THE first Ford Ka was a quirky city car whose looks appealed to people from all walks of life.

The performance of most is quite ordinary and now there is a new model out the original will make an even better buy.

It was ugly when it was first unveiled, with acres of black bumper but it looked so much better in later versions, which had the same body colour all over.

The strong, sharp styling was later used for the Focus but the Ka has changed little over the years it's been in production.

Most have a 1.3-litre 60 or 70bhp engine and five speed gearbox, although the SportKa and StreetKa cabrio have a 93bhp 1.6-litre.

Positive steering, sharp handling and excellent grip and road holding combine to make them great fun to drive and easy to manoeuvre in tight town spaces.

Comfort is good and although it's not perfect, with nil legroom in the back, it does most things very well.

The seats are fair, but there's no legroom in the back if anyone of normal size is driving so it's basically a three seater.

The clutch is light and the interior and controls well set out. Base models get tinted glass, stereo CD or cassette, split-fold back seat, driver's airbag and immobiliser.