Ford Ka

Ford Ka at a glance

First generation (1996–2008): New Edge city car

Ford introduced the Ka on 11 September 1996. It used the platform of the third Fiesta and was built on the existing Fiesta line at Almussafes near Valencia. The styling, overseen by Jack Telnack and drawn by Claude Lobo, was the first example of Ford's New Edge design. The styling drew mixed reactions at first.

At launch the only engine was a 1.3-litre Endura-E overhead-valve four-cylinder with 37 or 44 kW. The weaker version dropped to 36 kW in October 1998 and left the range in August 1999. At the end of 2002 a 1.3 Duratec overhead-cam engine with 44 or 51 kW took over. In Germany the 44 kW car cost 18,150 DM (about €9,280) in 1996, the 37 kW version 16,750 DM (about €8,560).

The Ka stayed in production for an unusually long twelve years. Ford built the millionth car in 2002 and sold about 1.5 million in total. In the UK alone, 17,000 Kas found buyers in 2006, and it led its class there for several years. The 2006 German base price was €9,300, rising to €9,600 in 2007; a Ka Student edition of January 2005 cost €7,990. Euro NCAP awarded three stars in October 2000. The tested European car had no passenger or side airbags.

SportKa and StreetKa

Two derivatives used a 1.6-litre Duratec with 70 kW (95 PS). The SportKa was a sportier three-door, advertised as "the Ka's evil twin". The StreetKa was a two-seat roadster, first shown as a study in 2000. Pininfarina built 37,076 StreetKas between 2003 and 2005. Advertising for both cars caused controversy at the time.

Second generation (2008–2016): built with the Fiat 500

For the second Ka, Ford joined forces with Fiat. Production began on 18 July 2008 at Fiat's plant in Tychy, Poland, on the same line as the Fiat 500. Each model was built at a rate of about 120,000 cars a year. The Ka shares the 500's technical base. More on the Italian twin is in our Fiat 500 article.

German prices at launch started at €9,750 for the Trend petrol and €10,750 for the Titanium, with the diesel costing €2,000 more. In 2012 the Trend cost €10,900. A price cut at the end of 2013 brought the range to €9,140 for the Ambiente, €9,640 for the Trend and €11,140 for the Titanium. Euro NCAP gave four stars in November 2008; the tested car had no side airbags. A sporty Ka ST and a Ka CC convertible were announced but never built.

Production ended in spring 2016: on 20 May according to English Wikipedia, in April according to the German article.

Ka+ (2016–2020): the five-door from India

The third car was a larger five-door hatchback, built in Brazil and India and sold in Europe as the Ka+. Europe received cars from a purpose-built plant in Sanand, Gujarat, India. The Ka+ was presented in June 2016 and delivered from mid-October 2016. German prices started at €9,990 in 2016, or €11,400 for the Cool&Sound version with air conditioning and Ford Sync.

• 2016 launch: 1.2 Ti-VCT Duratec petrol with 51 kW (70 PS) or 63 kW (85 PS).
• 2018 facelift: a new 1.2 three-cylinder with 52 or 63 kW, a 1.5 TDCi diesel with 70 kW (until April 2019) and the crossover-styled Ka+ Active. The diesel's 70 kW was 33 kW more than the 37 kW of the 1996 base Ka.

Euro NCAP tested the Ka+ in March 2017 and gave three stars. It scored 73 % for adult occupants, 61 % for children, 57 % for pedestrians and 29 % for safety assistance; Euro NCAP called the result mediocre. Ford ended European sales of the Ka+ in January 2020, while Brazilian production went on into 2021. Our garage-fit tool helps to compare the three generations' dimensions with a parking space.

The Ka in South America

South American Kas of the first generation came from São Bernardo in Brazil. The Brazilian Ka launched in December 2007 was still based on the first-generation chassis and had 1.0 and 1.6 flex-fuel engines. The Brazilian version of the third generation was built at Camaçari until 13 January 2021, with a 59 kW (80 PS) 1.0 three-cylinder and a 77 kW (105 PS) 1.5.

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