The Ford Festiva is a four passenger, three-door, front-drive subcompact car manufactured in South Korea by Kia, under license from Mazda and marketed by Ford for model years 1986-2002 over three generations in Japan, the Americas, and Australia as the Festiva and as the Aspire in North America during its second generation.

Designed by Mazda using the DA platform and B series straight-four engines, the Festiva was manufactured in South Korea by Kia, under license.

[6][7] The Mazda-designed and built three-door hatchback was launched in Japan in February 1986 under the name "Ford Festiva", with the 1.1 and 1.3-liter engines.

[13] In Japan at launch, the Festiva three-door was offered in L, L Special, S, Ghia, and Canvas Top specification levels.

[14] At the 1986 Tokyo Motor Show, the sporty GT and GT-X models were shown, with a unique twin-cam 1.3-liter engine (BJ).

Beginning in 1989, Autorama also began selling left-hand drive, Korean-assembled five-door hatchbacks (and later the four-door sedan as well).

[16] Production of the Japanese market Ford Festiva ended in December 1992, with sales from stock continuing for another month.

[9] Starting from late 1987 for the 1988 model year, Kia began exports to the United States under the "Ford Festiva" name.

[18] Ford released a minor facelift in North America for the 1990 model year,[19] shifting from carburetor to fuel injection with five-speed manual or optional three-speed automatic transmissions.

[20] The agreement with Ford materialized in accordance with Kia's strategy implemented in the mid-1980s to progressively fill the void at the low-cost end of the market slowly being abdicated by the Japanese brands pursuing more expensive models with higher profit margins.

[20] Compared to rival automakers in Japan, and also Europe and North America, Kia's main competitive advantage was its lower-paid South Korean workforce—which translated into lower-priced cars.

[22] Inspired by the Australian Giocattolo project, they started a company called Special Editions, Inc., to produce a limited run of 250 cars.

[23] These cars were powered by a mid-mounted Yamaha V6 sourced from the first generation Ford Taurus SHO, producing 220 hp (164 kW).

[23] With the car not being an official Ford product, Special Editions had to buy SHOs from dealers and remove the engines, increasing the price by over ten percent.

The price increase, the cancellation of a Japanese order, and the economy slowing down because of the first Gulf War, conspired against the project taking off and only seven cars (plus the prototype) were built.

[27] Both versions were powered by the overhead camshaft carbureted 1.3-liter B3 engine with the five-speed manual transmission; a three-speed automatic was optional for the five-door.

In Taiwan, it was assembled using complete knock-down kits from 1989 via the local joint venture Ford Lio Ho.

[4][30] Mazda began selling the 121 as a single three-door hatchback body variant in 1987 to sit below the larger 323 model.

[31] In Europe, the car's ventilation system, developed with American consumers in mind, was notable for its refinement for the class.

Prior to its South Korean market release, exports as the Festiva had begun in December 1986 to Japan and the United States.

The four-door sedan model, the Pride Beta, arrived in November 1990, and the range was completed by the three-door van and five-door wagon in February 1992.

Compared to these versions, the SAIPA 141 features revised rear styling with a longer liftback tail, and different interior design.

[1] The Kia Pride firstly involved in a joint venture in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province with automobile company Guangtong Motors, where they were producing cars under a licence.

This new Festiva was slightly longer, wider, more aerodynamic, and suspended by MacPherson struts in the front and a torsion beam axle in the rear.

Depending on the market, some retained the SOHC, throttle-body injected motor, while others received an engine with a DOHC cylinder head and MPI also designed by Mazda.

The SE model offered a sporting package that consisted of fog lights, rear spoiler, alloy wheels, blue face instrument cluster with tachometer, and upgraded interior trim.

The Aspire had very few options for the base model: cassette player, automatic transmission, rear defrost and wiper, alloy wheels, and a comfort and convenience package that had several minor interior upgrades.

The Avella was primarily intended for export markets carrying Ford badging, as South Korean customers tended to prefer sedans over hatchbacks.

All Avellas came standard with 13 inch wheels, a four-speaker stereo, heated rear glass, anti-lock brakes (ABS), driver's side airbag, and door impact beams.

Known as the "Ford Festiva Mini Wagon", the Japanese-only model range consisted of a single five-door hatchback body style available with either a 1.3- or 1.5-liter engine.