Ford StreetKa (2003 – 2005) Review

Ford StreetKa (2003 – 2005) At A Glance

Pretty two-seater with a decent boot. Drives very well and is easy to live with.

It's no sports car. Only two seats, which will rule it out for some buyers.

Reviews for Ford StreetKa (2003 – 2005)'s top 3 rivals

Vauxhall Tigra

Folding tin-top version of the Corsa with a quite sporty drive and softish ride.

MINI Convertible

Good looking and highly desirable. Cooper S version is fast.

Renault Wind

Stylish two-seater roadster coupe with a roomy cabin, decent bootspace, efficient and economical engines....

Ford StreetKa (2003 – 2005) handling and engines

• Readers report Real MPG to be between 28–39 mpg

I can tell you from experience that the Street Ka doesnt need the delicious curves of Kylie Minogue draped all over it to turn heads. It does that job all by itself. Roll into the square of a town in Southern France in one of these, and every head turns. All age groups from teenage girls to grannies and grandads were looking it over, asking questions, wanting one.

The original Ka took everyone by surprise, including Ford. It was supposed to be a cheap sub-mini, toe-in the water exercise. But pretty soon the company couldnt make enough of them.

And sure there have been a few problems. Like spark plugs seizing into cast iron heads and the occasional case of structural rust leading to first MOT failure. Yet the Ka continued to sell well and hold its value. So the logical next step for Ford was to improve it.

I first saw the Street Ka concept at the Barcelona Motor Show in 2001. It looked right straight away. But before Ford could build it, the company needed to find a new engine hat would fit under the Kas low snub nose. That came in the form of an iron block single overhead chain cam 1.6 with all the injection system at the front so it would fit. And, since Ford was building the engine for the limited production Street Ka, it made sense to use it in the tin-top Ka too, hence the Sport Ka.

The Street Ka isnt a sports car, or even a Sport Ka. Its a very pretty two-seater roadster with a decent sized boot that also happens to handle very well and is very easy to live with. Its obviously at its best with the top down. This is no fancy electric job. First you unhook it from the screen rail and start to fold it back. Then you press a button so the hood cover pops open. Then you fold the hood complete with plastic rear window into the hood well. Then you close the hood cover. What you end up with is the automobile equivalent of a beautiful woman stripping out of her winter clothes down to a bikini. A snazzy little roadster with exposed twin roll over bars thats totally at home in the sunshine.

0-60 isnt fantastic. Top speed isnt much over 100. Its no sports car in the manner of the Smart roadster. But it is a sweet, fun to drive, viceless summer car. The boot is plenty big enough for two peoples holiday luggage whether the top is up or down. Ride quality is good. Theres very little of the dreaded scuttle shake. And, with a sweet changing five-speed manual gearbox, its a lot easier to drive than a Smart roadster. Plenty of people will trade the extra two seats of a MINI Cooper for the drop-top gorgeous appeal of a Street Ka.

On the other hand, the Sport Ka, as its name implies, is rather more of a sports car, and a very worthy competitor to the MINI One and Cooper. You get the well-proven handling qualities of the tin-top Ka, improved with 16 wheels, 195x45 tyres, sorted suspension and the bigger 1.6 overhead cam motor. O-60 is about 9.5 seconds; not fantastic, but enough. It tops out at around 110, but with only 20mph per 1,000 rpm is happier under 100. And, with sharper handling than the Street Ka, yet still very decent ride quality, its a whole heap of fun. Eventually, of course, it understeers, but lift off a tad and youre straight back on line without any back-end drama. So its safe as well.

Insurance of both the Street Ka and Sport Ka is a low Group 7. The passenger airbags are switchable so babies can safely be carried in front seats. The luxuries of leather and air come together as an optional £1,250 luxury pack.

The other new Ka is of course the 70bhp alloy head ohc 1.3, which replaces the asthmatic 60bhp pushrod engine. So Ford has taken a great little car with a lousy engine and turned it into a fine three-model range with decent engines.

All three make a great little second Ka.

Ford StreetKa (2003 – 2005) models and specs