1st Nov 2004, 07:51
I too have a new SPORTKA and I am bitterly disappointed. The car is dreadfully slow, anything with a 1.4 engine or above will lick it or easily match it!The gears are too short, engine runs out of puff to soon and it DRINKS petrol. I can't believe FORD made such a good looking, handling car then cursed it with snail like performance!!I shall definitely be trading mine in when it's a year old!!!
28th Oct 2005, 13:29
Hi all, I have had my Sport Ka SE for around 10 months now, a 53 plate which is just coming up to 12500 miles which are virtually all mine. Bought second hand through Ford Direct and although I went through a negative patch, once the miles had clocked up the engine seems much livelier and fuel consumption is not half bad. You have got to consider it’s a small tank, and a big gauge!
As for service; only problem I had was with the airbag warning light coming on. My car went in to the garage that week, back out the same day fixed with a full valet! Which impressed me no end, the service department so far has been fantastic!
As for the sales be cautious they seem more determined to sell you their finance than the car itself, which I didn’t like. Shop around and find the deal that suits you and your specific needs. Plus be sure to get a good test drive, a few may be worth while before you invest your cash.
The car is fun, quick enough to excite (who needs to go faster than 108mph?) sitting on the motorway just fine, I do a 300 mile round trip every other weekend in it.
Bad points: Be sure the seating position suits you and note the lack of clutch pedal foot rest for long journeys! (Worst point I think)
My Black Sport KA SE still puts a smile on my face whether it's flooring it off a roundabout or walking up to it in a car park, and that’s got to be a good thing 10 months after purchase!
Don’t let bad reviews put you off, make your own decision!
1st Nov 2005, 05:18
I have just purchased a brand new Sport KA SE. So far I've had it a month and clocked up 550 miles. As I am still on run-in, I haven't been able to find out its true potential yet.
I decided to opt for Panther Black metallic paint, with the infra red and black leather, as I have not seen one with it before, and it is absolutely gorgeous!
I have only had one bad surprise from my SportKa, the turning circle is awful!! This really surprised me as it is such a tiny car.
In response to comments about the loud engine, this is true when you are sat on the motorway at 4000rpm, but the performance is still surprisingly good.
Ford were a great pleasure to deal with when purchasing it, and even helped me out with high insurance costs. (I'm 18)
This is a great car for the girl around town, and I would recommend it to anyone!!
17th May 2006, 21:43
I own a SportKa in imperial blue. I think it's an excellent car overall, for a small car that has leather seats, aircon, CD player, electric mirrors plus, electric windows, alloys wheels, you can't go wrong with this nipper of a car. It's a rare looking car, that passersby will look twice at, so go for it, five star ratings from me *****
18th May 2006, 20:36
The only car in my mind can get close to the looks of this sportka is the fiesta st in imperial blue.
7th Jul 2006, 18:37
I have just purchased a second hand SportKa in imperial blue with full leather. My previous car was a tuned Focus ST170 pushing out 207 BHP at the flywheel, but was far less fun to drive than the SportKa. Remember that it only weighs around 900 Kg, coupled with 135 Nm of torque gives it awesome low down acceleration and brilliant throttle response. I'm getting 30 mpg while giving it death bouncing it off the rev limiter, 40 mpg when taking my time. Add a K&N induction kit and sports exhaust and you get an intoxicating sound from the engine every time you put your foot down! Its fun fun fun! And not to mention the handling, stunning looks and that wicked super close ratio gearbox (unlike the focus/fiesta ST`s boring long ratios!) makes it like a little rally car.
If you can't enjoy yourself in this car then you don't know how to drive.
Track day enthusiast and dedicated petrol head.
17th Mar 2007, 14:01
My new imperial blue sport ka se is just brilliant what a super little car, it goes great sounds great, handles like its on rails and the gear ratios are just perfect, I had a standard ka which was good. I liked the look of the sport ka drove one and that was it hooked! worth every penny.
26th Oct 2004, 09:01
This review is based on a Sport Ka SE UK spec. At the time of purchase the leather seats only came in black with blue inserts. No other colour option was available. I have a twenty year old XR2 (my pride and joy) which outperforms the Ka without a problem. For a modern car with a 1600cc engine this car is not very quick at all and the engine is very audible and harsh. This is something that has been noticed in several other reviews. There is no denying that the handling is just about perfect, but the car is flawed in other areas that spoil the experience. We have owned a new Ka luxury before this which was a fine car and my expectations were based on this experience which I think is a fair comparison. For a tiny car with a fairly large engine my expectation would be for it to shift itself pretty rapidly!
High fuel consumption is also a complaint often heard from other Ka owners this one being no exception. This car is driven fairly hard by myself, but 25 MPG is a little on the steep side none the less.
Regarding comfort... our last Ka had the older style dash which had the warning lights in the right hand corner where they could be seen. Ford has now moved these to the top of the dash where they are completely obscured by the non adjustable steering wheel!
Then there's the engine noise... It's fair to say that my old XR2 makes a bit of a racket when you put your foot down, the exhaust note is deep and it's a pleasing noise. Now jump into the Sport Ka and put your foot down, it's not a pleasing throaty noise at all, it's just harsh. This can get very irksome on a long motorway trip.
My expectation was for this car to be quick with good handling a pleasing and a pleasing noise from the engine. In reality it only delivers in the handling department, in my opinion Ford could have done a lot better than to put the remnants of a Ford Anglia engine under the bonnet.