Ford Ka Millenium LTD Edition Review

Overall Rating

Very very easy to drive, refined on the motorway for a small car, superb handling, steering etc, very reliable and easy to live with, different from practicaly eveything else on the road, still looks up to date even now! Most fun on four wheels for the money!

No steering rake or height adjustment, air conditioning sucks fuel and power, 1300 Endura engine a little underpowered. petrol consumption only average.

Our Ford luxury Ka is now getting on for three years old and except for the air conditioning packing up just after we bought it, has been totally reliable. The Ka has proved to be very easy to drive (my wife learnt to drive and passed her test in ours) and is quite relaxed on the motorway. If pushed the engine can sound a bit harsh and is slightly underpowered, especially if the air con is used but during normal everyday driving the little Ka is a pleasure to use. Petrol consumption seems to be only average for the type of car and can be heavy if driven hard. Take one of these out onto some twisty roads though and you will soon find out why the ka is so popular. The handling of these cars is simply superb and the ride is very supple even on very rough roads.
The interior of the Ka still looks very modern and everythig is easily to hand, the large format stereo is very easy to use especially on the move due to the large buttons and controls, the sound is also very good. Ford provide plenty of cubby holes for smaller items but nowhere to store cased cd's! The only place for these are the door pockets which is not the best of places to store them. Also in the door pockets are shaped moldings for drinks but these are too narrow to hold a standard coke can. One thing which the Ka badly needs is some kind of adjustment for the steering position, as I find that I have to rake the seat back to be able to view the instruments.
The leather seats fitted to the Luxury version are very comfortable and supportive, these are fitted with perforated inserts which allow the seats to breathe, providing a cool, stick to the seats free, journey. Interior space is good for front seat passengers but a little cramped in the back for adults on a long journey, the back seats are split 50/50 and some quite large items can be transported with these folded down.
Electrical goodies fitted as standard to the Luxury Ka include heated electric door mirrors, power windows and heated front and rear windscreens. The heated front screens value only becomes apparent when you leave early for work on a frosty morning, this was one feature that really pleased me, as one push of the switch gave me a clear windscreen in about a minute, even after a really hard frost!
All in all the Ford Ka has more than exceeded our expectations and has been a pleasure to own for the last three years. Our driving includes a fifty mile round trip to work every day plus the usual family errands and the odd long distance trip. The only black mark is that the dealers seem a bit complacent during servicing and we have had to take the car back to have work carried out that should have been done the first time. It has to be said that this is not the fault of the car and is the general impression I have got from other dealers besides Ford.
If you are in the market for a small, easy to drive and live with car, with plenty of character, good handling and cheap servicing then the Ford Ka will suit your needs perfectly, In fact ours has been so good that we take delivery of a new Ford Sportka 1600i next week!!!