29 replies to this topic

[GingerTom]

Girlfriends car but I wind her up by saying OUR car
Purchased 23rd June with 29100 miles and it's mint. Colour is Ford Ice which is a blue/silver.
Great fun to drive especially with the roof down. Loads of little pockets in the cabin and a very decent sized boot. Seats don't quite go back far enough for me but I can live with it. It has the usual Ka sticking door handles which I hope to fix soon. (since fixed by oiling the mechanism).

Logbook:

Build Date: 21.07.2005
Registration Date: 30.11.2005

23.06.11.....29100 miles
06.07.11.....Serviced
13.07.11.....Replaced front Ford badge
20.07.11.....Front bushes and brake fluid replaced
24.07.11.....Fitted gel overlays on wheelcaps http://www.stdrivers...elcap-overlays/
21.08.11.....30000 miles
17.09.11.....Wouldn't start. RAC diagnosed faulty boot light switch and said battery may be damaged.
02.10.11.....Wouldn't start. Bought new battery from Halfords.
09.02.12.....Wouldn't start. RAC diagnosed faulty battery and fitted a new one. (Turns out Halfords had sold us the wrong battery!).

[YORKSHIRENEO]

The gearstick looks like its crying out for a short shift kit - its nearly 3 feet long!!! (and we'd all love one of those right boys )

[GingerTom]

No tunnel so it looks long but not when you are in the car.

Don't knock it until you have tried it

[YORKSHIRENEO]

I wasn't knocking it GT, it's just IMO they dont look very sporty with such a long gearstick

[GingerTom]

True. Mind you it's no sports car. It's very nippy and feels a lot faster than it actually is but it's more go-kart like rather than out and out speedster. Corners totally flat though like it's on rails and just a feel good car to be honest.....when she let's me drive it

[peterex]

YORKSHIRENEO, on 28 June 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

I wasn't knocking it GT, it's just IMO they dont look very sporty with such a long gearstick

That's what the girls used to say about me!----------but not anymore!

[andyjamess]

GingerTom, on 28 June 2011 - 08:59 AM, said:

It's very nippy and corners totally flat though like it's on rails and just a feel good car to be honest.

My ex's dad had one of the first ones out. He let me drive it a couple of times. I agree totally. Shame about the social stigma of owning one. Lol

[GingerTom]

Social stigma? What are you talking about? Yes it's not a blokes car but then it's not my car! I couldn't give a toss what I look like in it anyway. It's a fun weekend car and I feel quite protective about it so watch it !

[andyjamess]

Lol. Well said that man. I think my phrasing was a little out on that one but I agree 100% with you there. If everyone liked the same thing then there'd be nothing to argue about

[peterex]

Watch it Andy, it has a Teddy onboard------throwing out of cot for the use of!

Seriously it has!....... Ask GT.

[GingerTom]

4th pic down

[Stormchaser]

My other half has a 2004 model StreetKa in silver. She won't let me have a go (but then again I won't let her drive the 220 so fair is fair I guess) so couldn't possibly comment on what its like to drive but does seem nippy. Her's has the hardtop (which we still need to get off for the summer!!!). I gave the Ka a machine polish the other month, really brought out the metallic flake. If I'm honest I probably treat it like a second car - but only because nothing would get done on it otherwise!

[GingerTom]

My God I thought I was the only one! Every car she has owned has just sat there and all she does is drive it and the petrol in. All the cleaning and servicing is down to me. I didn't much care for her previous cars though so they didn't get cleaned often but I want to keep this one looking good.

[andyjamess]

peterex, on 29 June 2011 - 09:05 AM, said:

Watch it Andy, it has a Teddy onboard------throwing out of cot for the use of!

Seriously it has!....... Ask GT.

I didn't even see that there. Lol

[peterex]

I'll let you into a little secret Andrew..............guess who else has one in his car? And it's not me!

[YORKSHIRENEO]

Sod social stigma. I owned a ford puma (1700cc) and was one of the best handling cars Ive ever driven. Could throw it around all day long and was quite nippy too. Surprised a fair few people in that

[GingerTom]

Always liked the Puma. A future classic that one. Especially the high performance Ltd edition they did.

I tell you what the Street is a bird puller. Went out to check the tyres and at the garage was getting lots of looks off the girlies (well the car was, not me)

[andyjamess]

peterex, on 29 June 2011 - 06:26 PM, said:

I'll let you into a little secret Andrew..............guess who else has one in his car? And it's not me!

Would it be the old man? lol

[andyjamess]

YORKSHIRENEO, on 29 June 2011 - 06:29 PM, said:

I owned a ford puma (1700cc) and was one of the best handling cars Ive ever driven. Could throw it around all day long and was quite nippy too. Surprised a fair few people in that

I don't know if you watched Chop Shop but one of the guys on there (Shaun) has a Puma. He's on my Facebook page. Lol. He'll be at Ford Fair this year too. Lol

[GingerTom]

Just found this 2003 review by Jeremy Clarkson

Quote

I have been racking my brains all day and I cannot think of a single car ever that’s been made for women. The Ford Galaxy? What, with all that brushed aluminium in the cabin? Brushed aluminium is as female as a scrotum. So what about the MG? Well, perhaps, but only after Christopher Plummer had finished seducing Susannah York with it.

Now, however, Ford has stepped into the breach with the Streetka, which is the automotive equivalent of going to bed at night with a teddy bear.

It’s hard to explain why it’s girlie but I think cuteness has something to do with it. This is a completely unthreatening car, the sort that makes you go “aaah” rather than “oooh” or “eeek”. That and the detailing. The reversing light, for instance, looks like a navel piercing.

Normally, when I’m writing about a car, I try to put myself into the shoes of the person who might be interested in such a thing. When I’m in a Ferrari I pretend to be Jay Kay. When I’m in a Cadillac I pretend to be Stuart Hall. When I’m in a Nissan Micra I pretend to be my old geography teacher.

But with the Streetka this was impossible.

I kept falling off the heels. This car is an A-line skirt. If it could talk it would talk about babies. If it could dance it wouldn’t stop. It is for girls. And I’m not talking about girls who are interested in cars. I’m talking about girls who only give cars a second thought when they run out of petrol or need a service.

Ford says that 80% of Streetka buyers will be women. But I’m struggling to think what the remaining 20% might be. Not men, that’s for sure.

So what’s it like? Well, the first thing you need to understand is that it’s practically handmade by Pininfarina in Italy, which means you’re getting an awful lot of pedigree and badge for the money. The base model is £12,495 and the luxury version £13,745.

To put that in perspective, the cheapest Peugeot 206 CC, which is the same sort of thing really, is £14,695. Though it does have two small seats in the back and a metal roof. Then there’s the new Smart Roadster, which costs about the same as the Streetka but comes with the engine from a Moulinex.

The two-seat Ford has a 1.6 litre motor that produces 94bhp. That is not a lot and, as a result, it doesn’t pull your eyes out every time you stand on the accelerator. In fact, it takes more than 12sec to get from 0 to 60mph and is all out of ideas at 108mph. I’m faster than that.

So far as the handling’s concerned Ford says the front track is almost an inch wider than it is on the normal Ka hatchback while the rear is nearly 1½in wider. The front springs are 12.5% stiffer and the rear twist beam has been hardened, too. Why? Why tell us this? The only people who have the first clue what it means will not be buying a Streetka.

And that’s a pity because I took it for a drive — at night, obviously — and thought it was great. Yes, there’s a bit of scuttle shake (translation: it wobbles) but it’s not as bad as in that other girlie favourite, the Saab 9-3 convertible, and it doesn’t spoil what is a lively, grippy chassis.

As a car then, the Streetka works. It’s not fast or noisy or aggressive. But you can throw the roof back — it’s not electric but it’s super-easy nevertheless — and have fun on a country lane.

It’s in town, though, where the baby Ford really starts to shine. Not because it’s easy to park and light and nimble but because absolutely everyone stares at it. Men, with a look of bewilderment — how dare this female interloper come into my masculine world — and women with a look of pure longing. I have never driven a car, ever, that has prompted so many questions from so many women.

I have no doubt, therefore, that over the coming months we’re going to be seeing an awful lot of Streetkas outside the hairdressers and the gym, and most of all in the underground car park at the BBC.