Motoring editor MALCOLM BAYLIS is won over by the most desirable Ka on the block

FORD'S StreetKa, the cute soft top version of the Ka, was designed for posing, so where better to test its credentials than in Cannes on the French Riviera?

With the top down you hear every word.

"Cor look, that's the third one," said an out-of-season English voice. And had he hung around long enough, he would have counted another 25 or so as the Press launch got underway.

As it was, his was not the only head to turn, a surprise really bearing in mind that Cannes is one of those towns which, of all others, has seen it all.

The Ka arrived on the scene in October 1996 when its modern lines suddenly made everything else on the road look boring. But the public were not quite ready for it.

Like the Sierra many years before its design lines were at first treated with suspicion.

It seems hard to believe these days that a Sierra was once so revolutionary that some newspapers even suggested such a futuristic design was inherently dangerous, especially in an accident!

But soon the public caught up with the Ka, as they did with the Sierra, and in recent years it has enjoyed a boom. No fewer than 63,000 were sold last year, more than twice its closest rival, the Citroen Saxo VTR, darling of go-faster youth.

More than a quarter of a million have been sold in the UK since its introduction, and now they are as common as a politician's promise, but meant to last a great deal longer.

Ford feels it is time to move on and is proposing to springboard the new models off the back of the existing and very successful Ka.

StreetKa (soft top), like the SportKa (hard top), has a 22mm wider track.

From the outside it looks like a totally different car with inverted U-shaped rollover bars which from the rear bring distinct reminders of the Audi TT.

From whichever way you look at it the Ka is indescribably cute. From the front it smiles, and from the rear it offers instant appeal.

It sets out to be both desirable, well equipped and most important of all, affordable. The StreetKa, now on sale, costs £12,495 with £13,745 for the luxury version. Anti-lock braking is standard on the range but the luxury model has air conditioning.

Ford estimates that 80 per cent of StreetKas will be bought by women, but that does not mean men will be allowed to slip through their fingers. By bringing the 0-62mph time on the SportKa to less than 10 seconds they guess the tables will be turned and 80 per cent of men will go for the hardtop SportKa instead.

Both cars use a four cylinder, eight valve petrol engine of 1.6 litres, but the SportKa gives 95PS as against 90PS and a 0-62 time of 12.1 seconds for the StreetKa. There is nothing tricksy about the interior of the StreetKa in spite of its beguiling exterior. Ford has kept it very plain with occasional aluminium touches. Sadly, the little swivel-over locker is quite tacky and completely out of sympathy with the rest of the car. However, the original jewel-like and distinctive dashboard clock is retained.

Space is more than adequate for two large adults, although you would then only get children in the rear seats.

The soft top is released by a button in the door pillar, a folding metal panel then lifts to reveal the hood. It can be quickly swung into position by one person and then latched. The metal panel returns to clean up the rear boot line.

The boot itself is surprisingly large and will take a couple of cases of reasonable size. It is released from the key fob or through an internal hatch in an emergency.

But even though it has been seen as a city vehicle, the StreetKa cannot and will not offer an automatic gearbox. But whether in town or out on the open road it drives like a dream with needle sharp responses and cornering in a league of its own.

The 1.6 litre engine offers plenty of power at low engine speeds and provides

good tractability at all times. It would be a very tough nut indeed who

could take the wheel in the mountains of the French Riviera without feeling

the urge to own one, even as a third, fourth or fifth car!

And if you should feel happier with a hard top in the winter, Ford is

supplying a lightweight, body colour factory-fit hardtop option, including

heated rear screen, by the end of the year.

Final opinion? A thoroughly beguiling little car which lacks nothing in handling and practicality.

Updated: 10:48 Friday, March 28, 2003