What's the news?
This is the new Ford Ka+ and you'll notice it is no longer a cutesy three-door teardrop of a thing, but instead a fairly by-the-numbers five-door hatch. Like the EcoSport before it, this is one of the Blue Oval's 'One Ford' global cars, which is built outside Europe and then adapted for our markets.
Exterior
The Ka+ is based on the global small-car platform, but it's no longer an A-segment machine in size; it's only slightly shorter than the Fiesta with an overall length of less than four metres. It's also 29mm taller than Ford's existing supermini, leading to claims of class-leading front headroom and rear legroom. It features the brand's signature trapezoidal grille framed by swept-back headlamps and all trim levels get body-coloured bumpers, door handles and exterior mirrors, in order to make it look a little more expensive.
Interior
Behind the five-seat passenger cabin is a 270-litre boot, while the rear seats split 60:40 and there are 27 stowage compartments for smaller items throughout the interior - including a MyFord Dock for phones and third-party navigation systems, plus front door bins that can hold a 1.0-litre bottle, a 0.6-litre bottle and, brilliantly, a small umbrella. Only a small one, mind. Bear in mind this Ka+ is designed to take on the sort of sub-supermini budget small cars of the ilk of the Kia Rio, Hyundai i10 and Opel Karl, and that explains the hard-wearing, dark charcoal interior finishing.
Mechanicals
There's a new 1.2-litre Duratec petrol engine in the Ka+, which in other markets comes in two power trims. Here in Ireland, we just get the more 'potent' version with 85hp. It's paired to a five-speed manual transmission and has a 'broad spread' of torque, according to Ford, although it deigns not to tell us precisely how much torque.
It's not about the power, though, as the Ka+ has been optimised for economy. The engine is calibrated to sip petrol, it uses low-friction oil, Ford has fitted regenerative charging to capture otherwise wasted kinetic energy from coasting and braking to keep the battery juiced up, while low rolling resistance tyres and enhanced aerodynamic details help the Ka+ to achieve 5.0 litres/100km (56.5mpg) with CO2 emissions of 110g/km.
Given the Ka+ is built in India and is spun off a car originally intended for sale in Brazil, Ford says it has paid attention to the chassis set-up to make sure it meets European tastes. The company has adjusted the steering system, the springs and dampers, the front anti-roll bar and the rear torsion beam axle, and has also re-engineered the front sub-frame and engine mounts. A full development programme on the Ka+ has been carried out in European driving conditions to ensure it's quiet and refined enough for modern standards.
Anything else?
Jim Farley, executive vice-president and president for Ford's Europe, Middle East and Africa division, said: "Ford has a proud history of offering affordable small cars that are practical, economical and fun-to-drive. Ka+ is true to that tradition, packing a huge amount of value into a compact car that delivers agile driving dynamics and a surprisingly roomy cabin."
The all-new Ford Ka+ will be available to order from June, starting from €13,050 here in Ireland.