The Paris Motor Show offered the perfect platform for the launch of the all-new, redesigned Ford Ka. This compact city car — always a joy to drive — has been one of Ford Motor Company’s biggest European successes. Now it’s updated with Ford of Europe’s hallmark “kinetic design,” improved with even more responsive driving dynamics, and outfitted with fuel-efficient, carbon-friendly engine technology.
The new compact car still looks unmistakably like a Ka. But striking, dramatic angles and contours align it with Ford’s latest European offerings. The result is a unique take on the compact: a design that immediately communicates a fun, youthful spirit.
And that spirit will be obvious to anyone who gets behind the wheel. Ford engineers have tuned the suspension, steering, and chassis to deliver the most exciting drive of any small car. They’ve tested it on public roads, proving grounds, and race tracks — including Germany’s famed Nürburgring.
Two different types of engines power this drive: a 1.2-liter PS Duratec petrol engine, and, for the first time ever in a Ka, a 1.3-liter 75 PS Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel. Both increase the car’s fuel efficiency and decrease its carbon emissions, making it cheaper to run and even gentler on the environment. The new Ka will be available in Europe sometime later this year or early in 2009, though you can get an early glimpse of it in this fall’s James Bond release, Quantum of Solace.