1991 Ford Festiva: Regular Car Reviews

We review one of the smelled Fords, which isn't really a Ford. The good thing is, if it weren't for this car, the Fiesta wouldn't exist today.

[jaymorrison]

I remember in 1997, friend of mine backed up with the door open, bent the door and hinges all up. Was heart broken (it was her first car, so understandable). We took her car, loaded some tools in the back, drove to the local pick n' pull, and in under an hour had found a donor, pulled both doors off, swapped hinges, banged the bend out of the door, and had it back together.
I did not get laid.

[Mashmarriner]

I love seeing crappy modded JDM like cars.

Makes me happy inside. I dunno why. I guess they make me laugh.

[johnmanager]

I had one of these in 1993, cheapest thing I could find after my Toyota Celica died and cash was short as I had just gone through a divorce. That car saved my butt. Anything else would have been too expensive at the time to own for me, and it was actually fun to drive. Wish I had it still.

[Undersea.Glider]

This video made me get one, its the most fun little car ever!

Edit: 6 year update. I ended up owning two Festivas, a 91 GL and then a 93 L, both with 5 speed manual transmissions. Kept the latter for 4 years and put over 10k miles on it. It was extremely reliable, all I ever had to replace was the clutch cable and put a set of tires on it. Had a lot of great memories, including driving it 8 hours through the night to attend Festiva Madness 2018. I recommend this car to anybody.

[vann]

"No, I'm not taking my tail off! It's who I am!" Thank's for reminding me of me.

[nickb]

The steering wheel, 5 point harness, billet quick shift handle, & rear subs w/ amp are worth twice the value of the car alone.

lol...but in comedic value the car is certainly worth more. I think the owner should go the extra mile and hook up the oil cooler, but kudos to him for a job well done regardless.

[orrinquinton]

Thank you, I own and have modded an Australian 2000 ford festiva (aspire to usa) and it is the best little car, no it is not fast, not it does not have any luxuries (power steer? nope, auto windows? ha ha nope, tacho? nope... it does have air con) but boy is it good on fuel... i drive 350 kms on a 30 litre tank which usually costs me $20- 30 (australia).
I have an aftermarket steering wheel, long gear stick, tacho, stereo, cannon exhaust, tint and rims. it gets looks all the time, maybe not the looks i like but... a look is a look.
thanks agian for the vid.

[imtiredtoday]

4:50 the answer is Renault 5 gt turbo (749 kg) or the Toyota Aygo/ Citroën C1/ Peugeot 107

[glennjones]

I got a loaded festiva lx in 88 as my grad gift.. it was truly nice.. truly fun to drive... Your assessment is in retrospect and you didn't buy one new.. the 5 speed was a delight...and I drove it packed to the gills from Pittsburgh to LA. And loved every mile...

[killaco]

This one means a lot to me. On my 13th birthday my cousin and I drove from KC MO. to Tucson AZ. and back. in this car. Such fond and just really good memories.

[Twister]

First, no "care" went into building the Ford Festiva? Dude, my 1988L, which I bought used in early 1989 with 29, 000+ miles, now has over 196, 000 miles on the original engine. And, I've never opened it up (block and head)....all original parts. That would not be possible if there was no "care" in the design or the build.

Second: the Festiva you show in the video does not do the car justice. I've got pix on my computer of other Festivas with 200, 000+ miles on them with engine bays so clean they look like a museum display. FordFestiva.com is where the action is.

[Anonymous]

I read All Summer In A Day in middle school!

[qifsha_ropt]

Hahaha I've seen this dude's festiva all over reddit before this episode.

[ShrubbaDub]

My college roomate last year bought one with his friends back home. It had nothing besides two front seats, one seatbelt, an engine, 3 pedals, a shifter and a steering wheel. No doors. No glass (besides a windshield). No hatch. No cladding anywhere, just exposed metal. That was an amazingly fun car to thrash around gravel country back roads

[SUPRBST]

"It feels like an empty refrigerator box sitting on top of a skateboard" That has got to be the most accurate description possible for these kinds of cars. Bravo.

[Audimanaha]

My Subaru Justy Is crying In the corner do to no mention is this video :0

[dragonhealer]

Nice work! And got almost all the facts straight, which is very refreshing in a video like this.
Some day you should review a Festiva done up properly.
Check out Performancefestiva

[masterkang]

My uncle had a Kia Pride back in the early 90's. I remember the six of us (uncle and aunt in front, me, my brother and two cousins, all younger than 6 in the back seats) squeezing into the tiny car. To a six year old, the two-door, fold the front seats to get to the back seats made it a sports car in my eyes.

I don't remember the car all so much, but I do hold the memories of the trips we went on in it rather fondly.

[Benfica_]

I remember when I was a kid we owned a red 1993 Ford Laser, and was the first car I drove. You can imagine my enthusiasm trying to race a friend in 98 Toyota corolla well that didn't end well.

[TrailBehindTheRest]

So its a Ford designed by Mazda made by Kia powered by Honda