This week's article requires an area of expertise I'm not sure I possess - writing about a car for girls. Due to the fact that I've actually seen sun by March this year, I'm hoping for a long, hot summer and therefore a convertible seemed a good choice to concentrate on. Obviously as soon as you drop the roof of any car, you're instantly into the realms of being a hairdresser or female or both. So what car did I settle on reviewing? A used Ford Streetka.
That's right, you can't even buy a new Streetka anymore since Ford only made them between 2003 and 2006 but despite this short selling period, the company most definitely produced the most feminine of cars ever. If you don't believe me, let's start with a few facts. It was launched by Kylie Minogue, a special pink version was used to promote the Thunderbirds movie and a dress to match the car was made and sold at a charity auction. Even Elton John would find all this a bit camp.
I don't want to come across as a bloke trapped in the chauvinistic thinkings of a male from the 1950s but the simple fact is that the vast majority of women really don't obsess about cars like men. Ford knew that by launching a cute little convertible with Kylie's help, women would be attracted to the lifestyle choice and cute styling rather than the new 94bhp engine it contained.
A note on the styling then. First things first; I could never get away with driving one without being ridiculed by my mates, but I'll admit that the styling is very cool. Recently I've been reviewing a lot of saloons that have all been much the same in the looks department, but the Streetka is funky and sleek, whilst maintaining the Ka brand look.
The two distinctive wheel arches remain, but the back end is elongated to accommodate the roof, while the front end has been subtly tweaked with more angular headlights the key change. Six-spoke alloy wheels adorn the car to help enhance its sporting image, along with a very subtle boot spoiler that is not too dissimilar to an Audi TT's. Crucially, the car's styling doesn't suffer when the roof is up or down - something the majority of convertibles fail to achieve a healthy balance on. The far more expensive Porsche Boxster for example looks gorgeous with the top down, but pram-like when the rain is falling.
All this impressive styling perhaps shouldn't come as much of surprise when you realise that Ford commissioned Pininfarina to draw lots of lines on paper prior to building the car. Pininfarina of course are the Italian designers who most notably come up with the curves for Ferrari and thus you get a lot of style and prestige for your money.
As I alluded to earlier, the Streetka comes with an upgraded engine to the standard 1.3 litre Duratec found in the rest of the Ka range. The 1.6 litre is obviously more powerful, but at only 94bhp it's still not earth-shattering by any means - something a 0-60mph time of 12 seconds and a top speed of 108mph evidences.
Of course all this doesn't matter when you're driving at 30mph through the city with the top down. Unsurprisingly the Streetka is just as competent around town as the standard Ka. Ford say that the Streetka has 12.5% stiffer front springs and a wider track at both front and back compared to the hatchback to improve handling further. This of course will be of 0% interest to the demographic Ford aimed the Streetka at.
When it was launched, Ford said 80% of the buying public would be female, but I can honestly report that since 2003, I have seen exactly no men driving one. It's certainly not because of the price when they were new. A new Streetka would've set you back £12,495 for the base model and a maximum of £13,745 for the luxury version. Combine this price with the Pininfarina styling and driving experience and it's no wonder the Streetka found favour. Better still it undercut its main rival the Peugeot 206cc by up to £2000.
Of course it's used examples we need to consider now and £4000 will get you a low mileage example from 2003, with the last 2006 versions costing nearer £7000. Presumably all will have only had lady owners so you needn't worry about boy racers having had their mucky hands on them.
So there you have it. The Ford Streetka - suitable for women written about by a man.
Mark Creese is a writer and a car enthusiast. Here he writes about the Ford Streetka.
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