Ford Aspire

The very small hatchback that replaced the Festiva, and like the Festiva it is not a Ford design — it was built by Kia, which sold it at home as the Avella, using a Mazda-derived 1.3. Three names, one car, and almost nothing has been written under the Ford one. That is the practical point: Kia and Mazda material is where the engine and gearbox information lives. Mechanically it is about as simple as anything in this catalogue — no variable valve timing, no turbocharger, and a short list of places a fault can hide — so a driveability complaint is usually fuel, ignition or a vacuum leak and can be worked through systematically. Notable for its era as one of the few cars this small sold in North America with a driver and passenger airbag as standard.