The Kia Pride was a subcompact car that Kia sold from March 1987 to January 2000, and the name was used again from September 2011. The original car was a Ford Festiva built under licence, and it was the model that turned Kia into a car exporter.
Kia Pride at a glance
| Maker | Kia Motors |
|---|---|
| Production | March 1987–January 2000; again from September 2011 |
| Derived from | Ford Festiva |
| Bodies | three-door and five-door hatchback, sedan, liftback, estate, pickup |
| Markets | Korea, Europe, North America as the Ford Festiva |
| Iranian production | 1992–2020, by SAIPA |
| New Pride | April 2005–September 2011, the Kia Rio JB |
| Pride from 2011 | based on the Kia Rio UB |
History of the Kia Pride
The original Pride was derived from the Ford Festiva, which Mazda had designed for Ford and Kia built in Korea under licence. Kia sold it at home and in several export markets, and in the United States the same car was sold as the Ford Festiva from the 1988 model year. It was cheap, light and simple, and it gave Kia its first real presence outside Korea.
The Festiva connection
The Festiva was designed by Mazda using its DA platform and B-series four-cylinder engines, and Kia built it under licence from 1986. In Korea the car was the Kia Pride; in Australia and Europe the first version was sold as the Mazda 121, and from 1991 Australasian sales switched to the Ford Festiva name while Europe kept the Kia Pride. Kia ended production of the Pride in 2000, after the Avella had taken over as the more expensive small model.
Iran
Various versions of the Pride family, including the sedan, hatchback, liftback, station wagon and pickup, were built in Iran between 1992 and 2020, which made the design one of the longest-lived small cars of its era.
The name returns
Between April 2005 and September 2011 the New Pride was the Korean market name for the Kia Rio JB sold in export markets. The Pride sold from 2011 to 2017 was again based on the Rio, this time the UB series, so the Pride name has covered three quite different cars over four decades.
Design and features
- Licensed design: a Mazda-engineered Festiva built by Kia in Korea.
- Export breakthrough: sold in the United States as the Ford Festiva.
- Long life abroad: built in Iran from 1992 to 2020.
- Reused name: the Pride badge returned on Rio-based cars in 2005 and 2011.
Kia Pride versions
- Pride (1987–2000): the original Festiva-based car in hatchback and other bodies.
- Ford Festiva (1988–1993): the same car for the North American market.
- New Pride (2005–2011): the Kia Rio JB under the Korean Pride name.
- Pride (2011–2017): based on the Kia Rio UB.
The Pride was replaced by the Avella and then the Rio, and it came after the rear-driven Brisa. More Kia models are in the Kia collection.
Sources
- Kia Pride, English Wikipedia: dates, Festiva origin, later Pride models, Iran
- Ford Festiva, English Wikipedia: Mazda design, Kia production, export markets
.jpg){kind=link}