. Not helped if the oil hasn't been changed often enough. It's fixable, but its an engine out job to get at the camshaft.

Suspension; Yes it wears, but its cheap as chips to replace (new lower arms/ball joints about £25 a shot)

Boot contacts for heated rear screen corrode and stop working...like nearly all Fords.

And PAS a must??? your joking? Is this site full of limp wristed girlies??? Then again, it is an Impreza site


Allanp: Ask the garage to check the reverse sensor on the gearbox (there are two; one for the reverse lights, the other for the ECU). It can cause weird things to happen to the idling if its not working right (usually engine revs up during gearchanges).

Allan

iTrader: (1)

Cheers will do, it's stalling randomly and the idle speed is all over the place. It's been in twice now and keeps coming back clear on the diag. It's had a new idle control valve, everything else has been cleaned and checked......so they say.

projectsubaru

Id say just get a fiesta 1.25 zetec

scoobyjay7

Shark man:
And PAS a must??? your joking? Is this site full of limp wristed girlies??? Then again, it is an Impreza site




PAS yes is a must as the misses drives it (not me)

NotoriousREV

Drop the PAS if you're a bloke, the steering feel is great.

The 2nd best drive I ever had was in a Ford Ka on the mountain roads of Tenerife. Mucho fun.

RS Grant

Brilliant feedback that echo my personal experience with then.. and possibly a couple of Friday night cars there too!!

I've just had a chat with him and he's been offered something else (Xantia TD) that he wasn't even considering, so stand-by for another post asking for some more knowledge.

I'll still be recommending the Ka though, think they're brilliant wee cars and are pretty damn cheap now too.


Cheers,
Grant

jpor

iTrader: (1)

My sister (52 plate) and Mother (51 plate) both own KA Luxury's. My Sistser's has a problem with the Engine Management light, which the dealer cannot find a problem for, yet the car still drives fine. My Mothers car is exhibiting rust. I have had a go in my mothers car. First impressions, nice to start with, nippy from take off, but definately lacklusture after that. Especially on Motorways. You have no high power gain in these cars. Saying that the engines they both have are 1.3 8valve duratec's. I beleive the newer KA's now have 1.3 Zetecs (not sure if they are 16valve). So hopefully they will have a bit more torque.

scoobynutta555

You've not mentioned your budget. I've bought and sold 3 ka's for my g/f. Post 2003 models are the ones to go for if you have the budget. You can easily pick one up for 2k upwards. Failing that, if you do have to get an older one, get one with a full ticket as they are prone to a bit of rust.

Having said all this, if you are doing a lot of motorway mileage forget a Ka, especially if you are a bigger build. I'd get a vag diesel or something.