The original Ford Ka has been on sale since 1996 and 1.4 million have been produced worldwide, revolutionising the city car class.

Today the Ford Ka is more relevant and popular than ever – the last year of its life has seen its strongest UK sales in history. An amazing feat for a 12-year old design.

Now the new Ford Ka is here, and after such a long wait, we couldn’t wait to drive it.

In the mid 1990s the looks of the original Ka took no prisoners – it was bold to say the least. But didn’t it age well?

The new Ka has some nods to the last model - especially at the rear with its big bumper and small wrap-around window – but mainly it adheres to Ford’s ‘Kinetic’ look.

This means it has a big four-sided front grille, headlights which are long and aggressive, bold wheelarches and a pronounced shoulder line along its sides.

It’s also the cutesiest Ford, and particular attention has been paid to colours, materials and marketing.

Head along to the latest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace and you will see heroine Olga Kurylenko at the wheel of a snazzy gold Ka in a move to reach a big audience and gain the Ka an invaluable aura of cool.

The 12 available colours include pastel blue, lime green, white and purple – and there are three ‘Individual’ packages available to really make the Ka standout.

‘Grand Prix’ makes the Ka into a quasi-ST model with racing stripes, spoiler and painted grille. ‘Digital’ sees the car painted in contrasting neon green and black, and ‘Tattoo’ adds body art to the roof and even the seats.

The ‘Individual’ goodies range in price from £125 to £1,000 and many can be combined with each other.

Fun and playful

It’s pretty roomy inside the new Ka, thanks mainly to a 10cm increase in height over the old model. It’s a bit wider too, but surprisingly the length has remained exactly the same.

Two six-foot occupants will be happy in the front, with lots of shoulder, head and legroom. The back seat is also comfortable for two passengers, but it’s worth noting that like its predecessor, the Ford Ka is only available as a three-door.

The quality, trim and style of the dashboard and seats are all way ahead of rivals including the Toyota Aygo and similar Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1. It’s much more exciting to sit in than the Volkswagen Fox and Renault Twingo and feels more grown up than the interior of a Smart Fortwo.

The Ka interior is playful, with varied and contrasting colours featuring on its soft-touch dashboard.

Size and layout of the controls are similar to the Fiat 500 – which is no surprise as the Ford Ka shares its basic layout and is built at the same Polish car plant.

Which you prefer is down to taste – the Ka is more modern and dynamic, the Fiat 500 more retro and cool.

There is no clear-cut class leader between the two, both offering more than we ever expected of a city car, just a few years ago.

The boot is 24 per cent bigger than the previous generation Ka and now holds 224-litres of luggage (the new Fiesta has a 295-litre boot).

Gripping the city

Ford is keen to point out the lengths its engineers have gone to in making the Ford Ka drive ‘like a Ford’.

In recent years its reputation for building cars with excellent driving dynamics has gone from strength to strength and has become an integral part of its brand identity.

Ford gurus have modified the Fiat 500 chassis layout by adding a rear anti-roll bar between the back wheels, to make the Ka lean less during cornering.

The addition of this extra component has allowed the suspension springs to be 30 per cent softer than in the Fiat, and the driving experience feels quite different as a result.

Bumps are soaked up amazingly well and the level of grip on offer is exceptional for a small car designed for city streets.

It’s a class leading performance, with linear steering and handling which remained predictable and fun, even on the challenging mountain roads of Ibiza.

Welcome to the 21st Century

To say the engine in the outgoing Ford Ka is now out-of-date is an understatement.

Despite being just 1.3-litres in size its antiquated design meant its emissions of  147g/km are sky high, and its fuel consumption of 45.6mpg has been bettered by all its competitors.

The new Ka will redress the balance. It comes with two engines, making the prospective buyer’s choice as simple as “Petrol or Diesel?”

Both are derived from the Fiat stable and see action in the Fiat 500 and Panda.

The 1.2-litre Duratec is a smooth-revving engine with 69bhp, capable of averaging 55.4mpg while emitting less than 120g/km of carbon dioxide.

Diesel is less popular in the city car class, but the 1.3-litre Duratorq’s promise of 67.3mpg will no doubt tempt buyers.

They will have to be after a range-topping model though – the diesel is only available with the highest Zetec trim and commands a £700 premium over the petrol Zetec.

All models are in tax band B, with an annual charge of £35 now and £20 in 2009.

Acceleration from 0-62mph takes an identical 13.1 seconds for both models, and both top out at around 100mph.

Neither petrol nor diesel is what you would call ‘fast’, but fluent handling allows the Ka to make decent progress along twisty roads.

We’d choose the petrol over the diesel because it’s cheaper to buy, almost as economical, quieter and more fun to drive.

The diesel is quiet when cruising but loud when you use it hard – and with only modest power, this is most of the time.

Refinement is the forte of the petrol, which is quiet even at a relatively high 4,000rpm motorway cruise.

‘Individual’

Ford is hoping to attract lots of ‘downsizers’ from big, well-equipped models, and to encourage the transition to a small car, it hasn’t skimped on the gadgets available.

Bluetooth communications, USB data port, electronic brake assist, electronic stability programme, passenger airbag deactivation, heated seats, trip computer, climate control and stereo upgrades are all ‘big car features’.

The basic ‘Studio’ model gives the Ka a low entry-level price of £7,995 and features driver and passenger airbags, body-coloured bumpers and a six-speaker CD player with MP3 compatibility and an AUX-in connector for portable music players.

‘Style’ buyers get powered and body-coloured door mirrors, electric front windows, body-coloured door handles, remote locking, driver seat height adjustment with memory function and split rear seats, starting from £8,495.

For an extra £500 ‘Style+’ adds air conditioning and a heated windscreen.

The top-spec ‘Zetec’ starts from £9,495 and brings 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, upgraded instruments and a trip computer.

If Ford is right, and people do step into the Ka after selling larger vehicles, the new owners are unlikely to be disappointed.

The Ka has achieved the impressive feat of feeling bigger, quieter and more expensive than the sum of its parts and it jumps clear ahead of all its rivals bar one – the Fiat 500.

The Ford handles better and is more modern than the Fiat. The Fiat 500 has more style and similarly equipped models are slightly cheaper.

Both models are winners, but you should choose the Ford Ka if you want the best driving dynamics available in a city car.