Last week I was given the opportunity to try out the new Ford Ka for the whole week, to see for myself how Ford reinvented this model that, back in 1996, introduced a whole new concept of city car.
This car is produced in partnership with Fiat, and shares many components from the Nuova 500 model. I never drove a Fiat Nuova 500, so I’ll just report what found on Wikipedia on this:
“Ford has developed new KA’s driving abilities further than Fiat 500, to match with the Ford high-driving standards. New KA has better bump-absorption, fitting a rear anti-rollbar having enabled Ford’s engineers to soften the springs by 30 percent and retune the dampers accordingly. Comfort levels, grip, and sheer involvement all benefit. Changes to the steering geometry also give the Ka more linear responses than the 500.”
I tested it in Milan, during a mad week that saw me driving around the city, to meet customers and prospects in a everlasting rush: a perfect test for a city car!
I have to say Ford and Digital PR treated me very well, as they gave me the full optional 1.2 litre petrol model, with leather seats and automatic air conditioning.
The outcome was great! The new Ford Ka appeared to be an ideal city car, compact enough to be smooth to drive in the city chaos, yet rich of gadgets to entertain you while stuck in traffic jams.
The one thing I loved most was the Blue&Me system, developed by Fiat which allows a seamless integration between the car and your mobile phone. Speech recognition wasn’t great, but sound quality indeed was!
Pros
- Great interiors
- Great handsfree system
- Good acceleration
Cons
- A little thirsty
- Lack of attention at some details (passenger’s hang, courtesy light)
- Gets noisy over 90 km/h
Overall it has been a very good experience, Ford is moving very well in the social media space, in Italy and abroad (read this Mashable! post for more).
I wouldn’t buy a Ka as I need a little more room (maybe a Fiesta could fit), but I surely recommend it to who’s looking for an agile city car, thus I’d go for the diesel model!
*Special thanks go to Markingegno, for inviting me to participate to this campaign.
