Ford Ka+ review

The 1.2-litre petrol engine promises 57mpg motoring, but, as with all these small-displacement petrols, you’ll need a helium-filled right foot to achieve those sorts of figures. But it’s no worse than its competitors, and, with long gearing, economy won’t fall off a cliff when you reach the motorway.

The Ka+ starts at just under £10k on the road, but we’d be tempted to splash out the extra £1,300 for the jump to Zetec trim and the more powerful petrol engine. Should you do so, careful with the options: for just over 11 grand, this is a decent chunk of car, but start getting ticky with the options list and you’ll rapidly find yourself entering Fiesta territory, a car that, though similarly sized, is a whole lot nicer to drive, and sit in, and – let’s be honest – be seen in. You should order your Ka+ like you should order your bacon buttie: keep it simple, no fancy added extras.

That said, the very fact we’re being so picky shows what a good time it is to be in the market for a cheap, new car. If, a decade ago, you’d be able to pick up this amount of entirely capable car for this amount of money, we’d have been singing its praises far more lavishly.