Ford Festiva WA WB WD WF WT WS
The Ford Festiva is a subcompact car, launched and sold in five continents between 1986 and 2002. On Ford's request, Mazda designed it using the DA Platform and B Series inline-four engines. In 1987, Kia built the first Ford Festiva under license and sold it as Kia Pride. Later on, within the same year, Australia, Europe and Asia received the first Ford Festiva under the name Mazda 121. For three generations, the Ford Festiva continued selling across Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Americas until production ended in 2002.
First Generation
The first generation Ford Festiva was the rebadged Mazda 121 designed and produced in Japan. The Mazda 121 got several facelifts as it was launched in Japan, before making its way to the Australian market.
Mazda 121 (DA)
The Mazda 121 was produced in Japan and launched in Australia in 1987 with a single three-door hatchback body type. To fit the Australian market, the Mazda 121 sported a 1.3-litre B3 engine joined to a five-speed manual transmission. It featured a sliding bench seat on its rear end, which was utile in increasing cargo space to a maximum of 180 millimetres. This car also came in three trim levels, namely the base-line Deluxe, the Super Deluxe, and the Fun Top (which featured a huge electronic gliding sunroof).
In 1989 Mazda updated the 121 for the Australian market, donning a new grille insert, body-hued exterior trim, redesigned instrumentation, trim, and inside seat. Its production eventually ceased in 1991.
Kia Pride (Y)
In 1987 the Kia Pride was manufactured as a Ford Festiva version in South Korea. It was, however, first exported in 1986 to Japan and the United States. It was sold in four body types, including a four-door sedan (1990), three-door (1987) and five-door (1988) hatchbacks, and a five-door wagon (1992).
The Kia Pride versions sold in the United Kingdom sported 1.1-litre B1and 1.3-litre B3 engines. The 1.1-litre engine came with three-door Kia Pride cars in the basic L trim. The Kia Pride also sold two-seater panel vans in the United Kingdom.
In 1994 the 1.3-litre engine received a minor upgrade enabling fuel injection (1.3i). Later in December 1995, the 1.1-litre version was replaced by the 1.3i. The production of the Kia Pride ended in the year 2000.
Since 1993, SAIPA had been building Kia Pride was built by SAIPA. The SAIPA Pride was built and distributed as the Kia Pride under license in Iran using up to 85% of SAIPA Pride parts. SAIPA carried on the manufacturing of Kia Pride cars after its Kia Pride Y production ended in South Korea in 2000.The Dongfeng Yueda Kia also joined in the Kia Pride project as it assembled the car since 1997 in China. It produced a sedan called Yueda Kia Pride YQZ6390, as well as the Yueda Kia Pride hatchback YQZ6370 and YQZ714.
Second Generation (1993- 2000)
The second-generation Ford Festiva cars were a joint project between Ford and Kia. The new Ford Festiva’s design was a little longer, wider, and more aerodynamic. The car models for the second generation include; Ford Aspire and Kia Avella.
Ford Aspire
The Ford Aspire was first unveiled in 1993 in North America and sold there until 1997. It replaced the Ford Festiva, which entailed a couple of upgrades. It sported standard dual airbags and anti-lock brakes options being the first in the Ford Festiva class to attain these upgrades. It came in two two-door hatchback options and four-door body types.
If you got the two-door body style, you would get the base and SE trim options while the four-door only came in base trim. More exciting features for the SE model entailed fog lights, a rear spoiler, an upgraded interior trim, a blue face instrumental cluster, alloy wheels, and a tachometer (known as the sports package).
The base model, on the other hand, featured a minor comfort package that entailed features such as a cassette player, automatic transmission, a rear wiper, and rear defrost.
The Ford Aspire cars came with two engine versions depending on the market, namely:
- B3 EGi: 1.3 litre fuel-injected 8-valve I4 with 47 kW of power and 100 Nm torque engine.
- B5 EGI: 1.5 litre fuel-injected 16-valve I4 with 66 kW power and 134 Nm torque
The transmission system was either a five-speed manual or a four-speed auto. Models produced for the Australian and United States market were fitted with a three-speed automatic.
The Ford Aspire then received a minor facelift in 1997 which entailed redesigning of the front and rear bumpers. In 1997, slow sales led to the termination of production.
Kia Avella
The Kia Avella launched in Korea in 1994 came in two body types, that is, the three-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles. Exported to Australia, the Avella featured a four-speaker stereo, anti-lock brakes, an airbag on the driver's side, heated rear glass, and door impact beams. Optional features included power locks, air conditioning, power windows, power mirrors, a tachometer, folding rear seats, a dimming interior mirror, and aluminium wheels.
There were two engine options for the Kia Avella: a 1.3-litre 54 kW power Mazda B3 engine for standard Avella cars and a SOHC or DOHC version of the 1.5-litre 77 kW power B5 engine. The Avella also came with five-speed manual with the option of three or four-speed automatic transmissions.
Third Generation (1996-2002)
In 1996, Ford launched the third-generation Festiva, aka Ford Festiva Mini Wagon. It came in a five-door hatchback body style and two engine options - the 1.3-litre and the 1.5-litre engines. Transmission options were three-speed or four-speed automatic and a five-speed manual. Production ceased in 2002.