Ford Ka 2 1.3i  > Reviews (29)

Well I forced to buy another car after my Mk3 Golf was written off by a lorry thinking it was a motorbike.

Well I saw a dark blue KA 2 advertised for £350, 11 months MOT, 4 Months tax.

First thing I thought was BARGIN, then after going to look at it I thought, ok average condition, push rod engine (I like it as no cam belt to worry about), new brakes (yeah right!).

Well I paid the man for this Ka and first thing I noticed was ICSV problem (idle control valve) but I used to own an escort what had the same problem so knew it was an easy fix (oh how I was wrong).

Ok well got it home that evening generaly happy with it, electric windows, immobiliser, central locking, air con :-), power steering (not that its needed) that gives good comunication from the wheels.

Well next day in the daylight I saw just how bad the paint was, looked like orange peel (serves me right buying at night in the rain), but im happy with sorting that myself so not to bad, looked at the sills, need replacing before next mot, £25 a side and 3 hours later not bad. (still cheaper than buying a mint one for the same year) so onto the ICSV, cleaned, still revy and stalling at junctions so thought oh damn new one needed. Anyway adjusted the rockers to stop the tapping noise, sounds smooth now, and when replacing the rocker cover noticed the pipe from the oil cap to the inlet manifold had 2 holes from rubbing on the cover. (I wondered what the hissing noise it made was) anyway put gaffa tape round it and hey presto no more stalling AND better fuel economy.

Now speaking of fuel economy its not that great that others make it out to be (don't get it confused with the durotorq 8v engine (aka zetec ro-cam engine) as thats a different engine)

Being a 1.3i multipoint engine I would of thought ok maybe a little gutless but better mpg than my old 1.6 golf. ER NO! Certainly pulls well in the low down revs as being a torquey engine and even though only 60Bhp its certainly no slug.

Usually takes me £20 to goto London and back from Margate (round trip of 145ish miles consiting of town, motorway and traffic jams) returning an average of 36mpg. Less than the golf with same driving style.

Would I recomend the Ka2. Hell yeah even with the problems I found on the KA its easy to fix, even if you get one that has rotten sills, buy some replacement sills and your local backstreet garage will probably put them in for around £75 as most charge £25 an hour and its a 3 hours job (not including respray).