2003 Ford StreetKa Luxury 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

The worst car ever

Faults:

Everything; clutch, cat converter, lambda sensor, fuel pump, driver's door won't open, speed won't register on gauge, petrol always shows as empty, and it's in permanent limp mode, no matter what work gets done.

This is an evil car!!!

General Comments:

Awful car; I preferred my old banger of a Saxo.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd September, 2012

22nd Apr 2015, 21:02

Did you buy this car in a good condition, or was it broken when you got it?

23rd Apr 2015, 16:20

The reviewer drove it for about 30 miles after purchasing before writing this review, so I'm guessing he bought it broken.

26th Oct 2022, 16:05

Did the StreetKa suffer from rust issues as the regular Ka did?

27th Oct 2022, 14:00

No, both Kas have a pretty thick layer of clear coat which protect the paint.

2003 Ford StreetKa Luxury 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

4 years and £5k on repairs

Faults:

Clutch at 75k miles.

Lambda sensors at 50k miles.

Battery (x2) at 40k miles, and again at 80k miles.

Catalytic converter at 85k miles.

Alternator at 80k miles.

Engine coil at 91k miles.

Rear axle needed replacing after hitting a pothole.

Door handles broken more times than I can remember.

2 new wheels after hitting pothole.

Suspension coils replaced at 82k miles.

General Comments:

I would not recommend this car to my worst enemy - nothing but trouble. Too expensive to run; tyres cost too much, it drinks petrol, and whilst it's nippy, it has such a stiff sporty suspension, it rattles when you hit the slightest bump in the road.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th July, 2011

26th Jan 2023, 14:43

Totally agree these were horrible cars, my father had one and it rusted (amongst other things) at barely six years old.

26th Jan 2023, 22:37

That is pretty normal if it’s an area where they put a lot of salt on the roads.

2003 Ford StreetKa Luxury 1.6 Duratec from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Audi TT style, but with a Ford badge

Faults:

Passenger door interior trim sometimes pops out; this is due to a snapped pin, most likely man handled by the previous owner... it only occasionally pops out though, not even worth the time and energy to fix at this stage.

General Comments:

Traded in an Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro due to being made redundant and being accepted into University for the next years. Decided to go for the StreetKa, as it's very practical for my student needs and I will not be doing anywhere near the miles that I did in the Audi (was doing around 1200 - 1500 miles per week in the A6... will be doing at most 400 - 500 miles per week now).

It all boiled down to costs; the A6 was becoming an expensive town car.

I was initially very worried about the StreetKa and fuel economy after a number of reviews saying it was terrible. However, I have been very pleasantly surprised by a fuel economy of around 270 - 300 miles per tank, which is roughly between 27 - 30mpg, which for a 10 gallon tank I think is very good... the Audi had a a fuel tank at least twice the size, so cost twice as much for only a fraction more miles... so already this little car has saved me a lot of money in running costs.

Insurance is very cheap, OK, it's a group 7, but I was receiving more expensive quotes for Fiestas!

Being a convertible, it has that added element of fun in that the roof can go down... it's a manual roof, but takes less than 20 seconds to fold down or up.

The leather interior and heated seats help make this car feel very comfortable to drive and be in.

Parking is no issue, as the StreetKa is very small and extremely easy to park.

It seems that the StreetKa is generally considered to be a "woman's car", but I am a man and very proud to drive this car (and just to note, I'm also very comfortable with my sexuality!), however, admittedly, my partner loves this car and she keeps saying she wants it... which leads me onto another point that the resale value of the StreetKa is good, as they will generally hold their value, as apparently, they are sought after cars.

The car is a looker, and will attract attention, so I will say to any men considering it, ensure you don't mind attention and the occasional jibe about driving a more "feminine" car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th October, 2010