1994 Ford Aspire | Retro Review

[@crocglox7797]

Aspire to merge safely on the freeway.

[@GrandHuevotes]

Aspire to live past 25

[@fernandorocha8459]

@@GrandHuevotes Ford Aspire is 1.4 4inline, 64 hp and 74LB-Ft torque

[@motormouth2472]

Aspire to find something better

[@a.person7825]

Aspire to find one of these darn things for sale! I bet I could fix it with my 5 year-old’s tool box. Lol. I would drive the fool out of that thing..I live 30 minutes or so from EVERYTHING!!

[@a.person7825]

@@fernandorocha84591.3?

[@jpete3027666]

This was my first new car in 1997. My dad co-signed on a loan for me. It was $8900 out the door. I had it for 3 years and it served me well in being a “point A to point B” car as I was getting started in life so I’ve never wanted to sound ungrateful. It didn’t have power anything. The lack of horsepower, no AC, awful ride quality and no power steering made this thing an awful driving experience. Owning this car made me “aspire” for something better for sure. The thing was so top heavy that even with the lack of power and speed it always felt like this thing was going to tip over if I wasn’t careful. God I hated this car. This car was like that fast food job as your first job, an awful experience that motivates you for something better in life.

[@DaewooFestiva23]

What happened to it after the 3 years? Its a shame it was so bad since I love the way it looks. I'd still love to buy one now despite knowing its a total pos since I love shitty cars.

[@DrBeef216]

Probably should've just bumped up to the more reliable, safer, better looking, stronger, etc.etc. Ford Escort. The price difference was more than worth it. My dad had multiple reliable Escorts for 6+ years each as regular cars while his Mustang GT was his weekend toy

[@WinterInTheForest]

So what you are saying is the car was mechanically as bad as it is ugly?

[@hewasdeadwhenigotthere46]

Well said! My first car kinda similar experience was a 91 escort used for 500$ lol

[@markallison8108]

You got ripped off

[@kevinbarry71]

I certainly remember these; rental car people called them the expire. Everybody else thought if you had this you were aspiring to have a real car some day

[@genericsomething]

It aspired to be a car. It was actually a car-shaped object.

[@jehb8945]

My nickname was ass-pire.

[@pnourani]

This video proves that motorweek literally puts a positive spin on every single car they review.

[@haroldbeauchamp3770]

As a Black gentleman with a thick rural accent, I can say this was the way many of us pronounced it. Not even trying to be funny 😂

[@fernandorocha901]

Aspire is good price

[@kriscote3295]

My mother bought this exact car (only difference was the paint colour) in 94. It was an automatic too, and was the car I learned to drive on. It was abysmally slow and made a Chevette feel like a Corvette in comparison.

[@kylelang1238]

In Vegas Vacation, I always laughed how Rusty won 4 cars, and at the end each member of the family got to drive one home. An H1 Hummer, a viper, a mustang, GT convertible…… And his sister got to drive home an aspire…. Ouch.

[@schoolgirlshortdress]

Lmfao...great classic MOVIE!!

[@liverush24]

That's a long drive to Chicago.

[@stuartmcintosh9904]

Was just thinking about that! I'd just hitchhike back..

[@skylancer-zer0205]

tbf I think the H1 would be the worst, you'd probably pay several hundred in fuel costs alone lol

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

Came here for this comment 😂

[@skylancer-zer0205]

It looks like something I'd make in Automation, just slap some vaguely 90s-esque fixtures together and boom, An Car.

[@pigeonpoo1823]

@@dr.jiIIaIicecooper2587 you missed the joke

[@bghoody5665]

An car. Exactly right.

[@bmstylee]

It is....in fact......an car.

[@m00nkinftw]

Truly one of the cars of all time

[@little_kopy]

of course a furry pfp

[@davidkrumwiede446]

When i was in junior high, my best friend’s mom bought one of these new. Same year, same color, but with a manual transmission. I remember being impressed with how smoothly and quietly it idled. You couldn’t tell it was running. I also remember going somewhere on the interstate on a windy day. I asked her why she was only going 60, she said “it’s floored.” 😂. A few months later, she hit two cows in the road at night, and totalled it.

[@tonybolstad9514]

I love how motor week reviewed everyday cars that the masses would own. Not like newer shows that review cars I'll never own or even rent lol. This vehicle was called a Ford Festiva here in NZ and I used one to commute daily for 6 months. Peppy little grocery getter with it's 1.3 fuel injection five speed, I liked it. Drive like a go cart.

[@sp19822]

This was the Ford Festiva in Australia. It sold pretty well until it was discontinued in 2000. Ford Australia often sold them for $13,990 with free airconditioning and sometimes a CD player was thrown in.

[@one7decimal2eight]

I had an escort that looked just like that except it was a wagon. Most reliable car I've ever owned. Had close to 300k before I lost compression in 1 cylinder. Drove it from 2002-2015.

[@aenoymotors]

I had one of these years ago. It was the SE model as well with the 5 speed. Great car for pizza delivery. Sold it back around 08 when gas prices shot up and made several thousand on that little car.

[@charlesjames1442]

I bought a red coupe for the two boys to drive to school and do errands for their mom and grandma. It was used but the A/C was cold and the radio/tape deck worked good. They moaned about the 5 speed until I taught them how to shift and use the clutch. Pretty soon they were pros and began to appreciate the 30 mpg. My wife's only complaint was that it was so slow going up hills. She had never had to downshift before and I had to show her that it could be done.

[@johninama585]

I almost bought one of these. The local Ford dealer had a few leftovers that they were selling for a steal (about $6K instead of $9k) but I was too young and poor even for that price.

[@connermt74]

We took a green one just like this from Columbus Ohio to Detroit for the IAS one January. Four people in it weighing 200lbs, 250lbs, 350lbs and 400lbs each. It was and “interesting” trip. We lost it in the parking garage and wondered why anyone would want to steal such a car. We finally found it. On the way home we stopped at a gas station that was lower than the main road to pee and had to pull out on to said road going up an incline. We almost had to get out and help it. Then ran into snow and ice so I had to drive all of us down state route 23 on ice and snow covered road that only had the right lane open; had to stay in the tracks of the car in front of me. A chunk of ice flew off the top of the car and spiraled back towards the windshield. It was pointed like a dagger. I closed me eyes and thought “we’re dead”. Luckily it hit the windshield on its flat side, didn’t break, and flew off behind us. Thankfully the windshield didn’t break either. We eventually got it stuck in the driveway at home. Was an adventure for sure.

[@southshore0007]

🤔

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

cool story bra

[@VKED23]

Wonder if it was the green one my dad bought in marion ohio bout 10 years ago lmao

[@brettcannon74]

Ohio winters, miserable,why I left

[@Krzrrazrrokr]

God y’all were huge. I don’t see how you all fit in there.

[@sir.confident]

I knew someone who drove one of these. But it was the 5 door version. It was actually pretty nice and it was a manual.

[@aaronbehindbars]

Nearly 30 years on, I kook back at this little turd and kinda want one now...but in a somewhat ironic way. It would be fun to take to car shows, Radwood, Lemons events. I do miss the days where virtually every automaker had a cheap little crapbox in their lineup.

[@carwrtr1]

@aaronbehindbars These Aspire hatchbacks were not junk; these were reputable cars that worked well and delivered excellent fuel economy. It was fun to drive and the “egg” shape was practical; I disagree with John Davis’s comment on “ordering the manual transmission.” Most people drive automatics, and I’m done shifting gears…

[@aaronbehindbars]

​@@carwrtr1I didn't say they were junk. I called them a crapbox. It was a cheap, basic, no luxuries, just 4 wheels and a roof. Everybody used to make such vehicles, but no more. I miss those days of cheap and cheerful little cars.

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

@@carwrtr1 Ford Aspire is excellent fuel economic is price good

[@mediocreman2]

The Festiva ended up being popular and was fun. I still see one here and there once in a while. But the Aspire? Haven't seen one in at least 15 years.

[@steve4552]

I looked up boring in the dictionary and there's a picture of a 1994 Ford Aspire.

[@cosmicdust22]

Same car was made by Kia in Korea. called Avella. 4 door sedan was also available. powertrain including Engine was designed by Mazda.

[@vlajster]

Notice the connection between kia pride,mazda 121 and ford festiva

[@fast02gt]

The review we didn’t know we needed!

[@bigchevs1]

I always laugh when they exhibit an econobox built for fuel economy and their driver gets in with driving gloves.

[@travisseals5574]

seen the glove first thought was that poor little car

[@john_barnett]

and only 30mpg

[@matthewbowen5841]

@@john_barnett 3 speed auto. The 5 speed probably got 50% better fuel econ just due to the gearing.

[@dougfredricks2017]

@@dr.jiIIaIicecooper2587 too too funny

[@dougfredricks2017]

😄😂😄

[@hutchcraftcp]

My niece bought a new one that same color. It was actually a good little car. Never gave her any problems and was a good city car.

[@crocglox7797]

Aspire? Aspire to one day own a better car.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

The man does a perfect review, positive, highlights the good points with comments on the low points being within context to the cars price and mission. A long way from the poo-poo style of a lot of youtube guys who'd launch it off some hill and smash into a wall to get some views without every understanding that cars built to a price existed for a damn good reason. (I like how the motor has more torque then HP)

[@FoDaddy]

Engines producing more torque than HP, was the rule rather the exception up until the mid 2000's.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

@@FoDaddy Ahhh useable engine power, until peak HP claims always stole the headlines, I mean sure you can only access that top 40% of power for 2000rpm, but you know, looks good on a brochure!

[@ouch1011]

The Ford Aspire, made by Kia with a Mazda engine. A recipe for success for sure.

[@HonJazzz]

Those tires are absolute pizza cutters

[@theKevronHarris]

That Escort reminds me of my mom's except it was a 1995 LX 3door with the sport package and it was a black one with mocha beige interior. I've had fond memories of the Escort including the time that my cousin had five or six of her friends riding inside of the Escort for a high school football game in the early 2000s.

[@carwrtr1]

This car’s egg shape was practical and fun to drive. You need a car this size when there’s so many SUVs out there!

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

My dad had one of these when they were new (though in Australia, it was still badged Festiva), when he went back to uni. I don't remember much about it, because a taxi crashed into him after 2 years of ownership. He replaced it with an AE101 Corolla. The Festivas were somewhat common here in Australia, though the Hyundai Excel (a rebadged 1st gen Accent) and Mitsubishi Mirage (which was also sold here as a 3-door hatchback) were much more popular.

[@mattt198654321]

My cheapskate dad rented one of these to drive the 5 of us from the airport to our uncle's house 2 hours away. With a weeks worth of luggage. In the mountains. Holy cheez whiz, I will never forget how miserable that was.

[@carwrtr1]

John Davis is WRONG when he said “order the manual transmission.” I’ve driven one of these, and the automatic transmission is fine for this car; this car IS NOT A PROBE OR MUSTANG, but is an economy car! This “egg” shaped hatchback was practical and reliable, along with being fun to drive. I would NOT be ashamed to have one of these with an automatic transmission…

[@Dagreatdudeman]

I don't think I've ever seen an Aspire on the road in my 26 years.

[@ispepski]

There are many things I miss about the '90s. Cars like these are not one of them.

[@pigeonpoo1823]

Hahahahaaha

[@mediocreman2]

Thank you for writing the decade correctly. Nobody seems to know how to put the apostrophe in the correct place.

[@carexpertandy]

I watched the 1996 movie ‘Jerry Maguire’ on Netflix over the weekend. In one scene, they are shooting a commercial for a Chevrolet dealer, but then they have a bunch of brand new Ford Aspires parked at the scene! 😂 It was considered to be a goof, as there was no explanation for why there were all of these Fords there for a Chevrolet dealer commercial.

[@mattdavis9601]

"Compare our new Metro to the competition, many examples of which are conveniently located on our lot, and you'll agree that Chevrolet is building a better way to see the USA. Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America."

[@kyleklintok7730]

OMG. You have caused repressed memories to attack my consciousness. I WAS blissfully unaware of this event in my past life. Damn it! All that therapy out the window!!

[@runoflife87]

AKA Kia Avella (at least in my country). Ford guys were crazy to badge Korean car as American one. So-so build quality and premature rust killed a lot of those cars in the 90's.

[@jonathansmith1590]

Damn, didn't know that at all 🤔

[@retrocompaq5212]

@@jonathansmith1590 ford are responsible for kias in north america

[@alanmoore78]

These were more reliable than the actual Kia Sephias they sold here, and down south where there is no rusting and salting, the thing that killed them was the sun, making the dashboards warp and crawl up the windshield glass until you had to cut chunks out of them to see straight ahead. Geo Metro dashboards with their hard plastic just turned a chalky white, but these foam-backed "soft touch" dashes were awful. Subaru had the same problem a decade later. Even modern cars aren't immune, check out the GT86/BRZ forums...

[@runoflife87]

@@alanmoore78 well, dashboards are the least important part of problem. Kia/Hyundai engines had major problems w/bad quality fuel.

[@baronvonjo1929]

No wonder small cars are gone. If this what we were stuck with

[@patt693]

I've seen lots at the junkyard but not to many on the road

[@zzoinks]

It definitely looks like a car grandma would have driven and kept super nice!

[@mattw8332]

I'm British and these Compact and Sub Compact cars sold in North America have always intrigued me.

[@michaelsimko7694]

I forgot all about this car! I hardly ever saw these on the roads and highways in my area.

[@tkewrestler2662]

You can get optional alloy wheels for a more sporty look, even with the alloy wheels, it still doesn’t look sporty.

[@IVR02]

This and it's Festiva predecessor fall into that category of economy cars you pretty much never see in regular traffic anymore. It's a pretty unremarkable car, but I kinda dig that shade of pink!

[@themaritimegirl]

I like how the biggest talking points were how it's better than a Festiva.

[@charlesjames1442]

My brother (350#) bought a Festiva in 1988(?) and drove it in Chicago. He loved the interior space; the front seats were huge and the door opened very wide. My oldest son bought it and drove it while in school at EIU. He stopped for a crosswalk near the dormitories and got reared by a doctor in a BMW who was ogling the coeds. Tried to tell the cops that it was my son's fault but the girls wouldn't let him get away with it.

[@GeeEm1313]

It wasn't!

[@mediocreman2]

Funny thing is the Festiva is the better car.

[@fernandochaves9665]

Love that 90's Ford steering wheel design, shared by many vehicles.

[@johnnymason2460]

In South Korea, this car had a 75hp 1.3 liter inline four and a 100hp 1.5 liter inline four. If the US Aspire had those engines, it would have been more successful.

[@sedona3495]

There was also an aspire 4dr sedan in Korea (Made by kia, known as Delta, released on Sep 1995)

[@RallyLancer95]

My friend bought one of these for laughs in the mid 10s. He called it the Assfire

[@a.person7825]

That thing makes my Accord look like a luxobarge.

[@briantorres7339]

This was also sold as the Mazda 121 and Kia Pride, which is what the Aspire and 121 were. This is when Kia had a joint venture with Ford and Mazda..

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Trivia: the 3-door Aspire uses the exact same chassis as its predecessor, the Festiva, with only the new bodyshell being different.

[@MTLbigJ]

3:39 That car suits you bro haha

[@austinlawler3739]

That's what I thought, they get the bigger guy to drive it. Wonder if it was done as a joke, or it was part of the review. Hey portly guys can fit in it.

[@MTLbigJ]

@@austinlawler3739 takes a real man to drive a pink car

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

94 Galant please!

[@marshalmagooo3899]

The original inspiration for the Adobe car on SNL

[@vr6gls]

This thing was the literal definition of “penalty box” back in the day.

[@davidbaron6647]

I remember the Aspire and my friend had one fun little mpg car

[@gsxellence]

The first car I ever drove 😍🥰 cute 5 door lil Kia body and Mazda engine😎 and no power steering, ice cold ❄️🥶 A/c and good radio. My mom hated the enterprise rental 😂😆

[@mechtild55]

Common experience for someone to offer to buy my 1996 red Aspire. Always getting compliments on it, how cute it is. Painting the hubcaps red tave it a unique look. The rest of it is OEM.

[@nickviet9274]

What a coincidence, I used to have this car in 2003. I had it until I turned 18 in 2005, and got a full-time job. I then got rid of it and bought something else

[@mattreal6551]

That thing is a real shit box

[@leod3963]

Some people swap the 1.8 dohc mazda engine from protege or Ford escort gt on these 5 speed manual of course.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Late 50's Cadillac pink. Man what an awesome color on an otherwise miserable car.

[@jeromecabral192]

Mom had a Ford aspire 5 speed transmission. A great car

[@Spheredalai]

youtube throwing me supercar videos: meh youtube given me MW econobox video: YES!

[@TheJohnlyh]

My god 64 hp, i can't imagine a car nowadays with less than 100hp

[@BigWheel.]

Amateur.

[@djkenny1202]

Under 100 hp is fine. Trouble is this is an automatic.

[@TheJohnlyh]

@Jonathan A yup totally forgotten about that car

[@Daniel-dl3tf]

most cars in europe have under 100hp btw

[@hnlpharmd]

Probably under 40 hp with the air conditioning on.

[@Tool0GT92]

People today say they want a basic car like this but no one would ever actually buy it.

[@djkenny1202]

I really enjoy the Mirage, neRly bought one new for 10 grand in 2018. Manual, 50 mpg on freeway, great little car.

[@DaewooFestiva23]

The mirage/ mirage g4 still exists! I will hopefully be buying one soon as a first car. The only issue with the mirages is the cvt so ill likely be getting a manual g4 sedan.

[@djkenny1202]

@@DaewooFestiva23 make sure it doesn’t exceed $10,000. Otherwise, a used Fit or XB is much better.

[@mediocreman2]

If it was $10k, you better believe they would.

[@djkenny1202]

@@mediocreman2 The Mirage, commonly 10 grand new

[@teresapflaumer5717]

That Escort looks exactly like my ex's. We drove that from South Jersey to Atlantic City, Wildwood, Saratoga, Baltimore, Nassau LI and Yankee Stadium frequently. Great gas milage but not the most comfortable seats.

[@redneon06]

We’re your exes square and green? 😊

[@donaldwilson2620]

This was called the Kia Avella in Korea because just like the Festiva, the Aspire was made by Kia, and the engine was made by Mazda. The original Kia engines were built by Mazda before Hyundai bought Kia.

[@matthewbowen5841]

The most noteworthy thing about the Aspire was the selection of ultra 90s paint colors, like seafoam, hunter green, this taupe, and the pearlized 'flesh' color Ford loved so much back then. The Festiva seemed like a much more honest car somehow. This did have lots of features for the time, ABS and dual airbags, and this relatively stripped model appears to have a CD player that MW skipped mentioning.

[@GeeEm1313]

My girlfriend once had a pink one. I think she preferred her Cadillac Cimmaron.

[@GeeEm1313]

ABS was hard to find in these, as well as the Metro and Tercel.

[@matthewbowen5841]

I would have guessed the Metro at least would have been stocked with ABS widely, since this was the height of GM touting ABS in most of its lineup, with the cheap Delco piggyback ABS motor making it standard on even the Cavalier. I guess Geo was exempt from the "lineup-wide" bragging.

[@manthony225]

The Aspire is part of Ford's trinity of bad names-along with Probe and Mystique.

[@matthewbowen5841]

Exploder

[@stevenpollard5171]

Contour. Merkur.

[@Max-zv8hm]

I love the four door manual. It’s so good on gas!!!

[@Michka1001]

Lol the Aspire, or Festiva as it's known here in Australia, never got airbags, even a drivers one in 2001 or 2002 when it was discontinued 😅 (thankfully, they're so slow and thristy for the size..)

[@BMan100]

The driving gloves were just an insult lol

[@brettcannon74]

That color! 😮

[@neonufo8039]

for someone who likes boring 90s commuter cars, id love one of these

[@njtxus]

i have one of these still. very low power, great mileage and screams with the tiny 3 speed auto. Love it though.

[@vempriex]

Owned one and loved it. Unfortunately, I had to sell it due to my friend's mother being difficult. I should have left it with my friend and would have come back for it. Good car tho.

[@jeremyanderson1139]

One thing that MotorWeek failed to mention is that the Ford Aspire was actually built by Kia in South Korea

[@billschlafly4107]

64 HP vs the guy driving at 0:34.

[@keithbaker1951]

My friend had one of these... gawd he ran it into the ground.. he had a festiva before the aspire.

[@FarmerDrew]

Fun fact: Optional rear spoiler was discontinued because it rendered the vehicle unable to obtain sufficient velocity for minimum highway operations.

[@MichaelOKeefe2009]

Ah yes, the game show car. Giving away on The Price is Right.

[@austinfrazier7325]

Wish they still made these. We need more cheap new cars.

[@realazduffman]

No. Yes.

[@retrocompaq5212]

most cars are very crappy and cheap these days, its our sallary that never went up, thanks democracy

[@djkenny1202]

@@retrocompaq5212 thx Reagan

[@realazduffman]

@@retrocompaq5212 You would prefer Cuba?

[@new2000car]

Back in 1997 they had a surplus of these unsold, a year or two old (can’t remember exactly) or they were a ton of repo’s. Whatever it was, they were advertising on tv (the local Ford dealer) that you could get one of these 1 year old cars for $80 a month, zero down. I actually should have bought one but at the time I wouldn’t be caught dead in one, so ugly, so slow, so small. Now I don’t mind the looks, it’s really actually acceptable to me now.

[@alfonsomartinez7919]

Kia Avella in the Philippine Islands

[@lucasstuart-chilcote7069]

The Festiva, Aspire, and Escort cars are so cute still.

[@mirisch64]

"Looks like it was a limited choice: Aspire or Expire"...

[@BrandonG8Man]

Motor Week…never drove a vehicle they didn’t like.

[@CalvinHikes]

A car so bad, you won't even find it on regular guy car reviews.

[@LakeHowellDigitalVideo]

The name was factual. It was for people who aspired to own a car, but bought this thing instead.

[@allentoyokawa9068]

European design means shoe box design!

[@AdamAdamHDL]

Suzuki's swift GTI really shines next to the rest of that market.

[@timmunson7699]

My dad had one in the mid-2000s it was a red 5-speed two-door and it got about 50 miles to the gallon and it was highly uncomfortable.

[@jessieharbinjr.6589]

My cousin had one identical to this, except hers was the 5 speed.

[@elihernandez330]

Laugh at it all you want but these things were bulletproof reliable mini tanks.

[@CheetahFoxx]

I just found on of these possibly for sale at a body shop a block from me. Its ultra clean with 40K miles. I already got a modified 06 GTO and an 11 Crown Vic Police as my daily hooptie. I have no need for this car at all. *BUT I FUCKING WANT IT!!!*

[@pbandj37]

"....it feeds 64 horsepower and 70 pound feet of torque to the Aspire's front wheel." Explains a lot.

[@jamesoraley]

Why no mention that the Aspire was sourced from Hyundai? It was just a slightly restyled Hyundai Excel. Leased one new for my wife and actually traded in an '86 Excel!

[@ryanglass5984]

Because it wasn't based on a Hyundai at all. It was engineered by Mazda and shares the platform with the Mazda 121 and was built by Kia, being a rebadged Kia Avella

[@sjhudon386]

Hyundai Excel had a Mitsubishi engine

[@jamesoraley]

@@ryanglass5984, thanks, I stand corrected.

[@sneakerfreak2002]

Ah yes. Love me some vintage Assfire

[@pl5624]

Try to remind any ford dealer they once sold these and they'll probably call you a liar..

[@360vrog6]

I have many memories of the Korean version of Festiva, Kia Abella.