If you are hunting for a small car bargain, the Ford Ka+ gives you almost as much cabin and boot space as larger hatchbacks such as the Skoda Fabia and Kia Rio, but manages to undercut them on the price by a tidy margin.

The trade-off is a below-average safety rating, limited engine range and no automatic gearbox option. As long as you don't mind these compromises, it's surprisingly decent to drive but too slow to travel longer distances.

Younger drivers who want a dash of style and the latest on-board technology will not be thrilled with the plain and dowdy looking Ford, although it will be cheap to insure and shouldn't cost you too much in petrol either.

We'd be tempted to drive a hard bargain at the Ford dealer on a new Fiesta and take it over a used Ka+. The difference in monthly cost will be minimal, but it's a much better resolved small car in almost every respect.

We would urge people to choose the higher powered 85PS version of the 1.2-litre three-cylinder. It's no rocket ship, but boosts the Ka's performance up from 'dangerously slow' and towards 'tolerably sedate' instead.

The only reason to pick the 70PS model is if you need the lowest possible insurance rating since it's also less economical on fuel, and only fractionally cheaper to buy than the quicker version in the same specification.

However, the 84PS engine is only available on Ford Ka+ Zetec models. That's good news though, since it's the best choice in terms of value and standard equipment - adding essentials like air-conditioning and a touchscreen.

Unless your lifestyle or location demands regular trips up muddy country lanes, then we can't see a need to pick the Ford Ka+ Active. It's not as capable as a Fiat Panda 4x4, but nearly as expensive, and spoils the ride.

For buyers who want a bit of panache from their city cars (and who doesn't?) then the Toyota Aygo, Renault Twingo and Peugeot 108 are all stylish five-door alternatives, but they're also a bit smaller inside and out.

Size-wise, the Ford Ka+ is closer to cars from the class above, including the Kia Rio and Skoda Fabia. It's a small car for people who regularly need to carry three, and we'd also put the new Hyundai i10 in the same category.

For an all-electric alternative with similar practicality, the Renault Zoe and (to a lesser extent) Volkswagen e-Up offer emissions-free city travel in a compact car package, but they're more than twice as expensive as the Ford.

If your budget is tighter, the Dacia Sandero is roomier and cheaper, with more standard kit, and nippy turbocharged engines. There's also a 'Stepway' version that competes with the off-road inspired Ka+ Active.

Value-driven models like the Ford Ka+ are built to a price, and it's unlikely that buyers go in with high expectations. Still, the little Ford doesn't try especially hard to exceed them - its cabin is a monument to scratchy grey plastic.

You get slivers of glossy piano black trim around the radio, gear stick and steering wheel spokes, but those are the only rare glimpses of materials that don't feel like the rock-hard base of an old primary school chair.

The seat fabrics are durable but smart, getting nicer the higher up you go in the range. Ford Ka+ Zetec models at least get a leather steering wheel in the Ka+'s only nod towards luxury, but the overall build quality is middling at best. 

You can wobble the trim around the gear selector without much effort, and there is a huge panel gap where the glovebox lid meets the rest of the dashboard, while used examples make it clear the plastics mark easily.

There are small points of redemption, like the nicely damped audio switches and sturdy screen frame on cars with the upgraded infotainment setup, but many rivals look and feel nicer (and a lot more colourful) inside.

Budget cars usually feature cost-effective materials, but many of them don't skimp on connectivity. Most will be owned by younger drivers - easily distracted by their smartphones - so the greater their ability to access their favourite applications whilst on the move, generally the safer they'll be behind the wheel.

That's the reason that most of the Ford Ka+'s rivals feature a big touchscreen with plug-and-play software that lets you mirror the latest Apple and Android phones and interact with them through the car's infotainment display.

Ford Ka+ Zetec and Active models have a 6.5-inch colour display that allows you to do exactly that. It has big, square icons that are easy to hit, dedicated day and night modes (to avoid straining your eyes), and simple menus.

This system (which Ford calls SYNC 3) comes with a pair of USB ports, so you can charge up to two phones at once, six speakers compared to the base model's four, and can do clever stuff like reading your texts aloud.

It can be controlled in three ways. You can pinch, press or swipe the screen, use the audio controls on the wheel, or voice commands, but you can't upgrade it with navigation or premium speakers like in the Fiesta.

As for the base model, it's pretty dire. You get a fuzzy dot-matrix radio that looks like a 90s throwback, and while it does have DAB and a 'Device Dock' that'll hold your phone in place, it's a lot more distracting to use. It's the same story with pre-facelift models, which have to make do with a tiny 4.2-inch screen (even on top-spec models) that's deeply recessed into the dashboard, and has far fewer features than the latest cars do.

Ford really nailed it. The Ka+ is one of the most spacious city cars on the market, with room on board to seat four fully grown adults in total comfort, and even five at a push, thanks to its high roof and some clever seats.

The seats are set upright to increase the knee-room for those travelling in the back, and the backs of the front seats are recessed, and raised off the floor so you have room to slide your feet underneath and stretch. This clever packaging makes it feel more spacious for six-footers than most of its competitors at this price point.

Fitting five will be a challenge, but it's definitely possible on shorter journeys, giving the Ka+ the versatility of a larger car, while its taller roofline means you actually get more headroom than you do Ford's own Fiesta. The five-door body style means easy access to the rear seats, and the doors open up nice and wide, making fitting a child seat is less of a chore. A Group 1 - 3 forward-facing seat will leave space for the knees of passengers in the front, but put in a rear-facing seat with an iSize base and support leg, and things will be a little tighter.

Interior storage is good too, with a shelf for your phone behind the gear selector, deep door pockets that can take two bottles at once, and even a hidden cubby inside the driver's door that's great for stashing valuables. There are four cupholders, clustered together between the seats, so everyone can have a takeaway coffee.

The official boot capacity is 270-litres - well above average for this type of car - and more than you get in a Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Up, or Kia Picanto. In fact, only the Dacia Sandero and Skoda Fabia can beat it for room. It's deep but fairly short, so you might have to stack luggage jenga-style to make the best use of the space.

There's a high load lip to lift heavy bags over, and the Ford Ka+ would really benefit from an adjustable height floor to take care of the problem, and also remove the large step in the load bay with the rear seats folded flat. It's not offered though, even as an option. They fold in a 60:40 split to free up the 1029-litre maximum capacity.

Hoping to fit the Ford Ka+ in your garage? It measures 3941mm in length, 1704mm in width (without mirrors) and it has an overall height of 1525mm.

Most city cars come with at least the option of a small, turbocharged petrol (usually a three-cylinder) that manages to be thrifty on fuel, but provides nippy in-gear performance. Sounds perfect right? Ford has just such an engine - the excellent 1.0-litre EcoBoost from the Fiesta - but decided not to offer it in the Ka+.

Instead, this car comes with a non-turbo 1.2-litre engine with either 70PS or 85PS, depending on the trim. Earlier models had the same capacity and power outputs, but a four-cylinder layout, but all of them are slow.

We're not talking slow in the 'fine for a city car' sense either. They are desperately short of in-gear oomph, to the point that overtaking feels risky, and it's so gutless at low revs you'll have to push it hard to get anywhere. When you do, the engine feels very reluctant. It's just not eager to rev out, and sounds coarse as it does so.

This lack of performance is really exposed on faster roads, where you'll take a long time to get up to speed and are forced to change down (sometimes several) gears to maintain it when you encounter any gradients.

There is a diesel version, with a 1.5-litre capacity and - importantly - 100Nm more torque than the petrol. It's comfortably the quickest (and most economical) Ka+ but also a lot more expensive, and ill-suited to cities. 

No matter which version you go for, the Ka+ drives its front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox - no automatic is available. The manual has a nice shift and light clutch, but many buyers prefer not having to do so much work behind the wheel in stop-start traffic. They should seek out a Hyundai i10 or the Suzuki Ignis.

The best city cars manage to combine easy drivability around town with hushed and stable cruising at speed. It's by no means a given in this class, but Volkswagen's Up and the Hyundai i10 set new standards for what to expect. 

Unfortunately, the Ka+ fails to meet those benchmarks, despite getting off to a good start. You don't get much rumble from the tyres at speed and wind noise is okay - it feels like it has better soundproofing than many rivals.

The engines, though, are a major weakness. The newer three-cylinder in the latest models is actually a little smoother and less coarse than the four-cylinder in pre-facelift cars, but does send vibrations into the cabin.

However, while it stays relatively unruffled at low speeds, when you try and accelerate the noise it generates becomes intrusive. With only a five-speed gearbox, it's also spinning faster than some rivals at 70mph.

Its relative lack of performance - especially in 70PS guise - means you'll be swapping up and down through the gears constantly, so it's a good thing that the clutch pedal is light and springy, the shift fairly precise. Going for the raised-up Active model means you'll get more wind rustle around the top of the windscreen and the wheel arches, and we'd avoid the diesel too, as it's noisier in town than either petrol, especially from cold.

The Ford's crash safety performance leaves something to be desired versus the best cars in the class. While its three-star rating is not the unmitigated disaster of the zero-star Fiat Panda, there's room for improvement.

Euro NCAP gave it a 73% rating for adult protection and 61% for children. If you bought a Fiesta instead, you get a car that scored close to 90% in the adult category, and also received a full five stars for safety overall. True, rivals such as the Volkswagen Up and Kia Rio also have three stars, but did better in the individual categories.

The main issue is the lack of modern safety equipment. Ford gives you the basics, like electronic stability control (ESC), a hill-hold assist to stop you rolling back steep inclines, and anti-lock brakes, plus six airbags.

Zetec models and above get cruise control, and give you the option to add the City Pack if you want rear parking sensors, but you can't add front sensors, and there are no other active safety systems to speak of.

With the latest city cars offering autonomous emergency braking, emergency calling using the media system after a crash occurs, and reversing cameras, it's reasonable to criticise the Ka+ for how little it provides.

Perhaps its below average showing will put buyers with young families off, but there ISOFIX anchors for child seats in the front passenger and two outer rear chairs, compatible with iSize and Group 1-3 style seats.

There are standard tyre pressure monitors too, although you have to pay Ford extra cash to get a spare wheel.

The Ford Ka+ ought to be a very reliable little car. We've heard of very few issues and owners are generally a very happy bunch. Ford has one of the biggest dealer networks in the UK and servicing/repairs should be affordable.

The Ford Ka+ makes a great affordable first car and teenager drivers will be happy to learn that the old shape car is in the lowest possible car insurance group - 1E. That's with the slower 70PS 1.2-litre petrol in basic Studio trim.

That means it should be as cheap to cover as rivals such as the Skoda Fabia and Hyundai i10. There is a catch though: If you want the Zetec trim it goes up one insurance band, and the quicker engine is Group 5.

If you want the latest version of the Ka+ then the range kicks off in Group 3 for the entry-level model, but can go as high as Group 10 for the Active model equipped with the 1.5-litre diesel engine, which we'd avoid.

If you buy a second-hand model registered before 1 April, 2017, then your annual road tax bill will be just £30. Every car in the pre-facelift range emitted the same 114g/km of CO2 - hence the low tax band and tiny cost.

All models registered after that date have to pay a flat rate of £150 regardless of their tailpipe emissions, so even though the newer 1.5-litre diesel is a bit cleaner, you simply won't feel the benefit in your pocket.

For company buyers the more powerful 1.2-litre petrol is the most cost effective, with a BIK rating of 27% that's fractionally lower than the lesser powered version, and avoids the 3% surcharge of the diesel model.

This is a car aimed at budget-conscious buyers, so the trim structure is very clear cut. The standard model comes in two trims: Studio and Zetec, while the 'off-road' styled Ka+ Active has its own unique specification.

As you might expect the entry-level car is pretty basic. The Ford Ka+ Studio gets electric front windows, and a DAB radio with Bluetooth and four speakers, but that's more or less it. It's not quite as stripped out as the Fiat Panda (at least a 60:40 split folding rear seat and three headrests for the back row are included) but few small cars are.

What's worse is that it's not possible to add any options to make the base model any easier to live with. That's why we think the Ford Ka+ Zetec trim is the best value. You get manual air-con, a leather steering wheel with audio controls, cruise control and 15-inch alloy wheels. There's also a 6.5-inch touchscreen for controlling the SYNC 3 media system, with full Apple and Android smartphone mirroring capabilities included as standard. 

Think of the Ford Ka+ Active more like a cosmetic pack for adventurous types. It adds rugged plastic bumpers, roof rails, privacy glass and raised suspension, but the interior is more or less identical to the cheaper Ka+ Zetec.

If you're a person who gets particularly hot (or cold) then it might be worth adding climate control (£275) or the Winter Pack (£300) which includes heated front seats, and Ford's impressive 'Quickclear' heated screen.