The Ford Festiva is one of several automotive models from the past that we rarely see in today’s world, even though the automaker sold quite a few of them. Though the Festiva was designed by the folks at The Blue Oval’s then-partner Mazda, the thought was that combining Japanese quality with Ford’s expansive dealer network in an affordable package would be a hit, and the Festiva was precisely that, earning its fair share of sales and critical accolades over the years. Now, this very nice, rather low-mile 1988 Ford Festiva is up for grabs on the auction circuit.
This 1988 Ford Festiva is currently listed for sale at Bring a Trailer with just 49k miles on the clock, which can largely be attributed to the fact that it spent two decades in storage before the seller acquired it. Finished in Medium Red Clearcoat Metallic paint, there aren’t too many notable features present on this econobox, outside of a rear window wiper, pop-out rear quarter windows, unpainted bumper covers with red accents, and silver 12-inch steel wheels.
Peek inside, and one will find two-tone gray cloth front bucket seats and a rear bench, along with amenities such as air conditioning, an AM/FM stereo, and power-adjustable side mirrors. Power comes from the naturally-aspirated Ford 1.3L SOHC inline-four cylinder engine that was factory-rated to produce 58 horsepower and 73 pound-feet of torque, flowing to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
Underneath, the tiny hatchback utilizes MacPherson struts, a front stabilizer bar, a rear torsion beam setup, rack-and-pinion steering, power-assisted front disc brakes, and rear drum brakes. It certainly isn’t every day we come across a Ford Festiva in any kind of condition for sale, especially one this nice. In fact, we had to go back five years to find the last one – a pristine 1993 Festiva L with 19k miles.
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This model was assembled by Kia, for Ford NA, under license from Mazda. They were sold in various countries as the Kia Pride, Mazda 121 and Ford Festiva. The next generation was renamed Aspire.
These bottom rung cars were great in the eighties for commuting and running errands. The thought of driving one today with roads populated by 6000 lb EV’s and humongous SUV’s is frightening.