Jon's SportKa type thread thing

[Jondot]

Right, guess what I drove today!

Didn't like it.

Took my friend along with me, she had to squeeze herself into the back at some stupid angle despite having the passenger seat as far forward as possible. Not entirely surprising, but still - knew it'd be small, didn't realise quite how small. And the seats themselves were rock hard. Honestly, I've never been in a car so uncomfortable - they didn't even fit me right, and I'm not a big guy.

Took it for a little drive. Gearbox is nice and precise, and the clutch pedal was reasonably long. It was pretty quick too, but they've made the mistake of keeping the standard Ka's accelerator pedal - it's so sensitive that pushing it even a tiny bit too much makes you sound like a boy racer. That took a lot of getting used to, but I think after a while you'd get the hang of it. The brakes were horrid though. The pedal felt like pushing a brick into the floor, and even when I did use the force of god it didn't really stop properly... Steering was nicely weighted though.

Urgh, oh well. One dream shattered






Anyway, got my resulty things today and it turns out I'm off to Bournemouth (who provide nothing in the form of parking spaces at their student halls). So I've decided to wait until a month or so in before I decide to actually go and get anything, if only to see whether I can actually park it within a 30 mile radius.

 

[homeforsummer]

Took it for a little drive. Gearbox is nice and precise, and the clutch pedal was reasonably long. It was pretty quick too, but they've made the mistake of keeping the standard Ka's accelerator pedal - it's so sensitive that pushing it even a tiny bit too much makes you sound like a boy racer. That took a lot of getting used to, but I think after a while you'd get the hang of it. The brakes were horrid though. The pedal felt like pushing a brick into the floor, and even when I did use the force of god it didn't really stop properly...

What you have described there Jon is a "drivers car"

You won't find a better drivers' car out of all the things you're looking at. Even the basic Ka walks all over most hatches both old and new dynamically, apart from the really hot stuff.

I haven't driven a SportKa personally (might find one to have a go in) but if it's anything like the regular Ka, and the Fiesta (which it is) I'm assuming the brakes feel the same. They do require a bit of a push but you're just used to over-servoed modern cars where you barely have to brush the brakes - and if you got used to them you'd realise they offer a lot of feel in comparison. As does the clutch, as does the throttle. And you'll genuinely struggle to find something with a better gearbox. I certainly have when looking for the replacement for mine!

I don't blame you for not liking the car, but only from a size standpoint. If you're too big for it then you're too big for it. But nasty to drive it is not

Oh, and Ford seats are generally a little hard - you're probably too used to the squishy Citroen seats. The only thing I'd change about the Ka's seats is that I'd prefer them mounted about two or three inches lower as you sit a bit high compared to the Fiesta.

 

[mustangGT90210]

Nothing aftermarket buckets or seat rails can't fix. I honestly can't stand sitting up high in a car. When I need the extra visibility afforded of being up there, I just sit all the way up. Not an issue

 

[Jondot]

What you have described there Jon is a "drivers car"

You won't find a better drivers' car out of all the things you're looking at. Even the basic Ka walks all over most hatches both old and new dynamically, apart from the really hot stuff.

I haven't driven a SportKa personally (might find one to have a go in) but if it's anything like the regular Ka, and the Fiesta (which it is) I'm assuming the brakes feel the same. They do require a bit of a push but you're just used to over-servoed modern cars where you barely have to brush the brakes - and if you got used to them you'd realise they offer a lot of feel in comparison. As does the clutch, as does the throttle. And you'll genuinely struggle to find something with a better gearbox. I certainly have when looking for the replacement for mine!

I don't blame you for not liking the car, but only from a size standpoint. If you're too big for it then you're too big for it. But nasty to drive it is not

Oh, and Ford seats are generally a little hard - you're probably too used to the squishy Citroen seats. The only thing I'd change about the Ka's seats is that I'd prefer them mounted about two or three inches lower as you sit a bit high compared to the Fiesta.

I know, I'm pathetic

Seriously though, certain things I could get used to (brakes, accelerator, etcetera), but some things I couldn't. Those leather seats... honestly, absolutely awful. I've sat in a standard Ka (in fact I've been driven a few hundred miles in one) and it was about 20 times more comfortable. And remember the grey one from a page or so ago? That had cloth seats and they were lovely.

Part of the problem was that he only let me drive it in town. In the stop-start traffic it was painfully hard to understand why I'd have this over a standard one. I couldn't really use any of the extra oomph because... well I was always in a 30 zone. That and I was still fairly scared of the accelerator pedal I couldn't really do much to test the steering either, but whizzing around a car park it felt rather nice.

Anyway, I didn't say it was nasty to drive per se. It was nasty to sit in thanks to the seats, but other than that it was all just stuff I'm not used to. And I'm not entirely sure I fit into it properly anyway - for my knees not to collide with the wheel, I had to sit rather far forward. In this one I did it to the degree that the steering wheel was too close.

What I did find a bit odd was that I took to my friend's Clio like a duck to water. That has an abomination of a gearbox and clutch, and I was fine in that (if rather unimpressed). I had to drive the SportKa round an empty car park about 7 times before it stopped feeling like it was my first time in a bloody car. I've driven a whopping 4 cars in all my 4 months of driving, and I've managed to get used to all of them within a few minutes - hell with the Clio I drove it straight out of a service station and onto the M4. This test drive was 30 minutes and I still wasn't comfortable with the car. Almost made me think there was something wrong with the thing... or more likely me.

I am severely tempted to go and drive the grey one. I actually seemed to fit into that, and it didn't feel like I was straddling a boulder. Plus the dealer wasn't so slimey. ...but I won't. That would be silly, wouldn't it. Wouldn't it?

And Oi! I think my C4 has a lovely gearbox

 

[homeforsummer]

If the normal Ka both somehow fits you better and you find it more comfortable then I'd certainly recommend it.

I have to say I'm a little surprised about your reaction to the SportKa, one thing Fords of all sorts are often commended for is the ability for you to immediately feel right at home in them and the controls all "feeling" exactly as you'd expect, and therefore being very easy to get used to.

 

[eiriksmil]

I know the Sirion has been suggested, but that was the old, awful model..
I'd kill for these prices for these cars, fu UK and US guys
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2006&vehicleRegLetter=56

Daaaamn

 

[Jondot]

If the normal Ka both somehow fits you better and you find it more comfortable then I'd certainly recommend it.

I have to say I'm a little surprised about your reaction to the SportKa, one thing Fords of all sorts are often commended for is the ability for you to immediately feel right at home in them and the controls all "feeling" exactly as you'd expect, and therefore being very easy to get used to.

Yeah, I was all ready to fall in love with that Sportka and then... I didn't. What with its silly MPG, I said to myself that it'd have to be really perfect and easy to drive etcetera to make up for the stupid fuel economy, £175 tax bracket, 3 star NCAP, non-existant rear legroom and slightly higher insurance. And it wasn't. I might go and drive the grey SportKa with the normal seats and see if it suits me better.

I think there's something wrong with me... I've only ever driven what could be described as trash from a driving point of view (Corsa, 207, Clio etc) and now I'm used to them. I got into my friend's Clio again last night (she stuck me on the insurance for a fortnight) and, horrifyingly, I found myself thinking I should just buy one of those

What's wrong with me?!


Ahh, and I'm now going to Leeds apparently so I do want to get something. An £80 train journey to get home isn't a thought I relish.

I know the Sirion has been suggested, but that was the old, awful model..
I'd kill for these prices for these cars, fu UK and US guys
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2006&vehicleRegLetter=56

Daaaamn

Yikes that 1.3 is quick! ...but insurance will probably be quite high, and I don't fancy driving around in an OAP shopping trolley and having to pay £4500 for the pleasure.

 

[homeforsummer]

I got into my friend's Clio again last night (she stuck me on the insurance for a fortnight) and, horrifyingly, I found myself thinking I should just buy one of those

What's wrong with me?!

There isn't essentially much wrong with the Clio, that's why. I'm prepared to trust both my brother and the good reviews in the motoring press on this one. It's certainly a whole lot better than a Corsa.

Yikes that 1.3 is quick! ...but insurance will probably be quite high, and I don't fancy driving around in an OAP shopping trolley and having to pay £4500 for the pleasure.

The Sirion is nice but you're right, the insurance costs for them are a bit ridiculous when compared to the less unusual competition.

Have you thought about getting a Volkswagen Polo, along the lines of these?

Insurance on VWs seems to be fairly reasonable. I wouldn't suggest anything less than a 1.4 as they seem very underpowered for what is quite a heavy supermini, and ideally you'd want a diesel, which isn't too bad as the insurance on them isn't that high.

Alternatively, thinking along the VAG line and considering how good I thought the Cordoba I drove was, how about an Ibiza/Cordoba?

Older shapes:

Newer shapes:

Should be plenty of them within your budget. They're definitely worth a look.

 

[Jondot]

I'd love a Polo 1.4 diesel, actually. Annoyingly they seem to hold their value so well that £5,000 still isn't really enough to find a decent one (i.e one with less than 70k miles, one with a manual etc).

I loathe Seats with every fibre of my being because I'm constantly tailgated by them. But I have had a look at the Ibizas before and quite liked them... Hmm... I'll take a look, but there are none under £7,000 at my local dealer at the mo.

Anyway, I'm off to go and drive the other SportKa now (if it's still there...) in the hope that a cloth-trimmed one might be bearable.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'd love a Polo 1.4 diesel, actually. Annoyingly they seem to hold their value so well that £5,000 still isn't really enough to find a decent one (i.e one with less than 70k miles, one with a manual etc).

Ignore the 1.4 TDI. It's a fantastic engine make no mistake, but it'll be so much cheaper buying a 1.9 TDI version of anything. They still get ridiculous economy (that SEAT I drove was quoted at 57mpg average) and being a relatively large 1.9 with comparatively little power (90bhp in most of the smaller VAG products) I'd expect it's a very under-stressed engine so with proper servicing it'll go on for donkeys years.

If you'd like a Polo, have a look at slightly older 1.9 TDIs. If you'd like a VAG product in general I'm confident you'll find them fairly nice to drive, in my limited experience the control weights are all fairly good.

But I have had a look at the Ibizas before and quite liked them... Hmm... I'll take a look, but there are none under £7,000 at my local dealer at the mo.

Are you determined to buy from a main dealer? It's definitely worth going to an independant as they'll have a greater variety of stock rather than nothing older than two years old or whatever. Plenty of indie garages are equally as professional as franchised main dealers.

 

[Jondot]

Are you determined to buy from a main dealer? It's definitely worth going to an independant as they'll have a greater variety of stock rather than nothing older than two years old or whatever. Plenty of indie garages are equally as professional as franchised main dealers.

Nope, it's just that I generally head to one to test drive anything Not sure why, I just do... Plus they had a load there when we went looking for one of my friends a few months ago, so I sort of assumed they'd just... have some. I don't really care where I buy it from to be honest, although with certain cars I'd quite like the option of a nice nation-wide extended warranty.





Anyway, on another note, I drove this today...

That's right! The other SportKa. And.... I loved it


I know this sounds rather contradictory considering the review a few posts above, but something clicked.

For a start, the brakes were far more bearable. They were firm and nothing like my C4, but (unlike the other one) they weren't so firm that it felt like they were designed to test my muscle strength. There was definitely a difference. Much easier to drive, and had far more feel.

Everything else driving wise seemed better too. I stuck the seat back all the way this time, and I drove as smoothly as anything right from the start. Probably helped that it wasn't such a slimey salesman as at the other place too. Well it was a Vauxhall dealer...

And god it's fun to drive! This one, being a Ford dealer (and therefore being used to driving cars that aren't soggy messes), actually had a decent test route set out for me - through the city and then down some nice twisty roads. Gave it a chuck into some of the twistier bends and it was a hoot. Plus the acceleration is lovely now I've got used to it - it didn't feel like it was going to zoom off accidentally and drive me into a hedge, but press the pedal a little harder and it set off at a nice pace. Me like . I think the best indication was that I stepped into the C4 afterwards and everything felt horribly light.

The biggest improvement was the seats, though. This has the standard cloth trim, and it's far better. The seats are hard, but they're comfortable - even my friend in her squishy Clio agreed with that. Plus they have the added bonus that you don't go sliding out of them in the corners (neither are very well bolstered, but at least this time there's some grip.

Admittedly there's still basically no room in the back if you have legs, but I knew that already. And it's still sort of... a bit silly. Amazingly it's only £100 a year more to run than a normal Ka for 7,000 miles (insurance is the same, fuel economy isn't far off, tax brackets are £25 apart, but a diesel Polo or even a 1.2 Clio would be a few hundred quid under those. Hmm...

Anyway, gets the thumbs up from me now :tup:

Now where's my cheque book...

 

[Famine]

Don't forget that:

fuel economy

Equals

tax brackets

If you know one, you can work out the other. It's all a bit of a con, really.

 

[homeforsummer]

Glad to hear the second one was more up to your expectations. I was confused by your first drive as it sounded like the car wasn't living up to the rave reviews it got from virtually everywhere.

 

[Danny]

An outside-the-box suggestion here Jon boy, but have you considered going everywhere on a banana boat? I don't think you even need to pay tax or insurance!

 

[Boffin]

There's space in the back on one of those.

 

[Jondot]

An outside-the-box suggestion here Jon boy, but have you considered going everywhere on a banana boat?

I thought we'd ruled out the Beetle Cabrio.

 

[Jondot]

Got my accommodation offer through today for the rather lovely Clarence Dock in Leeds. Which is a good thing, as I now know I'm actually into a place that has parking spaces.

Now said accommodation is very secure indeed. There's swipe cards to get in and out, nice high fences and an array of the finest CCTV cameras. It's right next to the Royal Amouries Museum ffs.

It's actually a far safer place to park a car than my driveway. So naturally, I thought I'd stick my nice new secure address into my Confused.com quotes and reap the discounts.



Right, so here's the quote for the SportKa parked on my drive, here in sunny Kent.

And here's the quote for a secure car park in a posh bit of Leeds:

Right, so a £675 price hike then. Or... a holiday, in other words.



It's not just the chavilicious SportKa either. 1.2 Clios and 1.3 Kas have both gone up horrendously too. As a last resort I even tried YoungMarmalade (a company which I basically think is the devil), and even their quotes shoot up by £300 as soon as I mention South Yorkshire.



So, quick question chaps. Presumably if I'm actually living there for a good 42 weeks of the year, I do actually need to tell my insurance company that I'm doing so. ...don't I?

I mean technically my permanent address is still going to be down here in low-risk Whitstable, but it's not really my 'home' for the majority of the year, is it, and to blindly tell them that the vehicle is going to be parked there morning noon and night is nothing short of wrong. I might as well tell them I'm a retired driving instructor with a 10 year's no claims bonus while I'm at it.

 

[homeforsummer]

Well, I of course tell my insurance company that I live in Newcastle and not in a nice bit of Yorkshire...

 

[YSSMAN]

Since I know currency rates never convert well between the US and the UK, would that insurance quote be considered "fair" out there? By my estimation, that's a little over $275 a month here. Wow. I'd have to have one helluva car to pay that much.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I notified my insurance about my term time address but as it was still within Swansea (though on the nicer side of town) there was no difference.

 

[Danny]

As far as MoreThan are aware, Kermit is parked in the driveway on my quiet street. Which he is, whenever I take out my insurance. I'm just pretty forgetful when it comes to tellikng them where it is presently.

 

[Famine]

South Yorkshire.

That'll be West Yorkshire. The worst of the Yorkshires.

 

[Danny]

That'll be West Yorkshire. The worst of the Yorkshires.

I'm going to fire seven tons of burning "NO" at your face.

The combined of Rotherham and Doncaster renders your point invalid.

 

[Famine]

I'm going to fire seven tons of burning "NO" at your face.

The combined of Rotherham and Doncaster renders your point invalid.

If Leeds wasn't bad enough, there's Halifax, Ilkley, Huddersfield, Wakefield and, should further evidence be needed, Bradford. BRADFORD.


Don't make me pull Dewsbury and Ossett on you.

 

[Danny]

I'll accept the Bradford and Wakefield points, but the others aren't so bad.

And Leeds is practically a paradise for the discerning, knife-collecting gentleman.

 

[TheCracker]

Don't make me pull Dewsbury and Ossett on you.

*shudders* I wouldn't wish 'Orse-**** on anyone!

 

[Jondot]

That'll be West Yorkshire. The worst of the Yorkshires.

If Leeds wasn't bad enough, there's Halifax, Ilkley, Huddersfield, Wakefield and, should further evidence be needed, Bradford. BRADFORD.


Don't make me pull Dewsbury and Ossett on you.

I'll accept the Bradford and Wakefield points, but the others aren't so bad.

And Leeds is practically a paradise for the discerning, knife-collecting gentleman.

Cheers chaps 👍 I'll um... look forward to that.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Stab-proof Hoodie...
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...stab+proof+hoody&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N&um=1

 

[Jondot]

...which, ironically, looks more like it would belong to the offender than the victim.

 

[Jondot]

Right, remember this?

Anyway, on another note, I drove this today...

That's right! The other SportKa. And.... I loved it


I know this sounds rather contradictory considering the review a few posts above, but something clicked.

For a start, the brakes were far more bearable. They were firm and nothing like my C4, but (unlike the other one) they weren't so firm that it felt like they were designed to test my muscle strength. There was definitely a difference. Much easier to drive, and had far more feel.

Everything else driving wise seemed better too. I stuck the seat back all the way this time, and I drove as smoothly as anything right from the start. Probably helped that it wasn't such a slimey salesman as at the other place too. Well it was a Vauxhall dealer...

And god it's fun to drive! This one, being a Ford dealer (and therefore being used to driving cars that aren't soggy messes), actually had a decent test route set out for me - through the city and then down some nice twisty roads. Gave it a chuck into some of the twistier bends and it was a hoot. Plus the acceleration is lovely now I've got used to it - it didn't feel like it was going to zoom off accidentally and drive me into a hedge, but press the pedal a little harder and it set off at a nice pace. Me like . I think the best indication was that I stepped into the C4 afterwards and everything felt horribly light.

The biggest improvement was the seats, though. This has the standard cloth trim, and it's far better. The seats are hard, but they're comfortable - even my friend in her squishy Clio agreed with that. Plus they have the added bonus that you don't go sliding out of them in the corners (neither are very well bolstered, but at least this time there's some grip.

Admittedly there's still basically no room in the back if you have legs, but I knew that already. And it's still sort of... a bit silly. Amazingly it's only £100 a year more to run than a normal Ka for 7,000 miles (insurance is the same, fuel economy isn't far off, tax brackets are £25 apart, but a diesel Polo or even a 1.2 Clio would be a few hundred quid under those. Hmm...

Anyway, gets the thumbs up from me now :tup:

Now where's my cheque book...

Well, while I was on holiday, they sold it. GAH.

Convieniently enough, another one has popped up for sale in my local Vauxhall dealer (for some reason Vauxhall seem to sell more of them than Ford do...) and so I went over today and had a look and drive. That's 3 SportKas I've driven now, if anyone's counting.

It's the SE with the stupid leather seats, but for some reason I actually found them quite bearable this time. Oh well. It's done a stupidly low 17,000 miles, and is up for a stupidly high £5,495.

So, had a nice little drive around some country lanes, still thought it was good fun. Also took it onto a couple of dual carriageways, and my god it's loud. Again, I've been driving a 1.2 Clio recently and it's far more civilised at motorway speeds. Bit of a worry. Before we left, the dealer stuck in 1/4 of a tank. I know because I saw it. And about 10 minutes into the test drive (albeit with fairly spirited driving), the fuel warning light was on. Mmm, I don't think it'll be getting anywhere near 37MPG with the driving I'll be doing...

Post-drive, had a little chat with the dealer to see where to go from there. I pointed out that there was a similarly aged SE just down the road for £4,000 with a more sensible milage. He pointed out that *dealer* was reputable and established, blah blah blah. So I made an offer of £4700, which I thought was low but not too low considering I was a cash buyer that could potentially pop down to the Abbey and have his money within an hour. He said he couldn't go that far. I showed him said £4,000 car on my phone, he went off to talk to his manager for 10 minutes, came back with the same response with some tacked on rubbish about it being a 'special edition' model in an 'exclusive' colour (both of which are very false indeed, as blue SEs are ruddy everywhere). I also paid particular attention to finding out whether it'd had its corrosion stamps - Kas rust like... rusty things, and if the paint hasn't been checked every year then Ford don't have to honour their 6 year corrosion guarantee. The last stamp was in march 2006, and there a number of stone chips on the bonnet which had become visibly rusty, as well as what appeared to be some bubbling under the rear wheel arches. 'Oh don't worry, we've got a paint shop who'll paint right over those' was the reply. I don't want your Vauxhall paint shop to spray over the pre-existing rust on my Ford thank you very much. And after all that he still wouldn't budge on the price a reasonable amount. So screw him.





Dunno quite why I posted that. I was all ready to say that I've decided I'm not buying a SportKa... but I've changed my mind. ...just now. I think I might love them a bit. I don't like the lack of rear leg room, I don't like the rust, and I don't like the MPG. But I'll probably end up buying one anyway. No I won't. Yes I will.