MOTOR-BLOG from Coventry

Well it’s here at last, the new Ford KA. I’ve a sneaky feeling that the prototype car I’ve seen around Coventry recently could well have been a new KA getting some mileage put on it. Anyhoos, We have a brand spankers German registered car on test at work at the moment, and I must say, I’m a little disappointed.

I’ve not driven it you understand, and I’m sure like most new cars it will be fine to drive - easy to control, so good as to be bordering on the boring. It’s just the way it looks, It’s based on the same platform as the Fiat 500 but without the charisma. I liked the new 500 when it came out, but I’m a little bored with them too now, it has to be said. But at least the retro styling gives it a little something…

I know that Ford have tried to go for a completely new look with the new KA, but they could have kept a little of the original’s styling, which was lets not forget, quite daring at the time.

OK, so the original version didn’t get the envisaged 3 cylinder possibly turbocharged petrol engine that it was meant to and it had to make do with a development of the rattly decades old Kent engine with no diesel option (could you imagine that these days?) But it made a splash when it first appeared in 1996.

Not so the new one in my opinion, it looks just like a Corsa to me and that is dull. Nope, no matter how good it is to drive if I was after a brand new small car it would have to be a new Twingo.

Now that’s more like it…

And now for your entertainment is the official launch press release - let it not be said that motor-blog does not give a balanced view of opinion…

ALL-NEW FORD KA MAKES GLOBAL DEBUT AT PARIS MOTOR SHOW

• Replacing the iconic original, the all-new Ford Ka is stylish, modern and great fun to drive
• Expressive styling combines Ford’s latest kinetic design language with the youthful and cheeky spirit of the original Ka
• Suspension, steering and chassis have been meticulously tuned by Ford engineering specialists to deliver the most exciting driving dynamics of any small car
• Efficient to run and environmentally friendly with two economical, low emission engines: 1.2-litre 69 PS Duratec petrol and the first Ka diesel – a
  1.3-litre 75 PS Duratorq TDCi – delivering 67.2mpg
• Both petrol and diesel models available with sub-120g/km CO₂ emissions
• Available in the UK by late 2008/early 2009

Brentwood, Essex, September 8, 2008 - The exciting all-new Ford Ka makes its global debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It replaces the iconic original Ka, which brought new levels of style and enjoyment to the small-car market when it was launched in 1996.

The all-new Ka retains all of the qualities which made the Ka brand so popular – compact size, great looks, lively dynamics and fun personality – but presents them in a fresh all-new package.

With its striking interior and exterior design, outstanding dynamics and unique character, the all-new Ford Ka sets a new standard for affordable small cars. Practical, safe, cheap to run, and friendly to the environment, this bold new model starts a new chapter of the Ka success story.

Production of the all-new Ford Ka commences in the autumn of 2008, and the vehicle will go on sale in the UK in late 2008/early 2009.

Stylish and fashionable
With the introduction of all-new Ka, Ford has extended its kinetic design language to the smallest car range.

The all-new vehicle has a stylish, fashionable appearance which combines Ford’s latest design thinking with some of the youthful and cheeky spirit which made the original Ka so popular.

Designed for a young target audience who enjoy making a bold statement in their choice of car, the all-new Ka has the same compact proportions as its predecessor, but with a chunky and expressive style all of its own.

A number of visual cues from the outgoing car ensure that the new design is recognisably a Ka, yet it has the dynamic qualities which mark it out as a member of the kinetic design family.

Bold, colourful interior
The interior of the all-new Ka has a stylish, dynamic design, just like the exterior. The same kinetic design philosophy used to shape the body is applied inside the vehicle, ensuring that the fresh and modern character of the external design is matched by the interior style.

Bold contrasts and expressive colours have been deliberately chosen to reflect the more adventurous tastes of the typical Ka customer. These are combined with some imaginative design details to give the interior a fashionable and fun personality which is quite unique in the B-car segment.

The all-new Ka is practical too, with generous interior space and comfortable accommodation for four adults and their belongings. The high seating position, carefully placed controls and excellent visibility make the all-new Ka a pleasure to drive for drivers of all ages.

Exciting driving dynamics
The original Ka was renowned for its go-kart like handling, and the all-new Ka has been designed to be just as fun and rewarding to drive, with the most exciting driving dynamics of any small car.

Ford’s own chassis engineering experts have tuned the suspension, steering, and chassis, with the same meticulous attention to detail which has made Ford a leader in vehicle dynamics.

Final testing was conducted using a combination of public roads, proving grounds and race tracks – including the legendary Nürburgring in Germany.

During the engineering process, information was exchanged with the team developing the all-new Fiesta, and certain components, such as the tyres, were jointly developed for both models.

Economical and environmentally friendly
The affordable all-new Ford Ka is designed to be both cheap to run and kind to the environment. It uses two economical, low emission engines: a 1.2-litre 69 PS Duratec petrol engine and, for the first time on Ka, a 1.3-litre 75 PS Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel.

Both petrol and diesel models are available with sub-120g/km CO₂ emissions.

The 1.2-litre petrol model, which is expected to be the largest seller in the all-new range, has cut fuel consumption by 21 per cent compared to the previous 1.3-litre Ka.

The diesel model – available on the Ka for the first time – improves economy still further, achieving a combined fuel consumption of 67.2mpg.

Safe and secure
The all-new Ka may be a small vehicle, but it has been engineered to meet Ford’s strict in-house safety design guidelines.

At the heart of the vehicle is the bodyshell, which has been developed to provide an incredibly strong, stable crash structure to protect passengers in case of an accident.

The bodyshell is combined with an Intelligent Protection System (IPS), which integrates airbags, restraint systems and seating technologies to provide a highly effective occupant safety system.

Ka choice
The all-new Ford Ka is available in four series –Studio, Style, Style + and Zetec – each offering a combination of value and equipment.  Option packs are available to provide customers with maximum choice when specifying their vehicle.

Specify the Bluetooth-enabled Connectivity Kit, and the Ka comes equipped with Bluetooth® mobile phone connectivity, a USB port to play music files through the sound system and steering wheel controls.

Combine this with the superb six-speaker CD sound systems, and the all-new Ka provides all the necessary equipment to keep its passengers connected and entertained.

Unique among vehicles in the small-car segment, the all-new Ka also offers heated windscreen and heated seats, invaluable for safe and comfortable driving in cold winter conditions.

Development and production
The all-new Ford Ka has been developed as part of a common project with Fiat. The vehicle is produced at the modern Fiat manufacturing plant in Tychy, Poland, sharing the production line with the Fiat 500 model.

Ka history
The original Ford Ka was launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1996. It was immediately acclaimed for its exciting “All-new Edge” styling and for bringing new levels of driving enjoyment to the class.

Sales soon took off across Europe, and the Ka gained the popularity which has stayed with it throughout its lifetime, with a total of over 1,460,000 vehicles produced. In the UK alone, the Ka has found 500,000 customers, and has been segment leader since 2000.

Derivatives, such as the exciting StreetKa and SportKa models expanded the Ka family, and helped to broaden and reinforce the model’s appeal.

The Ka has inspired tremendous loyalty amongst its customers, with many owners coming back to the model time and time again. Based on Ford research, Ka customers have the highest customer brand loyalty of any Ford model.

Yep I’ve been at it again. This week I drove my first Lotus - a 240BHP Supercharged Elise. It’s a Lotus press car, and although I didn’t have a very long drive in it, I can tell you this - it’s bloody brilliant. It’s exactly how I imagined a Lotus to be, it’s low, fast and handles brilliantly.

 

I was expecting it to ride badly, but it actually soaks up the bumps quite well - and being of a skinny disposition, the interior was quite comfortable too. The Supercharged Toyota engine is a real beauty, and howls at you when you get up into the higher revs.

 

But if you are considering buying one of these - purchase a few shares in the Petrol retailer of your choice. You’re gonna need to get back some of that petrol money from somewhere…

It’s been a busy old week hence the lack of blog action - sorry about that. First up was the BMW 1 series I borrowed from work to go to a photoshoot in Kent last Saturday. The first thing I did was too pull out in front of someone at a roundabaout to a cacophany of beeping horns and no doubt some choice swearing from the driver I cut up. Sorry about that - what is it with Beemers that makes you drive like this? 

I was quite pleased in a way to perpetuate the popular view of BMW drivers though, but I still maintain that the incident wasn’t my fault. I’m used to driving older cars, and the one thing you can say about older cars is that the vision out of them is usually quite good. Take my Saab for example. That perpendicular windscreen may not do much for aerodynamics, but at least you can see out of it clearly and it doesn’t have massive pillars promoting blind spots like most new cars have.

 The One series is no exception - with such a high waistline and massive A and C pillars, it’s no wonder I cut that poor bloke up - I couldn’t see him. Apart from that, the driving experience was fine, if a bit too competent for my liking - modern cars are so good as to be boring. It was quick, relatively fuel efficient but had a overly firm ride. No more to say about it really, apart from the Kids that hang around our carpark, smoking, taking drugs, smashing the fences and grafittiing the electricity substation (yes where I live is that exclusive..), instead of offering their usual light hearted abuse at my choice of ride - actually gave me a bit of respect because of the Beemer.

This is the reason I’ll be sticking with my older cars - getting respect from idiots for driving a bloody lower-middle management yuppie vagen is not my bag, I’m afraid…

In the middle of the week it was off down to good old Osbourne Road, LU3, otherwise known as Vauxhall’s Luton HQ to pick up one of their heritage fleet - a massive 3.3 litre Vauxhall Viscount. Not my sort of thing it has to be said - too large and too square for my tastes, but nice to look at and very rare - it’s an honour to drive these things as part of my job and I bloody love it!

To get down there I took a brand new Volkswagen Eos which was on test from VW’s press fleet. What an utterly bonkers and ultimately pointless car. Who an earth will pay the thick end of 30 grand (£29,035 RRP) on what is essentially a Golf with a folding metal roof with an engine which is too large? I ask you, does a car like this really need a 3.2 litre V6?

It burns too much fuel and is way too fast for its own good. Okay, so the performance was amazing, and the traction control (which believe me, despite what Top Gear says about these things every week - you definitely DO NOT want to turn off - ever) was not that intrusive and allowed a brief and entertaining amount of wheelspin before reigning it all in and bringing it under control again. So it was fast, very fast, and while this was fun for a short while, it soon became boring - especially at the pumps.

The V6 sounded great though, and the only thing that beat me away from the lights during my brief tenure of the Eos, was its older and more talented brother, the Golf R32 - which with the 4motion four wheel drive system can get the near as dammit 250BHP power down onto the tarmac with much more composure - and gave the Eos a damn good lesson in traction into the process.

But do family sized cars like this really need 250BHP? I have to ask this question. No matter how considered a driver you are, most people will drive up to their machines capabilities - and cars like this are in my opinion, (and at risk of sounding like a boring old prude) dangerous. I don’t care how many Ncaps they have, nor how many dozens of airbags - cars like the Eos V6 are far too fast, make you drive like a dick, and does nothing to make the world a better and more pleasant place to live in.

That sort of performance is fine in exotica like Astons and Ferraris - I can see the point of cars like that. But sticking a big engine in an average car, loading it with electronic gear to help prevent you crashing, throwing in leather seats, sat nav and other toys does not make it anything other than an average car, wearing too much jewellery with far too much power than is nessicery. As an excercise in engineering, the Eos is a sucess, but you just know that the sort of person who will buy the 3.2 version will be an idiot with no taste and too much money.

 

 This car loudly shouts ‘I know nothing about cars’ but I did quite dig the white and black leather seats and paddle gearshift - but is this because it was novel for me to be in a car like this, how would I feel after a month of driving it? Bored I suspect, and with points on my licence. I soon tired of the acceleration and the way it made me drive - I really don’t want to become one of ‘those’ people. Unfortunately, cars like this instantly turn you into one…

The folding roof was clever, and you can hold a conversation with the roof down at 120mph (allegedly - I wouldn’t know honest officer) but I for one cannot see who would buy a car like this - spend a little more cash and buy an XF Jag instead, you’ll have more respect for yourself, a better car, and everyone will like you instead of calling you a twat…    

 I can sum up the Volksvagen Eos V6 in two words - Licence loser.