On its own, Kia is the world’s fifth-largest automaker, at least at the time of writing. But if you told that to someone back in the ‘90s that the South Korean company would be one of the key players in the industry, it’s safe to say that you’ll be laughed at – to say the least.
Speaking of the ‘90s, it’s amazing to see how far the brand has come since then. Looking at the current range, we can confidently say that we have favorites, namely the Sonet, Sorento, and the Carnival. But Kia wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for two things.
The first is with the merger with Hyundai back in 1998. Its compatriot sent it a lifeline and has blossomed into one of the most successful ventures in the automotive industry. But prior to that, Kia had strong ties with Mazda that ran from the ‘70s and all the way to the ‘90s. Yes, you read that right.
One of the products that resulted in this technical partnership was a model once popular in the Philippines. It was a taxi, fleet vehicle and entry-level car back in the day, so it’s almost impossible to find in mint condition these days. We are, of course, talking about the Kia Pride.
The Pride might have been a small car, but it’s big when it comes to history. Curious? Read on.
A request from Ford
To understand the lore of the Kia Pride, one has to turn to the Ford Motor Company. If you’re scratching your head at this point, bear with us. Stung by the successive fuel crises in the ‘70s, the company realized that it needed a small, fuel efficient car for the world. Sure, they tried selling the Fiesta outside of Europe, but was met with mixed results.
With that, Ford turned to Mazda for that project. More specifically, Ford instructed Mazda to build a subcompact and fuel efficient world car. The result was the Ford Festival launched in 1986, but the story didn’t end there.
The many names and faces
It was first shown to the public during the 1986 Tokyo Motor Show as the Ford Festiva. It bore no relation to the other subcompact Ford hatchback at the time, the European-market Fiesta. But despite Mazda doing the engineering and development, it didn’t wear a single Mazda badge. In fact, the homegrown model was only sold as a Ford in Japan. It’s even reflected under the hood, as all engines came from, you guessed it, Mazda.
What’s more interesting is the fact that it was never sold as a Mazda in its home market. Also known as the Mazda 121, you’d have to go to Australia, New Zealand, or Europe to see an example of the car that Mazda did from the start. We reckon those 121s are extremely rare now, as it was the Festiva that enjoyed a wider reach across the globe.
So when does Kia come into the story? Ford wanted to build the Festiva with as little cost as possible. Meanwhile, Kia wanted to broaden its horizons by strengthening its export capabilities. With that, a deal was made wherein Ford would license Kia to build the Festiva. That product would later become the Kia Pride.
Mind you, all of that happened in a span of less than two years.
Specs, anyone?
But regardless of was the Ford Festiva, Mazda 121, or Kia Pride, all had the same powertrain options for the most part. There was a choice of 1.1-liter or 1.3-liter engines. The 1.1-liter engine made 62 horsepower, which was par for the course back in the day. Opt for the 1.3-liter and figures are about the same as the smaller engine at 64 horsepower, but it gained more power when it eventually received fuel injection. The injected models saw horsepower rise to 72 horsepower.
Its chassis was fairly simple, but it’s still a setup used in every budget subcompact car these days. There’s MacPherson struts at the front, and a torsion beam at the back. Brakes were the usual solid discs at front and drums at the back, a common arrangement back in the day. Safety features? That’s courtesy of seatbelts and one’s driving abilities.
For body styles, there was the three-door and five-door hatchback, as well as the four-door sedan called the Festiva β Beta or Pride β, with the symbol standing for beta. There was even a five-door wagon later in its life, but only the Kia got it.
Made in the Philippines, too
The Philippine Government’s People’s Car Program in the early ’90s encouraged automakers to set up assembly lines in the country. One of the several brands that took part of the initiative was Kia, allowing it to build the Pride locally.
The Philippine-spec Prides were powered by the 1.1-liter carbureted engine, but the 1.3-liter was added later on. One can choose between five-door hatch or four-door sedan. Initial transmission choice was a five-speed manual, but a three-speed automatic was an option for the sedan. Sadly, we never got the fuel-injected model sold abroad.
Launched in 1990 in the country, the Pride had a pretty long shelf life. Local production ran for 13 years from 1990 to 2003, while the sedan lasted from 1992 to 2000.
Yes, there were ‘hot’ versions as well
The Kia Pride and Mazda 121 never got any hot versions, but the Ford Festiva did. Okay, hot might be a bit of a stretch, but it did get a mildly spicy version in Japan. It came in the form of the Festiva GT-X and got a twin-cam, 16-valve version of the 1.3-liter engine. With 88hp, it wasn’t going to redefine the hot hatch genre even when it was new, but it weighed just 800kg, so it must’ve been a peppy little thing.
But the wildest Ford Festiva ever made came from the US. Dubbed the Festiva Shogun, it was powered by a Ford Vulcan 3.0-liter V6 that’s been tuned by Yamaha. Originally used in the Taurus SHO, that V6 was shoved at the back and was good for 220hp. While not huge numbers today, remember that it’s in a car that weighs under 1,200kg. That meant a 0 to 100kph time of around 5.5 seconds, which is insane for any Kia Pride-shaped object. Only seven were built.
The irony
Remember when we said it was Ford who wanted Mazda to build this model? Well, it didn’t quite become the runaway success that Ford thought it would be in its class. If anything, it flopped in Japan and barely sold over 1,000 units per year until it was discontinued in 1992. In the US, it was moderately successful, but folks over there stuck with their bigger V6-powered Ford Explorers and Tauruses. Oh, and the Mazda 121 barely registered in Europe and Australasia.
Ironically, it was the Kia Pride that became the most popular version of the Ford Festiva. It may have ‘just’ been a licensed version of the subcompact car, but it’s the one that’s fondly remembered by many. It also helped Kia set up shop in Europe, and would be one of the key models that would turn the brand into a global automotive powerhouse. Quite the legacy, then.
The pride of Korea. Is it making a comeback?
ReplyDeleteUnlikely to happen as Kia Rio is exclusively built in Mexico as a Kia K3
DeleteWe had the 2003 pride spree 1.1L MT with power steering as standard. It was frugal in fuel and maintenance. Good city car. Only upgraded the radio, speakers, and rims to mag wheels. When it became a 2nd car in the garage, we eventually had to give it up after a decade as the features were getting obsolete, and the 2012 yaris hatchback was a great proposition back then.
ReplyDeleteKia Pride in South Korea and in other markets was replaced by the Kia Avella/Ford Aspire which was later replaced and became the 1st generation Kia Rio which was sold in the Philippine market 25 years ago
ReplyDeleteFinal generation of Ford Festiva in Japan was a rebadged 1st generation Mazda Demio
I was in high school in the 90's when my brother had a Kia Pride as his company car. Not as refined as the Toyota Corolla small body but still a very capable car.
ReplyDeleteWatch ramon bautista video about kia pride. No frills motoring
ReplyDeleteA relative still drives one, though now more masilya than body color. Still works.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shitty car.. but man whenever I see one it just fills me up with nostalgia.
ReplyDelete