1999 Ford Ka 1 review from UK and Ireland

Steering rack has gone very shaky and the steering wheel creaks.

Tracking has needed to be altered often.

Uneven tyre wear.

Got through half a dozen brake/indicator bulbs???

An attractive modern looking small runabout that is okay on the motorway and very cheap to insure (looks a lot better with colour coded bumpers).

Our Ford Ka has no power steering, this is a very, very bad idea (the 1.3 engine makes the car quite heavy. It is a huge task to steer around any corner, it physically hurts to drive it and it's hard to keep in a straight line. This is down to the lack of power steering, these cars should be avoided.

Certain parts show poor design and quality, the spare wheel is impossible to get out, the bolt is close to the edge of the boot and the tools are useless.

The visibility is poor especially the front pillar which seems to blank out the road when taking a bend.

The clutch is not much good, it overheats very quickly.

Cheap radio/cassette player and speakers.

The engine isn't too bad (it's basically the same one Ford has been using for about 40 years), it's got torque low down - no need to rev it above 2500 so it's quite economical. But can sound like a bag of spanners if you try and push it too hard.

The gearbox gives a nice change, a good point for a new driver.

Not too cramped in the back although the boot is small.

I personally think it's not a patch on our previous car - Rover Metro 1.1.