Wow this thread is very refreshing for me! I got a lot of negative comments when i first joined & said i have a Fiat Ka!

When i first joined i knew full well my KA was a 500 underneath & this was a big factor in me buying it.

For me, the Ka isn't the celebrity the 500 is. It's purely a decent every day fancy free car.

The only major differences come when you see how much bigger the boot is and the major difference in headroom in the rear. Apart from that there's really not much in it anymore, now the 500 uses the Ford suspension setup.

I did look at the 500 but the deal i got with Ford, plus I really love the heated front windscreens Fords have, it made sense for me to get the Ka.

Super Uwe said:

Overall I suppose it depends whether buyers want to "risk" having a Fiat or going with a more "trusted" brand like Ford. The fact they are the same car (and are really Fiats) is probably lost on most new buyers anyway - IMO at least.

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The real difference to most people will be in the dealer service experience*, both pre and post sales. They're both reasonably well built out of the same crappy parts.

It will be interesting to see if there are any differences in parts prices between Ford & FIAT :chin:. When I had the Supercarry, I always went to Vauxhall first for any OEM-only parts - which could be as little as half the price & often came in a Suzuki box with a cheap GM label over the original part code :bang:.

*for example, AIUI Ford are routinely replacing the original breathers as the cars come through the service departments; FIAT wait for the customer to complain & hope these inherently defective parts somehow make it through the warranty period.

Jonothan said:

£8990 buys a Ford with air con and £7990 buys a really basic Ka without air-con, central locking and electric windows.

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I drove one of these before buying the first 500 and the salesperson spoke for most of the test drive about the 500. He tried to convince me to go for the Fiesta. I wondered if the price of the Ka was a way of getting people into the showroom.

jrkitching said:

I had one of those on my previous model Ka & found it to be one of the most useful (and used) options I've ever had on any car. I seriously miss not having it on the 500 & Panda.

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Couldn't agree more and seeing another post I would tick the box if I was buying new - great for real winters.

chas379 said:

Heated front screens are a good thing, but I found on the one I had on a Jaguar S type most off putting when driving at night. Oncoming headlights picked out the elements in the screen.

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I didn't have that problem on an Escort from the 90s.

KaZetec said:

Wow this thread is very refreshing for me! I got a lot of negative comments when i first joined & said i have a Fiat Ka!

When i first joined i knew full well my KA was a 500 underneath & this was a big factor in me buying it.

For me, the Ka isn't the celebrity the 500 is. It's purely a decent every day fancy free car.

The only major differences come when you see how much bigger the boot is and the major difference in headroom in the rear. Apart from that there's really not much in it anymore, now the 500 uses the Ford suspension setup.

I did look at the 500 but the deal i got with Ford, plus I really love the heated front windscreens Fords have, it made sense for me to get the Ka.

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Kas are a bit of rarity in these parts and when you see one they stand out. IIRC there are less airbags in the Ka than the 500 and in the base model there are fewer again ?

At least if you own a 500 or a KA, you have the option of getting both serviced at either a Ford or Fiat dealership.

jrkitching said:

The real difference to most people will be in the dealer service experience*, both pre and post sales. They're both reasonably well built out of the same crappy parts.

It will be interesting to see if there are any differences in parts prices between Ford & FIAT :chin:. When I had the Supercarry, I always went to Vauxhall first for any OEM-only parts - which could be as little as half the price & often came in a Suzuki box with a cheap GM label over the original part code :bang:.

*for example, AIUI Ford are routinely replacing the original breathers as the cars come through the service departments; FIAT wait for the customer to complain & hope these inherently defective parts somehow make it through the warranty period.

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There is a big FORD dealership nearby with an excellent reputation. They have some excellent mechanics (one in particular) and they service all kinds of cars including Porsches. The spare wheel kit that was missing in the original 500s was just over half the price from Ford. Interesting one about the breathers and for c. £13 it would be cheap part not to have excluded from the 'wear & tear' warranty. 'Total customer service' isn't about ringing up and asking are you happy.

I personally don't like the Ka. IMO it looks so plastic in contrast with the 500. :/



But this is just me.

my dealer has a ford dealership on the same site, for me the KA has no class about it, also styling makes it more top heavy than the 500, woman at work has a snot yellow mucus coloured one and its hideous, same dealer gave me a fiesta as a courtesy car when the 500 was in and i thought the 500 was better, was hideous

Have you not heard? Curiosity killed the Ka...














I do apologise, I couldn't resist

I just scrapped for lack of a better word a 2005 Ford Focus with less than 100k that had more problems than you can imagine. The final straw was the main electronic modual that was going to cost me over €2k to repair, I traded it in on my new TA. I will never own another Euro Ford.

senicko said:

I just scrapped for lack of a better word a 2005 Ford Focus with less than 100k that had more problems than you can imagine. The final straw was the main electronic modual that was going to cost me over €2k to repair, I traded it in on my new TA. I will never own another Euro Ford.

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After buying my 500, I sold on a 9 1/2yr old Ka with 102k. I never really bonded with it, but reliability was acceptable. Fuel consumption, though, was an appalling 40mpg. Apart from usual service items, it cost me a steering rack (£230), front wishbone (£50), a water control valve (£28), a themostat housing gasket (78p), one set of pads & discs (about £50), and 6 tyres. The original clutch, battery & exhaust were still going strong when I sold it.

The saving in road tax & fuel alone should pay for about half the depreciation on the 500.

We bought the Ka Edge one week ago. We have air con and a spare wheel no ally wheels to chip. It is very familiar under the bonnet just like my old Puntos and my sons Mk1 Punto. Theres good leg and head room in the back and the boot is good too. The gear change is superb just where you want the lever. It was quite a bit cheaper than the 500. Fiat were very stingy with their trade in deal

I suppose the gear change and lever position are good, after all, they're from Fiat!

interesting thread, especially the discussion about whether Ford has a better brand image

there have been several Ford cars in my extended family and they were just cars, nothing special

most recently the Ford Ka (first gen) had quite a few faults including rattling camchain and sticky throttle. before that various escorts and cortinas and capris of old were often needing repairs ... the main thing in common was terrible rust!

i agree with the point about Fords attitude to quality and proactive technical service bulletins though, Fiat could learn from them in this.

I would always choose Fiat ahead of Ford, as would my extended family.

Austin Mini said:

We bought the Ka Edge one week ago. We have air con and a spare wheel no ally wheels to chip. It is very familiar under the bonnet just like my old Puntos and my sons Mk1 Punto. Theres good leg and head room in the back and the boot is good too. The gear change is superb just where you want the lever. It was quite a bit cheaper than the 500. Fiat were very stingy with their trade in deal

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Exactly the same could be said for the Mk3 Panda MyLife , but that hasn't stopped folks rushing to buy the 500 in droves. There are plenty out there who think the 500's looks & style are worth the extra £££, and plenty who'd rather save a few quid & buy one of its less trendy siblings.

There's no right or wrong answer; you pays your money & makes your choice; they're all good cars. Only you can decide if the 500's looks are worth the premium. I couldn't make my mind up, so I bought one of each .

We tested a 500 in January but the dealer offered us silly money for the PX. Easter came and so did my son with his Mk1 Punto which needed a new head gasket, water pump, thermostat and timing belt. This I did all for under £100 and I had a ball doing it for him. We then went to test the Ford Ka all ok and the engine was the same as my old Y reg Punto and same as my sons Mk1. We were offered an OK price for our PX and a new Ka was delivered a week ago. We are really happy with our Ka its very cheap to run when you are a pensioner like us.

Austin Mini said:

We bought the Ka Edge one week ago. We have air con and a spare wheel no ally wheels to chip. It is very familiar under the bonnet just like my old Puntos and my sons Mk1 Punto. Theres good leg and head room in the back and the boot is good too. The gear change is superb just where you want the lever. It was quite a bit cheaper than the 500. Fiat were very stingy with their trade in deal

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I looked at a KA at 'scrappage' time (despite the rear end) in Jan 2010 and it was working out the same price as a 500. Warranty was only 2 years and the extended warranty wasn't worth taking out judging by this. I hope this fate is not suffered by the 500s since the KA is built in the same factory. The last Escort I owned had a roof replaced at 4 years but it took a solictor's letter to get it done.

On checking the price & the options list I was surprised to see that the airbags will cost €719 - it might also explain the 4 NCAP rating. I did like the option of the Electric seats & windscreen for smallish money.

By all accounts it might possibly be a better driver's car than the 500 and I wish you the very best of luck with it. You are still driving a Fiat (hopefully without the rust) but it doesn't look like one.