Don't laugh. It does the 0-100 km/h in around nine seconds. It feels and sounds sporty. And it probably won't break the insurance bank, because it has a mild-enough 95PS 1.6-litre engine.

And it proves just how good the former Fiesta chassis still is, because this - and its StreetKa sibling - are likely to be the last Ford cars underpinned by the platform that also gave us the most-recently-best dynamically Ford, the Puma.

This, though, is a standard Ka in basics, with the tweaks in engine and suspension that the StreetKa has. Nothing major, nothing uncomfortable, but a bit of zip that might well surprise the Junior GTi crowd if they take you on at the traffic lights.

Because, unless they spot the lowered suspension, and the snazzier wheels, they won't know until it is too late.

What the SportKa shows is how much extra weight has gone into the roadster StreetKa to compensate for the lack of a roof to keep the whole thing together.

It's got the same engine, same suspension setup, and is three seconds faster than the Kylie Special.

And it is fun to drive, providing for the Ka the possibility of being termed at least a 'warm' hatch.

OK, so the GTista will still sneer at the roly-poly looks, and the SportKa may never get a reputation against the spoiler special people, but it seems likely to be able to hold its own when it gets down to rubberising the concrete.

And, on a brief enough experience, I came to like this little car very much. But then, I've always liked the Ka better than the Irish market ever did.

More detail when it arrives in Ireland. And I take on some of these youngsters in their GTi spoiler specials.