1991 Ford Festiva LX review from North America
"Gas miser, and a great first car"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Left front brake line blew at 130000km (replaced for very little cost)
Heater return pipe sprung a leak. (replaced with a rubber hose) at about 190000km.
Valve cover gasket leaked at about 120000km (routine problem with most older cars)
Exhaust system rusted out around 117000km (common problem with small engine cars)
Handbrake cable broke (again) around 125000 (probably a faulty cable to begin with)
General comments?
I purchased this car from a kind old lady for $100. She had only driven it about 3000km since 1997-2003. So a lot of the problems listed above are probably due to inactivity and lack of use.
In either case the Festiva is a great choice for a first car, even if the insurance is astronomical.
They run on very little gas for quite a long time.
The ride is actually surprisingly supple and comfortable, even with the annoyingly high amount of road/wind/engine noise.
Although this is not a sports car by any means, the little Mazda-built 1.3 easily gets up to 140KM/H.
Recommended reviews
| 1991 - Festiva L 1.3 liter gas I wish they still made them; I'd get another in a heartbeat |
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| Cheap and cheerful.. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1991 |
| First year of ownership | 2003 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.3 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 117000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 131000 kilometres |
| Date of Entry | 31st March, 2004 |