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Ford and their dealers csall it the K.A. - mere mortals usually the Kah. A bit like Farbia (Skoda dealers) and Fabia as in fabulous (the rest of us).
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The next person to call it a K.A (kay ay) in front of me is likely to get a punch. (Those on here can get a virtual punch).
Is there a . in between the letters on the badge? No. Do you feel like an idiot saying K. A.? Yes. It's a Kah. I don't care if I'm only a mortal. Kah kah kah.
I think I'll go and take the eff oh sea you ess out for a spin.
I mean...come on...
--
Adam
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Muttley , as has already been said. It doesnt matter what anybody else thinks. Enjoy........ it strikes me that there is alot in common with the original mini the way most people talk affectionately about their Kas. PS Is it pronounced K.A. or Kah ?
I once rang Ford for a service.
Him: "What car have you got Sir?"
Me: "A Ford Kah".
Him: "Yes what car Sir".
Me: "A Ford Kah"
Him: "Yes what car Sir".
Me: "Errmmm ... a K.A."
Him: "Ahhh ... when would you like it serviced Sir?"
So I guess it is K.A.
I have the old model and used to regularly get 48 mpg on long journeys, but now after 3 years and 45K miles I find it hard to get 43mpg. I guess it must be wearing. In year two I took it up to 115 mph (on the clock, probably more like 110mph), but now struggle to get it up to 95 mph which is the official top speed.
Leif
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I make two furlongs per microfortnight to be 744mph...
Milli = 10^-3
Micro = 10^-6
Nano = 10^-9.
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Yup, me too.... converting m/s into km/s without thinking about it.
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Cannot say I will ever understand the logic of spending over five thousand pounds on a car with windup windows, an ancient 1.3 litre pushrod engine and no air conditioning just becuase its 'new' (Well, it could have been standing in a field for a year or two) and has the latest plate, but if it makes you happy, why not?
Enjoy it :)
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On a secondary note, perhaps somebody could explain the important of insurance groups to me? I've never been one who has really cared - at 18 I had a Group 9 car - but I don't understand why people would buy a new car - thus signalling that they do not mind loosing a signicant amount of money in depreciation, but then say a motivating factor in their decision was low insurance.
Even at my young age the difference between Group 9 and 12 was just 100 quid - so I cannot see the difference between Group 2 and, say, Group 5 being enough to write home about, let alone base the purchasing decision of a brand new car on.
I'm not criticising - I am genuinelly interested. Several of my friends have done the same thing - one spent £5k on a Fiesta 1.25 becuase the insurance was 3 groups cheaper than the £4k Focus he preffered - the saving a year must have been 100 quid at most. Then there are the people who will base what car they buy on the road tax band - I've heard people before now say they chose a 1.4 becuase it's cheaper to tax. I mean thats 50 quid a year - a drop in the ocean compared to the purchase price of a new car.
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It all depends on where you live, MichaelR.
I live in fairly decent part of London, but insurance on my 2001/Y Fiesta 1.25 is £500+ per year. I'm 28 with a full NCB and I have never made a claim or committed any motoring offences or had an accident in my life.
I can easily imagaine that 17 and 18 year olds living in higher risk areas would be quoted well over a grand for insurance on even modestly rated group 2 or 3 cars. The potential savings to be made by having a lower insurance group are considerably more than a hundred quid for these drivers.
Similarly, the "1 year free insurance" deals that are often thrown in with new Kas, C2s, Puntos etc are worth an awful lot to young drivers (sometimes there is an exclusion on very young drivers) and these go a long way towards offsetting the heavy initial cost of depreciation.
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It all depends on where you live, MichaelR.
I think that Andyconda is probably right.
Michael, I think from your previous posts it sounds like you live in an outer-suburban or semi-rural area -- probably very low-risk. I think you'd find a very different story if you lived in a run-down inner city area with high crime levels and lots of young male drivers aspiring to tarted-up Novas.
I discovered this with a friend: single woman, aged mid-40s, clean licence for 25 years. Her insurance quotes in an inner-city area with a bad reputation are double what they'd be in my outer-suburban street, 5 miles away -- sufficient to deter her from getting any car. If she was young and male, I dread to think what they'd quote her, and we wonder how many of the cars around her way are actually insured.
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I had not considered the issue of how much where you live can affect premiums. I do live in a reasonably low risk area - it was £1200 to insure my Group 12 2.0 16v Mondeo at 19 with no NCB, which whilst it doesn't seem any more than friends paid for their cars I've no idea on the risk rating of their address.
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Cannot say I will ever understand the logic of spending over five thousand pounds on a car with windup windows, an ancient 1.3 litre pushrod engine and no air conditioning just becuase its 'new' (Well, it could have been standing in a field for a year or two) and has the latest plate, but if it makes you happy, why not? Enjoy it :)
Recently Ford sent me an offer of a new Ka for about £4800. That is IMO better value than a used Ka if you take into account servicing costs and wear and tear. It can be hard to find a 1 year old one at that price. Bear in mind that you get 3 years cover for unusual repairs (well over £1000 in my case so well worth it), and other items such as tyres, brakes, etc are new.
Used Kas maintain their value well so are not such good value IMO. (This is based on looking at prices in the local free car advertiser magazine.)
Of course if you find a used one cheap from a known source (careful relative) then that might well be a better deal.
Leif
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1.3 litre pushrod engine and no air conditioning just
KAs after late 2002 have a new engine with no pushrods just an 8v SOHC which is still chain driven.
I realise HJ's CBC-breakdown says the new engine uses the same block. It doesn't. I haven't seen the new engine up close and personal but looking at it on the Ford TIS CD the new one has a completely different block layout, much similar to their "newer" engine designs, even the CVH. Only thing the same is the sump and a few minor components.
--------------
Mike Farrow
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Cannot say I will ever understand the logic of spending over five thousand pounds on a car with windup windows, an ancient 1.3 litre pushrod engine and no air conditioning just becuase its 'new' (Well, it could have been standing in a field for a year or two) and has the latest plate, but if it makes you happy, why not? Enjoy it :)
Ordinarily I would agree with you, however, base model Kas seem to defy the laws of car buying logic. The used ones are generally over-priced when compared to the cost of a brand new one, and they normally come with all of the old owner's parking scrapes. Also, as this one has ABS that would make it a later 2004 model year vehicle at the oldest, it definately won't have sat around for years. If I was buying simple and base model then I don't think it can be beaten.
Enjoy it, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with her!
Blue
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Cannot say I will ever understand the logic of spending over five thousand pounds on a car with windup windows, an ancient 1.3 litre pushrod engine and no air conditioning just becuase its 'new' (Well, it could have been standing in a field for a year or two) and has the latest plate, but if it makes you happy, why not? Enjoy it :)
On a list of money-wasting buys, I can think of far worse purchases than a new Ka at £5,000. Second hand in this category are not cheap unless old/battered and a saving of a thousand or two when somebody else has had the best out of the car is poor value IMO.
Nothing wrong with wind-up windows and pushrods either (I think the current model is OHC anyway), at the right price. The base model is often the best value - the only way to win the game with the manufacturers, who put "added value" features on higher spec models at very low cost with a serious price attached. I'd rather have a base model at 5k than a mechanically identical "Luxury" Ka at 9k!
Good luck with the new Ka Rich - if you get 6 years+ out of yours as we have with our daughter's, I think that will amount to a good buying decision - enjoy it anyway!
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>> PS Is it pronounced K.A. or Kah ? >> I once rang Ford for a service. Him: "What car have you got Sir?" Me: "A Ford Kah". Him: "Yes what car Sir". Me: "A Ford Kah" Him: "Yes what car Sir". Me: "Errmmm ... a K.A." Him: "Ahhh ... when would you like it serviced Sir?" So I guess it is K.A.
Why, I often wonder, did Ford choose to give this vehicle a name that would be so confusing? I'm sure that timid souls fear to attempt to pronounce it, lest they get it wrong or be misunderstood. I reckon that Ford would have sold thousands more if they hadn't settled on such a silly name.
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Take a look at the car breakdown info, as rust is an issue to consider. I know of a KA that is under three years old and has corrosion around the door edges. This vehicle in question has never had any accidents or paintwork.
The rust is coming from the inside out so this rules out any stone chip as the cause. In conclusion it is a nice car to drive but the build quality is perhaps the worst on any production car available in the UK.
It is a shame that Ford have not galvanised the bodywork.
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In conclusion it is a nice car to drive but the build quality is perhaps the worst on any production car available in the UK.
Reckon that is a bit OTT, Ford are doing well in customer satisfaction surveys, the KA is not adversly effecting them in that regard nor does it have any common faults, it is though a great little car to drive.
It is a shame that Ford have not galvanised the bodywork.
It is true that early ones were not galvanised though IIRC later ones are.
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If anyones interested, when the car was first launched I remember reading that it is pronounced "Kah" and means 'spirit'.
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KAH - its a blooming KAH - people who call it K A are el stupido's, If it was K A they would both be capitals.
Its pronounced with a distinkt cut off K at the front with the AH having a rising inflection and also cut off, with no trace of the Rolling R you get in C A R
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And is it called a Street Kay Ay or a Sport Kay Ay not is not and sounds stupid and daft if you say it like that, its Street KAH or Sport KAH
Humph
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>>And is it called a Street Kay Ay or a Sport Kay Ay not is not and sounds stupid and daft if you say it like that, its Street KAH or Sport KAH
I don't understand what you just said and you're beginning to scare me.
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Oh come on, the suggestion you drive a proton means you have to be! ;)
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Maybe I'll be called Skoda Boy?
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RF - Read what you wrote. Say it out loud. Then tell me what you meant to say.
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so there is a superfluous T? on one of the "nots"
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Now tell me Ford intended those to be called Street "K A" or Sport "K A"
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still just that little bit slow, huh ?
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I was only asking................
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