FORD STREETKA FROM ￡1500: Street Petite

摘要

If the looks and fine chassis don't tempt you, then the price might. The Ka isn't an obvious candidate for a make-over from plain Jane to glamorous drop-top, so the StreetKa came as something of a surprise. Ford gave it a great start, an endorsement from pint-sized Aussie popster Kylie helping it stand out in a relatively busy market in 2003. Rivals included Mazda's MX-5, Smart's Roadster and Peugeot's 206 CC. The StreetKa was first shown in 2000 as a concept at the Turin motor show, with production versions produced in Pininfarina's facility in Italy, built largely by hand and in small volume. Tim Colliver of independent Ford specialists AC Cars says that they remain relatively sought after and has just sold a one-owner, low-mileage example for ￡3995. The most recent, best examples (production stopped in 2006) can command up to ￡5000 but higher-mileage, older models start at around ￡1500. So purchase prices might be palatable, but running costs can be high because of poor fuel consumption - 28.1mpg on Autocar's original test - and high road tax (￡250).