Should You Buy a FORD KA? (Test Drive & Review 1.3 MK1) 

Whilst I love also seeing the exotic motors, I love seeing some more of the ordinary cars that don’t usually get any attention! Keep up the good work and love the videos!

About 10 years ago I worked in Ireland for 12 months and needed a cheap second car to take across with me on the ferry. Lasted well and did what I needed, cheap to run and insure, quite nippy and yes it was fun being small and compact and only paid around £600 for it and got me to work and back. Sold it to my next door neighbour for his daughters first car, all happy.

As an MOT tester you won't believe how many of these i've had to fail on corrosion.

Seems to be a Ford phenomenon, one minute they are everywhere the next they’ve all vanished.

I worked at a Ford dealership in Stourbridge in 1997-98 and had access to one of these - immense fun to drive - on a par with the Hillman Imp I was driving. Surely these KA’s are future classics!?

Always impressed with how these drive. More like a modern version of the mini than the new mini; lightweight, cheap, and simple.

My wife had one of these from new - 78,000 miles never missed a beat. Only ever needed 3 light bulbs replacing, great little car

Heard a clunking noise when driving ours, stopped, opened the bonnet to discover the battery shelf had fallen out !

Will watch in full shortly but this was actually my first ever car. I’m 6’4 and it was so tiny for me I physically couldn’t change into 5th because my knee was in the way 😂

We have a 58 plate, that we bought for the kids to learn to drive. I choose it instead of our proper car to drive around the local country lanes. It is like a go-kart. Amazing fun.

I really love that you do these kind of cars too. I remember the Aygo review! Keep on rocking mate. Here's to a better 2021, cheers!

Had the 1.3 Ka and the 1.6 street Ka loved them both both had their problems, scrapped the 1.3 the clutch went on it and sold sport because of head gasket issues, it's a pity that Ford didn't just carry on with the mk 1, improve the quality and put a more modern zetec engine in and carried on to make it iconic like the original mini

My parents still own a ‘98 S -reg that they’ve owned from new. My mum (who’s the wrong side of 80) asked me if I could find cheaper car insurance for them as they’re not too internet savvy. When I looked in to it, their annual mileage was just under 1,500 per year! Cracking little cars.

These always remind me of the LittleTikes toy car that i used to play in when i was about 3 in nursery many many years ago hahah

0:26 I think the styling of the MK1 KA has aged fantastically when you compare it to the visual turds we have on the roads these days. Its a shame they all rusted away because they stand out in my eyes as a very good looking small car...... If you go online at look at the original media pictures, they still look great imho.

My mum had one in bright yellow for years. She did about 3000 miles a year and sold it with about 20 something K on it. The best thing about it was it was very easy to find in a car park and nobody in their right mind would ever steal it. In the end she replaced it with an Up. Better in every conceivable way but less personality. Amazed there are any left tbh.

I always had a soft spot for these... a cheap quirky little car that sold well as a new car but were hard to sell on when the rust came to light. They sold well here in Switzerland. In fact you and I agree on almost everything you've said here. I find it to be appealing to the eye coz it's different, a car with character, going it's own way thru life... just like the JUKE.

Had one of these as my first car back in 2005 and honestly couldn’t have asked for more. Great fun to drive, cheap to run, surprising spacious and could hold its own on the motorway. The car was faultlessly reliable and even saved my bacon after getting side swiped by a lorry on the M40 travelling from London. Mine was a year 2000 W reg with keep fit windows and cassette player - but I loved it. I also think the design has aged incredibly well - certainly unusual but ahead of it’s time.

bruh , i didn’t see this one coming!! u on fire and original with your car reviews🔥🔥🔥

I used to have a sportka and honestly it's the most fun I had. I was 19 at the time so it was the quickest thing in the world (compared to my mates cars) and on B Roads it was fantastic. It was pure simple driving. I would have one again but they are rare or really crap examples.

My sister had one as her first car I drove it to Alton towers and back (340mile trip) with 3 passengers and loved it even on a motorway slog great little car

I bought one-second hand and had years of trouble-free motoring out of it.They were very reliable if looked after and surprisingly nippy around town.

it will be a rust bucket underneath. guaranteed

Drove hundreds of cars and these are one of my favourites, they're great fun!

A friend's daughter had one ,and it was the first ' modern ford' I saw rusting all around the filler cap.

You know what Neil Young says, "Rust never sleeps".

Just picked one of these up in November 2021, 35k and a full year's mot from a garage for £995.. A few stone chips yet absolutely zero rust, the road tax was an eye opener. Windy windows 🔄, and a cassette player , I'm back in the 90s 🤣

I used my mums KA to run around in before I bought my first car. I enjoyed driving the thing around and certainly recommend one for a first car

I had a Ford Escort 1.3L mk2 saloon 1980V so the KA had the 1.3 OV engine derived from the Anglia,Ford Escort mk1&2.The 1.3 engine was great in the stock car's.

Really good - and entertaining - review. I used to have one of these - all your criticisms are absolutely right - but it was a hoot to drive -- it sat on the road and cornered brilliantly - very like a BMC Mini.

Ford ka is my first car and my absolute favourite 😊😊 i have spent over £1,500 fixing mine and improving it but it’s money well spent . They are absolutely lovely cars 😊 Rusty and have many small issues but they are such good run arounds and an all round lovely car 😊😊 very nippy and quick

Ford ka is the best car ever made on the whole world, I had one in 2012 for 7 months and it was an absolute warrior. Paid £200 replaced the rad for £40 and that was it. Absolutely amazing car.

Learnt to drive in one of these and it was so easy to drive and you could just see everything. Much preferred it to the mini cooper my instructor had before!

I have a year 2000 38k miler which I have given to my daughter & have welded more of these than I care to remember. I'd plump for a pre 2002 model with the older engine - I find the later ones rot worse for some reason (poor quality steel maybe) than the earlier ones. Always check the rear end of the outer & inner sill where the trailing arm mounts on to, when I get them in I drop the rear beam, cut out the whole lot & replace with new metal so hopefully they'll last a fair few years to come. Also check along the sills in general & up the front under the car where the subframe bolts to. I'd recommend a KA to anyone, no frills cheap fun motoring!!!

my mum has a 54 plate, got rid of it 2 years ago, best car i’ve ever driven perfect little runaround

Oh those were the days. I bought an “R” reg new in 1997 in black with black non-colour coded bumpers. It was a great go-kart drive and fugal. It was £99 deposit and £99 per month for 2 years and give it back.

I had a mk 1 Ka for my first car. Absolutely loved it. Was fun to drive and cheap to repair. Great video 👍🏽👍🏽

I had mine for ten years and bought it in 2004 as my first car brand new. It came with servicing for life. The only thing that ever went wrong with it was a fuse for the heating. I knew by the time I sold it that these rust away, file cap for example but mine never had that issue just a little sun fading on the panel. Most fun I've ever had in a car.

Wow just wow!!! 🤩 love these cars, still remember the max power editions with the little evil wings on each side of the car if anyone knows what I’m going on about. I remember these being heavily modified yet slow but a joy to see about even to this day. Still love the sport edition

Love the variety of cars you report on. Something for everyone 👍

My girlfriend still has the 1.3 lux and I can't lie, I love driving it! It's chuckable around town and has so much feel from the steering compared to modern cars. Still only 40k on the clock, full leather, nice!

It's a real shame just how badly these rot. I've never owned one but would really like to. They're an absolute hoot to drive. To think these appeared in 1996, there would still have been brand new Maestros hanging about Rover forecourts! The MK1 Ka still looks stylish.

I had a Mk1 KA, for 6months between jobs. I nicknamed it Rusty, but tell you what I had so much fun in it!! It was worth fa and rusted up proper, but it was so nippy, great gearbox and quite chuckable! I still miss Rusty and I have a 5-Series now!!

My first car was a KA. They’re cheap to buy, run and maintain. Easy to fix and parts are cheap and easy to come by. For such a small car, it’s really spacious. I’m 6 ft 3 (also was when I had the car) and never struggled for room. And if you put the back seats down, you could get loads in (you really would be surprised how much you can squeeze in). And it’s party piece, it drove like a go kart. Each wheel is right on the corners, and although it didn’t accelerate quickly, it was brilliant through the corners. Very “chuckable”. And one time, on a runway 😉, I got it up to 122mph 😳

I really do love these little things. Gutted they’re all rusting away

😎 Hey Dude, You may not see any KA's around in the mountains there, but i can assure you Essex is full of them, they are great little cars. 👍

Love the comment about the dinner ladies!

This is my first car, still have it almost 5 years later, great car

It suits you mate. Even the colours match your sweater. :P

25000 miles. 26000 miles rust. 27000 miles “you don’t see them any more “

About 10 years ago I was reversing out of a parking space and went straight into a young woman’s KA while she was sat in it and I was gutted. I got out apologised unreservedly and the woman was like “Don’t fucking worry about it, I’m not arsed!” 😂

These were great little cars from new around 1996. Unfortunately they missed out on the Ford Yamaha 1.25 engine which would have enhanced the car greatly. Thank you for the entertaining video.

Looking forward to the StreetKA review 😀

I've always felt you've got to hand it to Ford, they occasionally were able to produce new cars that looked entirely different to all other cars at the time - the Sierra as well as the Ka looked futuristic and instantly made other cars look old. I needed a reliable, small runaround car at one point so bought a new Ka as it was so cheap and have to say it surprised me how well it handled, how comfy it was to drive for longer journeys, plus was amazed I could get all my sea fishing gear in it if I folded the passenger seat down. Would I have another? Yep!

The body for these was produced in Valencia. That factory had a lot to answer for as my wife’s brand new P plate Fiesta was built there and was missing bits of wheel arch trim. Started rusting in the rear arches and sills within a year. Great fun to drive though was the 1.25 16v Zetec until it fell apart.

Bought, welded and sold loads of these little Ka,s Mick

This is why I like you’re vids, you’ve never grown to big for you’re pants and now and again you show us what we’ve all owned or driven. 😉👍🍻

Nostalgia! My first car was a 1993 Mk3 fiesta and my girlfriend at the time got a Mk1 Ka with the massive plastic bumpers, both had that rather asthmatic 1.3 engine. I loved that fiesta; the seats were soft and comfy, it had electric windows, and the body roll in the bends was a hoot. The drum brakes meant you had to really brake hard to come to a stop from anything over about 30mph. Happy days.

I have a Mk 2 and I've been pleasantly surprised by it. 1.2 engine is nippy from a standstill but, yeah, mid range pull is low, it's a town car after all. MPG is 45+, emissions is £20 a year, cheap insurance and it's a doddle to park. I did a 400 mile drive to and back to Scotland and yes it took nearly 4 tanks of fuel cos the tank is small, but i was comfortable and relaxed at the end. Downsides? They come with the type of car it is. Lack of interior storage space and a small boot although once the rear seats are dropped it's amazing how many dead bodies you can fit in. Tip : remove the legs first. I picked up 3 relatives from the airport and the boot took their suitcases (carry on size) easily. Ka or K.A.? Dunno, mine's called the Mighty Beast.

I'm glad you mentioned the rust issues around the petrol flap and rear wiper arm as I've bought and sold a few of these after bodging up the rust holes with fiberglass and filler and then plasti-dip vinyl them in matte pink lol. I often wonder how long it took for the rust bubbles to return.

Bought two new in the past. Last one I gave to daughter.and it eventually slid off an icy road and was written off. They drove better than anything of a similar price but rust was a problem. Love your reviews of non-mainstream cars.

I had a Ka for about 7 years, I loved it. There are two cupholders in each door. They’re more suitable for bottles or cans but they’re there.

One of my favourites. Bought a new new one in 1999 and ran it for 2 years. 47mpg all day, regardless of whether it was thrashed or not, £90 for full service, utterly reliable, handled like a go-kart and was easy to outrun much faster cars through bends and roundabouts because it literally went where it was pointed. No fancy extras on mine although I did fit an aftermarket CD player to enhance the driving experience. It will be a classic one day once they're all gone. BTW, 'colour coded?' No, it's 'colour-keyed!'

A very generous and favourable review of this little car ,some what different to the usual type of car but enjoyable all the same.

I had 2 of these, a real basic R reg Ka which somehow had power steering fitted but nothing else and a Ka2 which had electric windows as well & colour coded wings. The basic one was far better, ragged it everywhere, still got a million miles to the gallon, flat out it was still slower than an ice berg but handled like the proverbial go kart.. Fond memories. We also had a Ka mk2 really well specced but not a patch, economical though.

I've had my 58 plate since it was only 5 years old I'm the second owner from new and it has only done 61000 miles its still immaculate throughout and has been a very reliable car for me. I underseal it once a year to prevent rust and has not needed welding yet.My second favourite car was my first car my 1991 H reg ford orion I had after passing my driving test.I've always had more luck with ford's than other car brands.

No joke. I've just bought one to run around in! 1 owner from new. I got it from her. Fully undersealed from new. She used it once a week for shopping, then back in the garage! I got it at 32k miles. Its ace!! Nippy around town.

When my daughter was young she had a couple of Ford Ka's and they were fantastic little cars for a young woman, I don't remember either of them having any issues, cheap to insure and very good on fuel, she commuted about 30 miles each way everyday, so it was a relief they were so reliable.

My driving instructor had one of these and I think i stalled it on every single lesson except for the actual test. I always preferred my mam"s mk3 fiesta even though it felt like a tractor to drive in comparison to the Ka.

Hurtling toward 100K subs at a giddy rate, good on you fella.....

Such lovely little cars! Went to Warsaw with one, no problems. Another one brought me to Bordeaux. It was fun. My wife's 2004 Ka (with black plastic bumpers and no airco...) still drives around somewhere. Not bad, given the lust for rust.

Had a dark green Ka2 as my first car and loved it! Simple and fun motoring.

Thanks for the Vid mate, Corrosion issues aside the KA is a pleasant little car, cheap and cheerful I’d say. A 1996 Ford KA was the first car I drove legally on the road back in 1998, they are good to drive and handle well, the original ones in 1996 were a bit odd to look at but I think colour coding the bumpers was a massive improvement.

“If you have a look on autotrader if you haven’t nodded off “ hahahahaha

These are huge fun to drive - and a tidy one is well worth buying and rustproofing it to death. I'm looking for a rust fee Sport Ka to stash away. One day people will hankering after these - looking to relive their youth and first car. Sadly though they're one of the most rust prone cars of the modern era.

Had one as a courtesy car once. Great fun for a week

Love my ka. Smaller cars have This fun factor about them because their so nippy and fit in tight spaces and gaps bigger cars can’t get through haha. Mine’s a 2006 year with 5500 miles . Supper cheap to run. I fill up half a tank for 20 quid and it last me forever 😂 .... get a lot off nostalgia from older ford cars. Like ford escort was a great car also but it’s getting really rare to sea them now they used to be everywhere.

I just moved to manchester and when I wanna buy my first car, I'm coming to you. Top Bloke!

Hi had one very low miles, cracking reliable car, sold it to my brother he loves it, great vlog. 👍

Cracking cars, real peoples wagons, simple, honest, fun and go anywhere. Fantastic to see real reviews of real cars, they are far more interesting than middle market euroboxes. Well done, More please.

Think this was the last of the “superminis” Moderen superminis are huge!

Great little cars - many years ago I had a KA3 (A/C and alloys) best small car I've had (and that includes various Japanese ones) - Buy one IF you can find one that's not a pile of rust by now.

Cracking to see a sensible, balanced review of a real peoples car. Whilst looking at nutty alternatives about doing a Skoda Roomster (you can get your bike in the back standing up with only the centre seat removed). Very eco friendly...

My parents had a 2000 KA2 Collection.... Amazing car. Died in 2017 with 50,000 miles. Nice green colour too

Saw one in purple today after not seeing one in ages. Great gear change and one of the best aged small cars. Nice to see u mixing it up.

As someone from the Netherlands and being 1.88 M, I can say, I can fit fine in a Ka, really liked the little things

1999 I bought one for my commute, Suffolk to London x5 days a week 220 mile a day round trip - i bought a months old KA3 from a Ford dealer - MPG was ok not great and the first visit to Ford for a service was hilarious when they clocked the monthly mileage!

Love my 1st gen Ka, no complicated electronics to go wrong and drives like an oversized go cart which makes it fun.

Got one a year or so ago for 400 quid after returning from backpacking and then drove all the way to Marbella in it , but head gasket blew on the way back from Gibraltar, but have so much love for these little things so having it fixed haha

Only if it has rust around the filler cap...money to be made out of them...this fella on youtube taught us that. Happy New year Matt.

Until recently there were three of these locally (now two), and there's loads of the MK2 around here too. Always liked the ethos behind these. Interesting to look at, great to drive, cheap to run. I suspect Issigonis would have been a fan. The trouble is they don't just rust, they literally rot as you watch. The local cars I mentioned ALWAYS fail their mot on rot (seatbelt mounts the most recent failure on an 08 plate) and I would definitely not want to have an accident in one! Despite all that I still like them, but I wouldn't put my money in one any more.

I loved when they first came out - all around the new edge design Ford had going on with the focus and puma - they looked very modern and were hire risqué for the time. Wish Ford went back to taking risks like they did back then - they’ve not released and interesting looking set of cars since that couple of years

I ran a mk 1 Focus to 187000 miles, same clutch and the interior showed no wear.. Brilliant in the snow and tough as old boots. Not as quiet as modern cars but unbeatable in many ways.

Thank you! Awesome move, a proper 2020 send-off, great fun with all your reviews High Peak Auto 😎👍

Brilliant video on great little car. Just bought one for my 17 yr old daughter. - , 2007 , 60,000 miles with yrs MOT, If she doesn’t kill it, her sister will inherit it, happy days!

Dad's one might be coming to an end. Only about 60k miles and he's had it since 2012. It's an 07 reg as well...

Learnt to drive in a 1997 ka. Loved the handling. The frowning front is indeed a nod too the front of the anglia from which its engine was taken!

Looked at the Street KA years ago as possible car for my wife. Neither of us were very taken and we ended up buying a Puma 1.7 instead which was a fun little car and is now on its way to becoming a classic.

My misses had one and I have to say they are a super car to drive, the handling direct steering surprised the life out of me, it was green in color and people said it looked like a wheelie bin from a distance outside our house. The street Ka is a great looking vet though,

My Mrs had one from new in 2002 - great little thing that handled like a roller skate. Bit wheezy under the bonnet but that just meant my licence wasn't in danger every time I drove it. A good, simple, honest little car. Nice review, I can see your affection for the midget rust-buckets:-)