Some readers will look at this 1988 Ford Festiva L and question its worthiness for inclusion on the pages of Barn Finds. I understand that sentiment, but I feel we need to cut this little gem some slack. Ford introduced the Festiva as an affordable and economical commuter option, and many served gamely in that role until they reached the end of their useful life. This Festiva is a survivor. It is thirty-four years old and is a one-owner vehicle that is mechanically healthy and presents well. That combination makes it unusual, justifying, in my mind, it wearing the “classic” tag. The Festiva is listed here on Craigslist in Rosenberg, Texas, with an asking price of $5,500. I must thank Barn Finder Pat L. for spotting this promising commuter option for us.
Mazda developed the Festiva for Ford, which was a common occurrence between the two companies in the 1980s. Ongoing development eventually produced several body styles, with our feature car being the common three-door hatchback variant. It is an original survivor wearing Code 2P Solid Red paint. It retains a healthy shine, but there are a few chips and marks. That is to be expected for a car of this type, but someone handy with a spray gun may be able to rectify the faults in a home workshop. There are a few bumps and bruises, with the most obvious showing on the driver’s side front fender. If the buyer wishes to lift the vehicle’s presentation, a paintless dent removal company could be the perfect answer to their problem. The Festiva was not renowned for rust, and life in Texas will have helped this car’s cause. There is nothing visible in the supplied photos or mentioned in the listing. The biggest surprise is the condition of the exterior plastic. While manufacturers were coming to grips with crumbling and cracking issues by the late 1980s, black plastic could still discolor and develop a matte appearance. This Festiva has avoided those problems, which is an achievement given its current location.
When you slipped behind the wheel of a Festiva, it was unlikely that you would think, “Gee, is this a Festiva, or is it a Cadillac?” The company built these little commuters to a price cap, meaning owners faced acres of plastic trim. This was generally varying shades of Gray, although some cars featured Brown to add variety. The seats wear slipcovers, so the condition of the cloth upholstery beneath is unknown. If the rest of the trim is an accurate guide, the news should be positive. There is no wear, the carpet is clean, and the dash is crack-free. Luxury appointments aren’t thick on the ground, but this Festiva scores the comfort and convenience of air conditioning, a Sony radio/cassette player, and intermittent wipers.
We’ve reached the “nuts-and-bolts” part of the Festiva’s story, which is worth careful consideration. Power comes from a 1,323cc four-cylinder engine sending its 58hp and 73 ft/lbs of torque to the front wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for excitement, and the ¼-mile ET of 19 seconds seems to support that. However, with a curb weight of a mere 1,708lbs, these little gems can not only cut the mustard in the city and urban traffic, but they hold their own at highway speeds. Rather than considering performance theoretically, I can offer a practical example of a Festiva’s capabilities. I knew a couple that owned a similar vehicle, although theirs was a five-door hatchback. It was mechanically identical, also including air conditioning. Their Festiva was their daily driver and grocery-getter. This couple used to undertake their shopping expeditions to a nearby town that involved highway cruising and climbing steep hills. To add to the car’s workload, they used to take an elderly family member and an adult grandson on those trips. They’d load that Festiva with a week’s supply of groceries, they all climbed aboard, and their Ford took them home without raising a sweat. They also embarked on a few longer journeys, including a few that represented 1,000-mile round trips. Once again, the Festiva cruised happily at 70mph. That’s an extreme case, but it demonstrates what these vehicles can do while returning fuel consumption of 40mpg. The seller indicates the Festiva is in sound mechanical health and has 90,000 miles on the clock. It runs and drives well and has always been appropriately serviced and maintained. It is a turnkey vehicle ready for immediate use by a new owner.
I understand your attitude entirely if this 1988 Ford Festiva L doesn’t appeal to you. However, before dismissing it, consider what it has achieved. The Festiva sold in respectable numbers in 1988 and most served faithfully as commuters and daily drivers. They did so while sipping delicately from their gas tank before many made that final journey to the junkyard. The Festiva wasn’t particularly rare when new, and it certainly wasn’t a car that people flocked to Ford showrooms to see. Consider that and search your memory to recall when you last saw a tidy survivor like our feature car. They don’t appear every day, making this little Ford worthy of preservation.
How hard is it to find freshly made 12 inch tires for this car today?!
Best to avoid big bridges on a very windy day with this very light car.
Last car in the world that needs a backup camera.
Same 3 cyl motor here that was in the Swift/Metro?
The Tire Rack is completely out of this size tire. I know that Walmart stopped carrying 12 inch tires years ago.
You mean 4cyl
They were harder to get than the much more common 13s even in the late ’90s. No more likely to have the same engine as a Metro than any other Ford would have come from the factory with a Chevy motor.
It was a four all right. I had one of these; bought new in 1988. Great little commuter car for my wife. Also used to use it for pizza delivery at which it was excellent because of the economy. Light, nimble, fun to drive. Not “quick” but not a slug either, although I am sure an automatic would have sucked whatever fun there was to be had out of it. These were designed by Mazda and sold in some parts of the world as the Mazda 121 but were actually manufactured by Kia as the Korean auto industry was just beginning to come into its own. The ID plate said built for Ford in Republic Of Korea by Kia Motors, Inc. This was before Kia were purchased by Hyundai, I believe, which was just entering the U. S. market itself at this time with the first Excel.
C’mon, man…. Every Michigander knows it was a Yugo that went off the Mackinac Bridge. That was driver aided. Nobody mentions the full size Bronco that also went off the bridge as well. That was a suicide. Had an 88 L back in the early 90’s myself, 40 MPG, bigger inside than it was given credit for. Jay Leno also has a Shogun, a Festiva with Taurus SHO running gear in the back end. I painted my front and rear bumpers body color and made it look fractionally better. EIGHT dollar tires from Belle Tire when they came to town and got into a pricing war with Discount Tire. Had a set mounted and tossed a spare set into the hatch for a Hamilton over a Benjamin out the door. I miss those days.
It was a 4 cylinder made by KIA motors. I had a 1990 Festiva and drove the old Alaskan Highway in 1991. Went through 3 tires, but the car was bulletproof. I abused the hell out of it and it never let me down.
This car looks like it would fit right in to the Scotty Gilbertson collection.
This is a Mazda made for Ford. Drove one for a while and it was a 4 speed. Lots of fun to drive. Yeah had to watch the potholes with those 12-in tires all the time. Easy to park and quick to make u -turns. Great on gas. This is a great buy for someone wants spend little time at the gas station. Easy to park. Great commuter car. 🐻🇺🇸
After reading the CL ad, I wouldn’t call that an asking price, more like a demanding price. No dice.
The guy listing the add on CL seems like a charm….. $5,500 no less… Then be prepared to pay more if multiple people show up at the “meeting place” as the CL listing states… get real! Nice car regardless for the owners demands. Had one years ago, ran great.
In Japan,you could buy them with a twin cam engine (when new).
After owning lots of FIESTAS,I test drove a new one.That thing really
understeered! I passed on it.Also,never got the watch I was promised
for taking a test drive.
My surfing buddy had one of these. How we fit 4 surfers, 4 wetsuits, 4 surfboards and a bong in on and around one of these is hard to fathom, but we did. We could go all the way to Hatteras and back on 10.00 of gas. One trip somebody wrote “kooks” on the rear glass with wax while we were out at Lighthouse, lol. Good times.
Those were solidly built, very reliable cars. Some covered over 250K miles with just regular maintenance and cautious driving.
One time in Maui we saw this exact car packed with 4 massive Hawaiian dudes, it was great.
“our Yugo”. So much the same comments as on that listing.
As ‘adult student” as few of us ran from Morgantown to NYC to do a
study for grad skol presentation. The car was brandy new (just hit show rooms late 70s). Grad skol & ‘adults” one hada lill more $. He drove us 4 (1,000lbs of beef) the 12, 13 hr at 80 MPH the whole way’n back. A tight fit, it did fine and
provided him a 1/2 hr school & 1 hr job commute every day for as long as I knew him (8 yrs) and probably beyond. He attended to it himself with regular attention. Not a typical merican who take the ‘set it & ferged it” attitude toward their autos. I’d daily it. Stretchin the ‘classic’ deffinition, tho (30 yrs at the minimum).
You’re thinking of the Fiesta, a car that does not share a nut or bolt with this car. The Fiesta we got was built in German and power by the pushrod Kent engine.
The festiva was built in Korea from mazda parts.
Yeah, it’s the wrong car. But the stream of consciousness is strangely intriguing.
That’s right. I had both an ’88 Festiva like this one and a ’78 and ’80 Fiesta S. The first generation Fiesta was only sold in the U. S. from 1978-80 being discontinued in America for 1981 as Ford introduced the Escort to replace the Pinto. It was thought that there was no real market for the Fiesta in America because the fact that it was manufactured in Germany and the exchange rates would have necessitated that it be priced higher than the larger Escort. In Europe these were two different classes of car altogether. The Fiesta continued in Europe down to the present day and was reintroduced to America in 2011. (My daughter has an ’11.) The Fiestas that I had were a blast to drive. There were aftermarket performance parts available for them because the 1.6 Kent engine was the basis for the European Formula Ford racing series. I took advantage of that fact, ha-ha…The Festiva shared nothing whatsoever with the Fiesta–just a similar sounding name and a somewhat similar looking body. It was much more sedate, but still mildly fun.
My first new car! I loved it. Drove surprisingly smooth.
The “Fiesta” was better……..
An 88 festiva was my first new car. I had the LX version with a five-speed, wider tires, electric mirrors, better seats, center console, rear defrost and wiper. It sold for a whopping $6500.
I drove that car all over the east coast from Toronto Canada to Key West and everywhere in between. It never, ever failed me.
It cemented my love for cheap hatchbacks that lasts to this day. A manual transmission and light weight is an unbeatable combination. It wasn’t fast and didn’t handle particularly well but I drove like it did.
I’d take one of these over a new Mercedes any day, after I put the turbo twin cam engine in from its sister car the Capri XR2.
The 12-inch tires are available from Coker Tires — Yet, they are not cheap.
The seller doesn’t want to sell this car based on what they convey in the ad. I bet nobody shows up.
These make a great dinghy — car to tow behind a motorhome since they are reliable and light.
Ok – i found tires that should fit this car – from walmart
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Haida-HD667-165-70R12-77T-AS-A-S-All-Season-Tire/1238770238?fulfillmentIntent=Shipping
tho the Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG)
240AB is very low – maybe cause the small tires spin so fast? lol
Best 1st to ck how old & cracked the current tires are.
Maybe a 13 inch wheel will fit with a low profile tire? Remember – even the very 1st mustangs came with 13″ wheels & tires – even the v8s!
Good luck if u are looking for a 10 inch tire for a ’72 honda!
If you go 13″ make sure the don’t interfere with the body.
It’s got 8K more miles than his ad says. It’s got factory a/c too which is a surprise to me although it might have been a dealer install. I wonder how many people will meet him at the Chevron with more cash than the ask Just to be sure that they won’t be outbid.
Lol with this seller, get real. At least they posted more than sufficient photos, I’ll give them that much.
I like the styling of these little cars. Seemed well built for their intended purpose.
As to the authors writeup, I could be wrong but I don’t remember the festival as a 4 or 5 door. It’s successor, the aspire, did have 4 doors, but I just can’t recall the 4 door being offered in the US. They were offered in Australia and Asia, however.
Nice thing about collecting cars like this are that they are easy to store.