The frost plug cam out one week after I took it home.
Had to change all the oils trans axle had no oil filled did not leek.
Got 14" tires and rims off a Hyundai at pick and pull.
Did not like to drive on 12" rims.
Cut the bottom off the air cleaner to give more air to the engine can make it up hills in 5 now.
This car is one of those cars that you laugh at till you have one.
I will say that it is not a looker
but a good car for some one that likes
the under dog of cars.
For a winter car and work car this is the car for you it is cheap to run easy
to fix and to slow to kill your self so
if you have a lead foot like me get a festiva.
If your 0-60 is 15.4, then your car is SLOW. Your average Honda without a VTECH motor will do 0-60 in about 10 to 13 seconds. If the quarter mile time is 15.4, that isn't bad for an ugly little subcompact, but the weight difference can explain that too. Less weight=more power when compared to a honda civic, which can easily weigh 1000 pounds more, depending on the model/year. Plus I don't think a Festiva would really have a chance with a VTECH civic at all.
There is no way in Hades that a Festiva with the stock 1.3 liter engine will do 15 seconds in the 1/4mile, especially with 14 inch tires, which would be a lot heavier than the standard 12 inch tires that Festiva's came with. 15 seconds to 60, yeah that sounds about right. That is, unless you've done some MAJOR work to the B3, or swapped to something like a B6 turbo. A B6 turbo just might get you down the 1/4mile in 15.4.
This would have been a pretty okay review of a regular guy driving a regular car, if not for the "kills Hondas" line. Also have a little difficulty understanding what's so cool about putting Hyundai rims on a Ford, but then I'm not a sport tuner like this guy.
For all the comments above, has anybody above actually driven or owned a Festiva? Remember that the design is a Mazda design and its mechanical origins are the Mazda 323 packaged in an even lighter body. Its equivalent in a Honda is a Honda City or a cheapest Civic and in that sense it probably will give them a damm good run. I have just bought a Festiva for a friend and am impressed by the design (Mazda) and think that it goes pretty well for an economy car. My own car is a Renault 17 Gordini. About the air cleaner - after reading his review I removed the plastic nozzle on the end of the air cleaner and found that it revs better and the flat spot is eliminated so all these smart comments from "know alls" can be shoved back to where they belong!!!
Hey Renault 17 owner, I have actually owned a Festiva and I can assure you that it was no competition for the lowliest Honda Civic (well, maybe the new hybrid, but no regular Civic) so the reviewer is off base with his claims that an unmodified Festiva (cutting the air cleaner doesn't do squat) will "kill" Hondas. Neither one of you knows what he is talking about.
Btw, I have driven (but fortunately did not buy) a 1979 Renault Gordini. It broke down on the test drive, but for the twelve blocks I drove it it was, shall we say, a rather underwhelming experience for what was purported to be a performance car. Felt like an old R12 in a fastback body.
Just when did you actually drive this 17 Gordini and in what condition was it. If in good condition it should be pretty nippy although no ball of fire from start. Its strength is in its drive-ability and not in its outright speed. Most modern fuel injected 16 v 1.6 litre cars will probably beat it, but on a longer distance and if the 17 is in perfect mechanical condition it would be the preferred choice. I have owned about 20 cars and come from a family that had Jags, older 3.5 P5b Rovers, Subaru Liberty 6 cylinders, and Older Cooper S as well as citroens, etc and know what I am talking about.
Who designed that Festiva anyway? Mazda? Was it a Mazda design? Wasn't it built by KIA? How did the design (Mazda) get into a KIA car? Did they copy it from Mazda? Wouldn't that make them (Mazda) mad (madzda)? That KIA copied it and then Ford just slapped their blue oval on it and sold it?
I guess that Mazda would be Mad if Kia just copied the design, but its common practise for a car company to sell a good design that's a bit outdated to another company in a third world country- EG the old Jeep Cerokee is being made in China as well as a whole lot of other old model cars from a lot of eastern countries. The Kia is almost exact copy of the Mazda with a few very small details changed EG Carb is different. Kia was hoping to be absorbed into Ford at the time and must have tried really hard to build decent quality into the Festiva as paint and finish is good for such a cheap car. They are now however owned by Hyundai.