Ford’s dark horse

Suzuki is giving deposit contributions to buyers of several of its bikes, including the popular V-strom 650 and SV650 models and GSX-S1000. Suzuki will stump up £500 to go towards deposits on its finance scheme so buyers can pay a larger amount up front to reduce their monthly payments. BEFORE we get stuck into this new limited edition of the Ford Ka+, some quick revision on the history of Ford’s city car.

Born in 1996 on a Fiesta platform but with completely different exterior styling and a much lower price, the original Ka was a strong seller, especially with younger buyers.

The Mk2 arrived in 2008 and had very different parentage to the Mk1. It was based on the Fiat 500 and built in Fiat’s factory in Poland alongside that model. In fact, it was a Fiat but with less interesting styling – I couldn’t see the point of it. The third generation Ka, launched last year and given the addition of + in its name, is once again based on the Fiesta platform but has left Europe behind and is built in India where, if you remember, Ford’s unremarkable Ecosport compact crossover is also made.

Our road test car is the new Black Edition version, introduced to give the Ka+ a bit more showroom appeal than its budget rivals such as the Dacia Sandero and Vauxhall Viva.

To keep costs down, Ford fits a simple 1.2-litre petrol engine available Ford Ka+ Black Edition Five-door hatchback with 69bhp or 84bhp rather than the more sophisticated Ecoboost three-cylinder powerplant that it uses in the Fiesta and several other of its cars.

The Black Series gets the more powerful engine and a five-speed gearbox.

Funny how a snazzy paint job and some nice detailing raises your opinion of a car before you’ve even got in it. The Ka+ Black

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