I bought a new Ford Festiva L in 1989. The three door was so short and tall, I called it the phone box. I drove it for a few years, sold it to my niece for her college car, and all these years later it is still migrating through the family, with 300 something thousand miles. It was certainly worth the $8000!

I love these. There's something very appealing about a small basic car that maximises the space in its small footprint and is made of stuff that just keeps running. Just like the Protons of the 90s. It feels slightly akin to a K10 Micra too. Bragging points for a rev counter also

A true survivor! I remember the garage I've worked for got a KIA dealership license. Sold pretty well this model. Was dirt cheap compared to his rivals, but it was outdated design wise. Always love your enthusiasm Matt, keep these amazing reviews coming.

My first car was a red 1990 2-door Ford Festiva hatchback in Canada. I had the L trim, which was the lowest, poverty spec with only one driver side mirror, no wiper in the back, no A/C, no power steering, only two small speakers (I added two more), no tachometer and 145mm wide tires on 12" steel rims. I did have the fuel-injected 1.3L 4-cyl engine coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox. I loved that car and drove it to its limits, it was a fun car and the fit and finish wasn't bad at all for such a budget car. Performance was adequate, my speedometer would top at 140 Km/h, but I was able to push it past it to over 150, although I couldn't tell how fast I was going. It would roll a lot in turns and the brakes were OK, but faded dangerously after a few minutes of spirited driving. I was able to keep up with my friends driving Civics and Golfs, they could never lose me, but I couldn't lead them. It was very easy to spin the front wheels and burn rubber on demand! The biggest issue I had with that car was that it was absolutely not adapted to Canadian winters, it was too light to drive through heavy snow, the wheels were too small for proper traction, the heater was awful in low temperatures, it was always cold in the car and the back windows had permafrost on them for most of winter. I remember having to hold my breath and tell passengers to do the same as to not frost up the windshield! Driving in snowstorms was very stressful, the car would slide all over the place even when fitted with winter tires, the headlights, defrost, windshield wipers and washer were insufficient and there were times I couldn't see a thing! It was a great car to learn on as you could feel everything from the smallest pebble to bumps, wind, etc. No airbags, no ABS, no traction control, tiny wheels and tires meant you had to be in control. It was also easy to fix, although not much could go wrong with it, it was so simple. My dad kept it as a second car and drove it around then city until his death, it was easy to park and fuel consumption was very low. I have fond memories of that car and I'm happy you reviewed this Kia Pride. :)

This brought back some memories. I bought a new W reg in year 2000. £4999 and it was brilliant. Suzuki Alto was also £4995 in those days because I test drove one. Kia felt more substantial though and I wasn't disappointed.

The blanking plate on the dash is for the air-con switch, much needed here in Western Australia, given that it's 36C today and 39C tomorrow. Daytime, it hasn't been below 30C since the start of November. Windscreen wipers are a bit superfluous too, as it hasn't rained since October...

Kia and Pride. Two words no one would have said together until fairly recently

One thing that amazed me about the 2001 Kia Carens that I had was that in 2018 when I scrapped it, everything worked except the air con. I noticed it one day when I opened the boot and the light came on - most other cars I've had of that age and cheapness, the boot light almost certainly wouldn't work due to corrosion and broken wires. I only scrapped it because of rust, and a niggly issue with a leaking heater matrix which wasn't worth fixing any more because of the body rust. I'm fairly certain that although that generation of Carens used Kia's own body design, it was still based on an old Mazda floorpan. It certainly drove like a 1980s Japanese car.

It was also sold here in the UK in the late 80s as the Mazda 121, right up until the Kia Pride arrived in the early 90s. Had some driving lessons in a Kia badged one.

I bought an Aussie Mazda 121 3-door 5-speed manual brand new in 1989. It survived the earthquake in Newcastle later that year, and provided me good service until I replaced it with a Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 in 1998 to take my young family on a round Australia driving holiday. The little Mazda 121 transported my daughter (now 34 and married) to day care, and I loaded up the boot with my field hockey goalkeeping gear until 1997 when I finally retired from the game! Since the Ford Festiva and Kia Pride were essentially the same Mazda vehicle, no doubt they were good budget cars!

I think that I have seen that before somewhere... The thumbnail makes it look almost glamorous!

Had two of these, both of them 3 door and both ex Acclaim driving school cars - needed a reliable car for work and this was the cheapest I could buy on finance! I had the 1.1L which was gutless and then replaced it with the 1.3 which had an extra gear and was far better. The 1.3 still had dual controls which I quickly binned. Had it for about 5 years all told. Great little car.

Nice to see the Whitewall spare. It was so weird in the early 90s to see any car with Whitewall tyres.

My driving instructor had a Kia Pride. He constantly reminded me how he taught Jeremy Clarkson to drive.

Matt, brilliant enthusiastic review as ever! A woman I worked with bought a new one in right red, with the whitewall tyres it certainly stood out on the car park. It was 100% reliable and she had it years, rust killed it in the end unfortunately.

Well done Matt a really interesting review as ever I remember the Mazda 121 and also the Kia Prides brand new a garage round the corner from us mount motors sold Mazda and Kia and also Sao (remember the Sao Penza!) and so it was strange seeing two or three generations of Mazda side by side! I remember them being popular and many older people having them lovely to see one again you can’t believe how Kia have come on over the years Daniel

My Mum bought one of these new in the 90's , an upgrade from the Lada Samara she had before. A decent little car, the only thing I recall going wrong with it was the passenger seat back breaking away from the squab the first time she gave me a lift in it! They have certainly come a long way since those days.

You forgot to mention that, again because it was designed to be sold in the USA, all the lights in the instrument binnacle have English descriptions as well as the usual symbols, because Americans can't understand the little logos that the whole rest of the world has no trouble with. I spent five years living in the Philippines, during which time I spent a couple of years with a 1997 1.3 Automatic 4-door saloon Pride (saloons were only available in developing countries), and being a model for tropical countries it did have the air-conditioning fitted, but it didn't work that well. The automatic 'box made it a really wheezy, slow thing. 60mph was about its limit, which wasn't a big issue because the speed limit there is 100km/h; but having the a/c on reduced that top speed to about 50mph! Having said that, the Filipino attitude to preventative maintenance leaves a lot to be desired, basically cars never see the inside of a garage until something stops working or falls off completely - and even then if that thing is essential to the car running; and mine had endured 18 years of Filipino ownership before I got to it! It did have the most luxurious interior available and was pretty comfortable, but (largely because of the neglect of previous owners), it was easily the worst car I have ever owned.

I put 168,000 miles on a U.S.spec 1988 Festiva LX. Best car I ever owned!

As always , an excellent review. I like your unbiased reviews that clearly explain what you see and experience. Too many of the other reviewers are more interested in talking about them self's and their options. Keep up the good work.

These were oniginally sold as Mazda 121 from 1986 to 1991 ending in the "Shades" variant, which was white with turquoise decals, here in Australia. (Suposed to look funky, but didn't cut the mustard.) Then as a Ford Festiva from 1991 to 2000, which was the Kia hand me down, badge engineered with an American spec interior. I can see a lot of the Mazda parts bin in the Kia. The Ford version had the dubious distiction of being in the top five most dangerous car sold here, along with the Nissan Gazelle, and Toyota Tarago (1st gen, advertised as the safest van!) and another Corrolla sized two door. There are still a few Festivas around, rusting, and a few early Taragos, used by house painters, but the others disapeared swifty. The Gazelles were terrible in accidents.

The cheap options I was looking at back in the day (1994/95) where Kia, Proton and the Hyundai. I bought a 2nd hand Skoda Favorit because there was a 6-8 month waiting list on all of them, kept the Skoda for ages and traded it in on one of the first Felicia's released (2 weeks after launch) that was an awesome little car N499PEG so good I bought two more brand new Felicia's selling my last one in 2005.

Thanks for posting this video! I have a '93 Festiva three door. It no longer has a B3 engine under the bonnet. I've transplanted a Mazda B6T 1.6l DOHC turbocharged engine give at least twice the stock horsepower. Kia manufactured almost all the Pride/121/Festivas. The only one that Mazda built themselves were the JDM Festivas. Those were offered with a 1.3l DOHC 16 valve engine.

Here in the U.S., the Ford Festiva was only sold as a 2 door hatchback and seems to have a bit of a cult following now. They sold them new here from 1988 to 1993. I wanted one when they were new but a new car, even a Festiva was out of my price range back then. I still like them now.

Overall, it's a typical Japanese compact car from the 80's that's economical and solid. It's amazing how this car has brought happy memories to so many people in so many different countries! It is known that this car, which was created by the collaboration of three car companies, was designed by Mazda, produced by Kia, and sold by Ford. Kia Pride/ Ford Festiva/ Mazda 121/ That's why there are so many different brands and names for the same car. In Iran, a company called Saipa produced until recently. In South Korea from the late 80s to the 90s, the Pride was very popular as the first car for young drivers who got their licenses for the first time. Before the birth of Pride, cars produced in South Korea were expensive and of poor performance, and it was difficult for the poor to own a car. 😢 Pride is a very iconic car that led to the popularization of automobiles with good design and low price. In the Korean market, not only a 5-door hatchback, but also a 3-door van, wagon and sedan were offered. Since the 2000s, a lot of Pride has been scrapped and has become rare, but recently it has been loved by people again as an affordable classic car. My dad bought a Pride Sedan (the sedan version is called 'Pride Beta' in Korea) as soon as he got his license in the 90's. Unfortunately one night a drunken Daewoo driver crashed my father's parked Pride. :( My dad said the Pride was badly damaged beyond repair. Funnily enough, my dad loves the Pride so much that he bought a second used Pride.😆 My dad sold a second Pride before I was born so I've never experienced a Pride but I remember it as a lovely, very nostalgic and historic car!

A nice little car. I've got the 1.00 Picanto and it has similar characteristics, lots of space around the engine for the home mechanic, utterly reliable and reasonable if interesting handling. You didn't mention economy, which I think is a Kia forte. I'd drive one of these cars today and be confident it would get me from A to B in reasonable comfort.

I love these random classic car reviews you do 🙂 takes me back to my childhood!

Thanks for the video. I grew up in Korea in the 90s. Kia Pride was the first family car we had 😁 it had 5 speed manual and AC. I still recognize the “Kia OK” sticker on the rear window. Lots of memories. I remember being scared on highways when the car reaches at around 120 (because of the noise). I think the car was able to reach 140km/h. Of course you can’t hear the radio anymore 😂 another thing I remember is that on a very steep uphill, we had to turn off the AC. I wanted to drive it one day but by the time I got my license in the 2010s, they weren’t around, and def not in Toronto. I still like the looks, and I think it looks a lot like the ford escort group A rally cars from 85 or so.

I'd pretty much forgotten about those. Nice to be reminded, thanks.

I did some work for Mazda UK in Tunbridge Wells and Kia UK was in the office upstairs. Had Prides as run arounds and they were great little cars.

Always liked these little cars. I do remember seeing the Mazda 121 version of it in the UK first before the Kia version arrived.

Love to see you review a Kia Clarus. I bought a 2000 sx 2.0 auto model in 2003 for £3k from a Kia dealer. Is was a wonderfully comfortable motorway cruiser. It just wallowed along. Weighed about same as a Polo but longer than a 5 series. Miss that car

These were really great - basically a shrunken Mazda 323. We first got them in the form of the Mazda 121 in the UK in the autumn of 1988 - which was a few years after the rest of the world. Kia made Ford Festivas for the US market right from the outset in 1986 - so they were very oiled in nailing them together by the time they arrived in the UK in 1991 - after Mazda had stopped original 121 production in Japan. Its a great shame so many have disappeared off the roads in the past decade.

As a owner of a '89 Mazda 323, the amount of shared parts is astounding! This looks like a Mazda part's bin lucky dip.

I remember when these were launched, complete with whitewall tyres .

Pride comes before a fall. I too always thought that the old Kia badge looked like a chimney with smoke rising out of it. 😅

Brilliant little car! had one as a hire car in Malta and ended up driving round in circles just to use up the fuel. Incredibly economical, fun to drive and really good ground clearance!

Brought a 1.3 blue 5 door new back in the 90ts, only had 5 miles on it. Had it for 7 years or so until my 3 kids grew older, was too small for a family of 5. You feel the suspension drop when we all got in it lol..

That's mint! I love these. I remember the very first Kia Prides featured white wall tyres.

We need to start a campaign to bring back velour and get rid of leather especially black leather( I love the look of cream leather but hate sitting on it 😂)

I remember these. I remember their whitewall tyres! This poor thing needs a DEEP clean though. The Koreans designing some very appealing looking cars and taking advantage of BMWs wrong design directions. Most Korean cars look more visually appealing than much of what's coming out of Munich at the moment. Amazing how far they've come!

I learned to drive in one of these. The digital clock at 08:03 reminded me of Brian telling me to “keep the clock in the gutter” to maintain the distance from the kerb. Happy memories from the sunny summer of ‘95

I really enjoy these tiny eco boxes! Amazing that we use to just gloss over them but now they are fascinating.

Velour, a magical experience…so FD. Great review of a generally forgotten car but it’s in very good shape. I remember them driving around on the whitewalls, certainly something different but I think the early Datsun 120Y also shipped with them?

I worked at a Kia dealership when these were on sale and like all Kia's it was very well-built and very reliable

Wow the Festiva was cool. You still see them around sometimes. So simple.

Back in 1992 I worked as a salesman for a Nissan dealership. We were selling the Nissan Micra K10 before the bubble shape K12 launched in 1993. So whilst the Kia is basic, so was the Micra of the time as the 1.0 had a 4 speed gearbox, rear wiper and a basic radio. You had to go to a 1.2 LX to get a cassette player and a 5 speed box…

Yes, stalks the correct way around - to this day, I am annoyed by the indicator being operated by the gear shifting hand!

We had one of these, in about 2004, a black 1.3 lx 5 door catalyst model but with a carburetor, brilliant little car which we owned for about 3 years it even survived a small bump thanks to those huge bumpers. There was a neighbour of ours he had the panel van version around the same time.

This was sold as a Mazda 121 in the UK ~1988-1990. My dad had an '88 323 Javelin and I can remember the 121 being on sale. It was not very popular, maybe because it was quite expensive relative to competitors like the Micra and Polo and not that much cheaper than the significantly larger and more practical 323. Maybe linked to import restrictions of Japanese cars into the EEC if these were still in place? If so they probably imported only a small number of 121s as it was more profitable to sell 323s and 626s instead. The door handles, column stalks, gear lever, clock etc. look exactly the same as those in the 323.

I love it, I love peoples cars cheap no-nonsense cars we could do with more of them now, in the 1990s, I bought a brand-new Hyundai accent, sports and it was absolute rubbish. You just had a look at it and you scratched the paint probably the worst car I’ve ever had, but in the 2000s I bought a Kia seed station wagon and honestly the best car I’ve ever had. Hyundai and Kia really have came of age and make absolutely fantastic cars now. Thank you totally enjoyed this video

The problem we had here in Australia was fitting the 351 v8 under the bonnet. We almost had to go the little 302 v8. Hehe

This is why I love this channel

Nice one Matt. Great little cars and that tea shelf!!... I reckon that's the best tea shelf you have ever shown us.

Brilliant review Matt, cannot stop seeing the smoking chimneys in the Kia Badge now, got to love a little city car with hardly any toys to play with, something about them make them more endearing to own.

i love there rear wash bottle placement above the right side rear indicator. great use of space .)

There's so much Mazda in this, and there should be. Mazda helped set up their factory. Here in Canada, we didn't get any Kias back then, but we did get the Ford Festiva. My wife had one of the original Mazda MPVs and I always thought this car looked like a smaller version of that. Those creases in the side looked very similar. I got to visit the UK in 1991, and I saw one of these Prides at an intersection, and it was making very dieselish noises.

What a smashing little car. When you think about what it was up against, it was a bit of a game changer. Two things occur to me: 1. There's clearly been some raiding of the Ford parts bin - anyone familiar with a Mk111 Fiesta will recognise things like the heater control system and the speedo. But Kia adding value where they can I.e. a five speed box and a rev counter... 2. Side on, with the shaping and the six light configuration I'm getting strong "someone put a Maestro in a shrinking machine"... This car is so HubNut....

A cracking little motor. I had a K-plate one c.2007. it was a gem, especially the very comfortable seats. I didn't notice any excessive body roll as it replaced my 2CV. 🙂

I remember being parked next to a black 1994 Kia Pride LX 3 door and thinking that it looked very cool in its little 12 inch white sidewalls. Nobody else did painted sidewalls so they were unique, little Kumhos I think. I recall thinking that it was even a couple of inches taller than the Peugeot 205 that I was sitting in and the 205 even had enormous 13 inch Michelins on it as well.

Thanks for the review 👍

Great little car. Had one in 2007 same colour and spec as the featured car. The interior had very good materials for the seats and carpets,, and the plastics were good quality. The rear washer even had its own washer bottle. Actually very good little runaround

I might be wrong but we're these not the last car sold in UK to offer as standard white wall tyres. I remember being amazed seeing them. Local dealer sold them. By the time I started in the motor trade working at a local garage there were starting to get tatty and rusty. But I liked the biscuit tin simplicity. Now I want one. If ever get a chance can you do a Hyundai Matrix video. They are be becoming a rare sight. Mum still has her 2005 1.6 Matrix with a Kia motor. Utterly reliable just keeping rust at bay and some parts issues. I love it. About to cover 40k miles. Being a mechanic I keep it good for mum. New subframe and new arches repairs. Can't bear to scrap it. So I'm keeping it going. It's a very underrated car. What was that Asian Jeep copy that was sold in the mid 90s it also had whitewall tyres on 5 spoke star alloys. I can't remember the name of that Jeep. Had a had top Thanks for the memories.

Here in the Netherlands they also came as a little station

Thankyou I will have a look at Bidding Classics, had not heard of them before.

I definitely recognise it as the Ford Festiva here in Australia. Amazingly, someone who lives near my mum actually still has one on the road!

Was also a Mazda 121 in UK. Passed my driving test in one. I got an identical atlas for my 18th birthday. I installed a handbag stereo in my Renault 5 but I just took it out and shoved it under the seat.

1:22 These were also built in Iran and sold as the Saipa 111. Production of them only wrapped up in 2020! There were also sedan, liftback, estate, and pickup versions called 131, 141, Nasim, and 151 respectively.

Now put USDM parts on it so it becomes a ford festiva. Probably the only ford i would ever want to own

Components are easily accessible and so is a sophisticated layout. Jammed in components which require others to be removed to allow access is an example of a crude layout.

In Finland those cars were sold only as Mazda 121. First Kias were sold in here at 2004. (Cerato and Rio models) Today Kia is one of the best selling car brands in here.

Thank you for making this video!! 감사합니다!

Learned to drive in one of these and took my 1st test in it. The tester marked the sheet as a nissan micra. Kia was virtually unheard of around my area at the time

My grandad brought one on a J red 91 brand new ran it for over 15 years Fantastic

A very interesting vehicle indeed! Enjoying the videos on the channel 👍👍

I wish we had gotten the 4 door version in the states. Just got the 2 door. They were available with a lot of options that made the interior a lot nicer than what was available if looked at the Suzuki Swift or the Geo(Chevrolet) Metro. We had to wait for the next generation Ford (Aspire) to get 4 doors

The seats in this Pride look way nicer than those in any Festiva I've seen.

Excellent little car, one of these fully loaded with all the kit, would be quite fun.

Lunchtime Viewing Sorted, remember these with the whitewall tyres as well.

Neat video, Matt. I'm trying to remember if we established viewers were shown Idiots. Thank you again. You made her day, plus that attitude other and no no wonder

The standout feature must be the stellar tea shelf.

I remember when those were first introduced to the UK, the local dealer in Aberystwyth who also had the Mazda franchise were selling them alongside the Sao Penza, a re badged Mazda 323.

What a history and development. It’s becoming notable here just how many modern Kia cars are on the roads. I don’t know if that combined with Nissan, Honda, Hyundai has impacted European numbers yet…possibly.

My only foreign holiday ever has been to Austria , we hired a Kia Pride for 10 days and drove it all over there , all the Hire cars looked the same , the Austrians and Germans knew you were a tourist on sight and the Germans treated you with disrespect , on the autobahn we nearly died when a massive Truck exhaust exited from the side as we overtook it , somebody bumped in to it on our last night just as I had to hand it back , memories eh ! .

I learnt to drive in a Kia Pride. Passed my test in early 1997, just before the licence changes.

They were popular cars in the 90s Philippines. They were popular for those looking for a subcompact car. Its reign only ended with the arrival of the Toyota Vios/Yaris Sedan. There was also the Pride Beta which is the sedan version.

Don’t remember the 4 door here in the US, tough lil car that were treated rough. Our salted roads are these lil Ford badged cars ate these cars up quickly, daughter owned a RIO which was like driving a Go Cart, very enjoyable to drive!!!

Great Video Matt. Great. 👍

I thought that looked like a Festiva! Watching from the States… I don’t believe we got the 5-door here in the US, only the 3. But they were a very common sight here in their day.

I remember these being advertised in newspapers by little and large!

How many sponsors does one need ?! 😉 You must be an excellent salesman... Good on you ! (And good for us too.)

My stepdad brought a brand new one about 96 it wasn’t a good experience with one of these. It liked the comfort of the dealership more than the road he traded it in for a 2nd hand j reg Toyota Corolla 1.3 saloon which never missed a beat

You can tell Mazda had input into this car...those heater controls are very similar to my 96' MK1 MX5!

A Mazda 121 by ANY other name!!!!!

Those car radios... Many were forgotten around the supermarket to have the driver run back into the shop when realising there's a gaping hole in the dashboard.

We never got these but we got the Mazda and Ford that relationship between Ford and Mazda lasted into at least the mid 2000s

Ford Festiva here in the US, only a 3 door. I haven't seen one in decades!

Comparing this to the new Kia Stinger really shows how far Kia really came.

Remember the white wall tyres! The mismatched aftermarket wheel trims look a bit cheap, should only have hub caps if I remember correctly.

Well done Matt, you managed to make it sound like a good we runabout. You neglected to mention how quickly they fell victim to the Demon Rust. Reading some of your other responders comments my Sis must have got a "Plug" coz hers was rotten underneath. Good vid all the same Thanks.😄