1993 Ford Festiva GL

1993 Ford Festiva - 1 family owned since new, 65K Miles


Just look at this little guy! 12" wheels and all. It looks like a happy little car, almost Spritely, but we'll reserve the happy face for the Bugeye.

This car does get smiles and thumbs up wherever she goes though.

This little Festiva Hatchback was purchased brand new by the current owner's Mom from Sam Galloway Ford in Fort Myers, FL. After a while, her daughter had the car and moved to Annapolis, MD and then eventually to Nova Scotia, Canada. Less then two years ago her brother brought the car back to Guilford, CT (yes, it had to be imported BACK into the US).

The car only has 65000 miles on her and aside from some minor surface rust on a couple of underside bits, is rust free.

The car has always been regularly serviced, with receipts going back through the years, kept garaged and has never been driven in the snow, or during the winter months, when she came north from Florida.

Hard to believe for some of us that this car is already 32 years old and as such is well into the classic car realm considered by most state DMVs.

With that in mind, this is an awesome way to get into the classic car world and for very little money. Take this to any Cars n Coffee or cruise night and people WILL be coming around to see her.

When the oil embargos hit in the 70's, the Big Three in America quickly moved to selling small, fuel efficient cars. They were able to do this quickly and easily by partnering up with many Asian and European car manufacturers. This practice was called Badge Engineering or ReBadging/Re-Branding. That practice is still in play today, but less so and was heavily in play in the 90's. This originally started out life as a Kia Pride. Ford called her the Festiva.

This one is a GL (new decals will come with her at purchase) and is armed with a 3 speed automatic transmission and a 1.3L inline 4 that drives the front wheels. 65 HP and 75lb ft may not seem rip snortin in most books, but, one can thank Colin Chapman of Lotus Cars who said simplify and then add lightness. This car weighs in at only 1800 lbs dry. It doesn't need 200HP to feel down right zippy... all while realizing 35-40 MPG.

She starts right up, the EFI taking care of any choke/temp issues and idles super smooth.

There is a slight rattle of an underside heat shield that quiets down with an increase in RPM. An odd deal with the shifter (is it a Kia safety thing?), you shift past R or D then back to that gear and away she goes. Due to her size and weight, acceleration feels more than adequate. Real life says 0-60 is closer to 13 seconds with a top speed of around 85-90. Power front disc and rear drums stop her quite well too. The brakes are all that are power assisted though. Roll down windows, rear fold out windows, strong arm steering (but, with 12" wheels, not difficult at all), seats are click and slide. She does have AC but needs and R12 recharge.

The interior fabric is near perfect (one 1/4" hole in the back seat), no cracks on the dash, heat, lights, horn and wipers all work as they should. Collapse the rear seats and this hatchback has almost as much room as a new Tesla Cybertruck!

The outside shows a little more wear than the inside with a couple of small dents and touched up dings/nicks. No rust/rot on any of the body panels and as previously mentioned juts some minor surface rust on the undercarriage.

In essence, 1 owner, folder full of receipts of regular service, great running/driving car and by age, easily considered a classic. This car is being priced with that in mind, not for someone looking for a winter beater but someone interested in getting into the classic car scene for little cash outlay. She's be a star at Radwood. AND - Believe it or not, there is a whole "hop up" scene out there who take these and add headers, turbos, wider wheels/tires, etc.

This isn't just a "used car".

Asking price is $5800

Any questions, for several hundred more photos and video, to schedule a time to see her in person or to make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for the interest!