2009 Ford Ka

Ford’s smallest Euro car just might play Peoria someday. At least for now, the new Ford Ka is one model that is excluded from Ford’s rush to bring small, fuel-sipping cars from Europe to America. Currently in the U.S., only the Smart Fortwo is smaller than the Ka, and Ford chief executive Alan Mulally recognizes that a 142.5-inch-long four-seater may be a step too far in his drive for fuel-efficient products.
The Ka—the name is from an ancient Egyptian god, even it has a childish sound—has been Ford of Europe’s entry model since 1998. The original, which was inspired by the cheap but chic Renault Twingo, used components from a then-out-of-date Fiesta.

In 10 years, Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, has made 1.4 million Kas, but during that time, the center for low-cost European car production moved away from western Europe. When the Ka was due for replacement, Ford couldn’t make the numbers add up. It looked around for a cooperative deal with a manufacturer that had the plant in eastern Europe which Ford lacked. To the surprise of many, Ford made an agreement with Fiat.

This was not a joint venture in the normal sense of the term. Ford would simply re-body a Fiat 500, specify it with its own equipment, and buy the resulting model from Fiat. The new Ka would be made alongside the 500 and the Panda at the Fiat plant in Tychy, Poland.

The result is that the Ka has no Ford hardware—apart from some suspension pieces—and the engines and the transmission are all from Fiat. It also means that, for the first time, the entry models from GM Europe (Opel Agila and Corsa) and Ford use the same Fiat diesel engine.

Whoa. So the Ka becomes a “badge-engineered” Fiat? Ford was quick to retort that there would be no resemblance between the two cars—how they look or how they drive. We believed the former but were skeptical about the latter.

But Ford of Europe delivers on its promises. First the styling: If you weren’t told, you would not guess the connection between the Ka and the 500. The Fiat is cute and retro, in the spirit of the 1950s Cinquecento. The Ka is like a view of the new Fiesta in a fun-house mirror: wedgy, pudgy, and stretched in some areas.

In terms of ride and handling, the Ford is not only different from the Fiat—it’s better. Unlike the 500, the Ka has a rear anti-roll bar, and for the Ford, the front anti-roll bar and the suspension bushings have been stiffened. Ford fitted 30-percent-softer springs and dampers for a more comfortable ride and also changed the calibration of the Fiat’s electric power steering.

The Ka feels more grown-up than the 500, and at least with the 68-hp, 1.2-liter gasoline engine, it’s a quieter and more relaxed car for longer journeys.

The 500 is marketed as a premium baby car in the manner of BMW’s Mini in the class one size up. Ford sees the Ka as more mainstream but has nonetheless included some big-car features on its options list, including a heated windshield and seats, and three customizing packs—Grand Prix, Tattoo, and Digital Art—that cost about $750 each. As a result, Ka prices are closer to the 500’s than the cheaper and more utilitarian Fiat Panda’s are—and significantly higher than those of the outgoing Ka.

In fact, the $12,250 starting price of a Ka in the U.K. is only $1000 less than the more spacious and accomplished Fiesta. From the automaker’s point of view, the advantage in fuel consumption—and therefore the effect on CAFE—is minimal: another reason why a North American introduction is not a high priority.

But Ford’s head honcho still likes the idea. At the time of its introduction at the Paris auto show in October, Mulally said: “I think the Ka could work in the U.S.—the question is the volume.”

In any case, Fiat’s Polish factory could not produce at the rate that would be needed for an American launch. But there is another scenario that might work: If Ford were to offer some of its spare plant capacity in North America to Fiat to make Alfa Romeos and Abarths for the U.S. market, it would be relatively easy to produce the Ford Ka alongside the Abarth 500.