Well, I just couldn't resist it. Half an hour on my hands and I'm driving past the local Ford dealer - and never having seen the Ka close up, I thought I'd stop and take a look.

I'm assuming it's built on the same Polish production lines much as the Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo/Peugeot 107 share a production line in the Czech Republic. Am I right?

Lift the bonnet on a basic Ka and it's just like looking under the bonnet of the Pop with the same 1.2 FIRE engine. It's a really funky car, and I love some of the styling details. The boot size is all but identical, and you can spot the family resemblance in the central console immediately. The instruments are pure Ford and don't inspire me in the same way as the Fiat's pod speedo, which harks back to the styling cue from the original Fiat 500D and 500F of the 60s and early 70s.

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

Bearing in mind that you get a lot more bang for your buck with the Ka, would I want one? No, the Fiat makes me smile.

Just one point though - I found the Ford showroom staff to be much better and much more professional than their Fiat counterparts.

J

Nice report! Thank you.

New Ka and 500, am I correct in saying they are of the same chassis ? My wife, up until last year, always had a Ka with her last one being the new model.

Found the Ka to be a noisy running car and subject to a lot of ad-hoc rattles that very never easily solved.

Due to knee problems my wife wanted a small car with an auto box on her next change. With Ford this would have been the Fiesta. No auto availability on the Ka.

On looking round liked the look of the 500 and low and behold was able to get the nearest thing to auto, the Dualogic. Needles to say she fell in love with an 8 month old 1.2 Pop with Dualogic and is one very happy person and on next change she will stay with Fiat. For my part I enjoyed the occasional drive in the Pop. which prompted me to go for the TA with Dualogic.

Found Ford dealership to be very good all round. Not had much experience yet with our local Fiat dealership, other than sales. Will wait and see what transpires when both of our services are due.

Nothing like keeping it in the family. PS she does not like the engine noise of the TA so only drives it if I have been drinking.

I test drove one - it was fine. The main niggle for me was the reach to the radio - I had to sit right forward to reach the controls which wouldn't be practical when driving. I also found the central console uncomfortable against my left leg/knee, to the point of being painful.
I was under the impression that they are the same underneath and both build at the same plant in Poland?

One bonus you get with the KA (I believe) is a heated front windscreen.

Yes, both built in Poland, pretty much the same mechanicals from what I'm aware.

500 - much better looking.

FloJo said:

I test drove one - it was fine. The main niggle for me was the reach to the radio - I had to sit right forward to reach the controls which wouldn't be practical when driving. I also found the central console uncomfortable against my left leg/knee, to the point of being painful.
I was under the impression that they are the same underneath and both build at the same plant in Poland?

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They certainly share the same underpinnings - notably the floor pan. They are also built in the same plant - if you trust Wiki lots of info. on here -

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ka[/ame]

Scroll down for info. on the current models.

Jonothan said:

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

J

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You could of course do what I and at least one other forum member has done, and buy an ex Fiat Fleet 1.2 POP A/C B&M and electric windows with 800 miles or less on it for £7499 (last year's price).

To be honest, the best value second hand car purchase I've ever made.

frupi said:

One bonus you get with the KA (I believe) is a heated front windscreen.

Click to expand...

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.

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.

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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On my old Ka, the only time I could make out the elements in the screen was in very bright sunshine - and even then, I wouldn't describe it as being obtrusive. I never noticed them whilst driving at night. The one fitted to the S type may be of another type, or perhaps it's just down to the screen being mounted at a different angle.

Probably worth checking in the exact model of car you are planning to buy before committing yourself, but invaluable on those icy mornings when the condensation starts freezing to the inside of the screen before the engine has warmed up. There were a handful of times last winter when I had no other choice but to pull into the roadside with the engine idling until I could get enough warm air to defrost it.

Think I posted this link some time before, but I'm having this system fitted to my Cadillac:

http://www.heatshot.com/UK/

£149 is a lot of de-icer. In 45 years of motoring I havnt spent £20 on de-icer. What happens if the wiper blades are frozen solid and you flick the wipers = blown fuses.

Austin Mini said:

£149 is a lot of de-icer. In 45 years of motoring I havnt spent £20 on de-icer. What happens if the wiper blades are frozen solid and you flick the wipers = blown fuses.

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With respect, I don't care, I've got lots of money, I own a Cadillac!

frupi said:

Think I posted this link some time before, but I'm having this system fitted to my Cadillac:

http://www.heatshot.com/UK/

Click to expand...

thats really cool thanks for sharing

Heatshot is £149.99 + VAT so even more expensive.

Heated washer stuff comes as standard on our modern land rover discovery

Anyway, back to the twin air, excellent choice! My wife's is now just shy of 4000miles on the clock and it has really loosened up, Eco button is keeping me sensible mostly, although the car rejects that tame tune if you put your foot down anyway and goes for it as normal.

Trim and fit quality not let fiat (Poland) down yet either, big

Got my threads muddled in case nobody noticed

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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Slightly off topic, but the new Panda has it as a £100 option on the Easy and a £50 option on the Lounge.

So Fiat are gradually getting there I suppose!

Going back to the original post, I had a new shape KA as a courtesy car for a few days last year, and I found it to be identical to the 500 (albeit with less body roll than ours!).

I personally don't like the angled interior of the KA, but I agree it does make it look quite smart. The only thing I really didn't like was the stereo - for the Zetec model it was nasty and cheap looking (and the buttons were ridiculously small and fiddly).

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.

Super Uwe said:

. 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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I agree - I too think the extent to which such badge engineering is applied in the motor industry is totally lost on most of the buying public.

I wonder how many people buy an Aygo rather than a C1 or a 107 on the basis they think a Japanese car will be much more reliable than French made rubbish, not realising they are buying the same car built in the Czech Republic