Hi everyone i am thinking of getting a ka. I am looking at the mk1 shape at the moment i've got a fiesta mk5 on a 51 plate endure e engine 1.3i. Now i know the ka shares the same engine has my fiesta so i am wondering is there any signs to look out for on these ka i know there suffer rust around the petrol cap but the big question is are they reliable and cheap to run.

Cheers alan.

We have a 52 plate Ka.

The engine is extremely reliable, Ford have been using this one for a long time.

Wishbones, suspension top mounts and coil springs are common problems, and we've had them all.

Also watch for seized spark plugs, very common on these and expensive to sort should the worst happen and you snap one trying to remove it.

Don't expect it to be anything special, they do exactly what they were designed for. Not bad to drive, relatively cheap to run, not exactly refined motoring though. Noisey in the cabin, steering quite stiff for a tiny car.

If it was me, I'd find a Fiesta for the same money, but just my opinion.

......

We had a mk1 ka2 for about 10 to 11 years no major problems but it didn't do many miles. It was a 98 R and I found it very nippy and chuckable round corners. very gokart like steering. The only criticism I have is that it seemed quite easy to lock the front wheels under moderate to reasonably hard braking. I the the car is light so can be more prone to this. the only problems we had were the washer bottle got blocked and needed dismantling. water sits in the door sills and gets under the rubber trim and causing rust. I also think the dampers at the front needed changing but didn't fail the mot.

got around 44mpg driving it briskly. in the end the steering started to wobble a little and road tax was coming up. we shopped it in for a fiesta mk7 titanium tdci, but I still miss it. it did very well to the ripe old age of 13 years.

AL