Monochrome Ka entertains

Think of small cars and the ones that spring most readily to mind are the Volkswagen Up (and its sister vehicles from Seat and Skoda) along with, perhaps, the Hyundai i10.

But before all of them came along there was one of the original city cars – the Ford Ka.

Originally launched way back in 1996 and entering its second (and current) generation in 2008, it’s been around for a long time and is still a regular sight on our roads.

I hadn’t sat behind the wheel of one for many years – 2009 was the last time you saw one reviewed on these pages – so I was intrigued to see how it stacked up against the modern generation of city cars that have sprung up since then.

The model tested here is a special edition. Launched last year, the Ka Black and Ka White Editions were designed to draw sales from their rivals with a bold colour scheme.

I spent a week with the Ka Black Edition. It certainly looks terrific.

The Ka has always been a good looking little motor, both in its wedgeshaped original guise and this smoother second generation model.

The addition of midnight black bodywork and alloys along with a striking monochrome interior adds considerably to its kerb appeal. The special edition is based on the Zetec model and costs £10,995.

My car had a rear spoiler and parking sensors added at £225 and £200 respectively.

Equipment levels are good, with air con, heated electric door mirrors, remote central locking, trip computer, electric windows, Bluetooth, USB and steering wheel mounted controls.

It also comes with Ford’s Quickclear windscreen, which does exactly as the name suggests.

Near invisible heated filaments in the windscreen melt away frost in under a minute.

Colleagues know I’m not the most punctual in the morning so an opportunity to save on defrosting time is a boon.

Under the bonnet is a 1.2-litre, fourcylinder petrol engine that puts out 69bhp.

It’ll get from 0-62mph in 13.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 99mph – reasonable figures or this type of car.

It feels zippy enough around town but don’t plan on doing much overtaking in it. Assisted by start/stop technology, economy is 57.7mpg.

The current generation Ka has been designed in coordination with the Fiat 500 and shares many of that model’s fine driving characteristics.

It rides quite well and, in common with virtually all Fords – even down to its people carriers – handles with greater aplomb than it has any right to.

Where it falls down against its best rivals is practicality and refinement.

The Volkswagen Up and, in particular, Hyundai i10, manage to cram remarkable amounts of interior space into their modest dimensions.

Children and even small adults can fit in the rear seats, and headroom is generous too. Not so in the Ka, particularly when it comes to space on the rear seat.

The Up and i10 also bear up well on motorway trips.

While hardly an Audi A4, they both manage to make long journeys low stress.

The Ka suffers from too much road and engine noise once you go north of 60mph, however.

It necessitates turning the radio up or talking more loudly to your passenger.

That said, I enjoyed driving the Ka again. It proved entertaining on some of Fife’s country roads and this Black Edition looks very good.

It’s showing its age, though. Ford does now need to get its designers and engineers working away on a third generation Ka that can compete with the best city cars when it comes to an all-round package.