hideous slow and crap is how I and many would describe a KA. Really you are criticising the nano for being all of the things that you previously praised the KA for.
Erm... no. Speed is subjective for one thing, but objectively the Nano takes longer to get to 40mph than the Ka does to get to 60, and the Nano also only has a 65mph-ish top speed. I would call this slow. I wouldn't call the Ka fast, but it's more than quick enough for it's intended purpose, has good torque compared to other cars of it's size with engines of a similar size, and will easily cruise at 85mph on the motorway, which is more than fast enough in most conditions.
I'm criticising the Nano for being objectively inferior in every department apart from price and perhaps economy, to every single small car released in the last 20 years.
Fun in what way? I know in a car crash the KA wouldnt be much fun,
When it was released 12 years ago the Ka was the safest car in it's class. It doesn't become less safe with age, it just becomes comparitively less safe when matched with it's competitors, which is stating the bleeding obvious when it's competitors are all a decade newer.
and for when there are 5 of you in the car it wouldnt be much fun then either. The bootspace isnt fun.
It's a city car, it doesn't need to hold 5 people or have a huge boot, so that comment is completely irrelevant.
So the KA has lift off oversteer, but then so does the fabia. Grippy front, light rear, so light in the rear infact that there have been issues with the rear brake discs rusting up on lower mileage vehicles.
Eh? Are you referring to the Ka or the Fabia with regard to rear brake discs? As far as I'm aware, the cooking models of both make do with drums. And rusting discs isn't a big problem, as a single application of the brakes cleans them anyway.
With regard to lift off oversteer, neither the Ka nor the Fabia "snap" into such a state, but the Ka is much more delicate and balanced than the Fabia, because the Ford has brilliant damping and the Fabia merely "good". The Fabia is also devoid of steering feel whereas the Ka is very informative whether power-assisted or not.
Which brings me back to main main dispute about the KA. Why would you buy one when for a extra 500 pounds you can get a much larger vehicle in that of the fabia?
Because size isn't the be-all and end-all. If you aren't in the market for a five door supermini then why would you look at the Fabia? It's not the most youthful car on the market despite the current model having been released a good 11 years after the Ka. Ask the average young person what they'd rather have and they'd say the Ka. And young people don't often need (or want) five doors.
Also I have been thinking about the KA's existence and its supposed moving on the game. In reality it hasnt done anything in particular. Its a small odd looking vehicle that is half fun to drive....The original mini like the beetle helped alot of people to get a form of cheap reliable transportation. The KA did not serve such a purpose.
You're missing the point. The Ka wasn't designed to provide first cheap transportation to a nation, but in spirit it was very close to the Mini. It had
enough space, was small, fun like the Mini, cheap to buy, run, insure, maintain and repair, and had
joie de vivre. It did move the game on because it's success (despite it originally being a slow-burner) showed that the public wanted more from their small cars and weren't prepared to put up with rubbish. That it quickly outsold the original Mini and Fiat Cinquecento at the time proved that it's introduction was enough to convince people.
It looks hideous in my opinion (looks are objective), its slow barring the sports KA, and the interior is crap when compared to vehicles that cost a couple hundred more like the fabia or a corsa.
I think you mean looks are
subjective. It's impossible to objectify appearances, as one man's meat is another man's poison. Speed is also subjective because it depends what you're comparing to. The interior being "crap" is an opinion and one that others, myself included disagree with, and that it's not as well made as the Fabia or Corsa isn't a surprise because it's a 12 year old car and they are two or three years old at the most.
It doesn't cost nearly 8 grand. That's list price. You can knock at least two grand off that as a general guide at dealerships. The price you can pay is the price you can compare with. Only idiots buy at list price.
Notice though that my main issue with the KA is its price, and it seems odd that im the one who is defending the new model for someone who has a problem with the KA.
Your main issue with the Ka seems to be virtually everything, and the price issue I've already tackled so that's irrelevant. Defend the new model as much as you like, we aren't saying it's a bad car, we're just saying that it's another generic small car, when the original Ka was a seminal small car. For many of us, that's a real disappointment.
