A silver Kia Pride sedan with some slight damage on the door, seen on the parking lot of the Poly Theatre in central Beijing in 2011. The Kia Pride was made in China by the Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia joint venture.
The Kia Pride was one of the first affordable sedans on the Chinese car market. The Chinese name was 普莱特, Pulaite, a literary sound-translation of ‘Pride’ There was a hatchback version too but the sedan was way more popular. Sales started in 1997 and ended in 2003.
Production began in 1997 at Jiangsu Yueda Auto Works, in 1999 this formally became the Yueda-Kia joint venture. In 2002, Dongfeng bought half of Yueda’s share and the joint venture changed name again to Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia, as it is still known today.
The Kia Pride was made by Kia Motors in South Korea from 1986 until 2000. It was based on the first generation Ford Festiva which was designed and manufactured by Mazda from 1986 until 1990. Over its long and restless life the Festiva/Pride was also made, under various names, in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Taiwan and Venezuela.
A golden car with a cool old 京A license plate. This is an early example with a different grille and a sporty rear spoiler.
The China-made Kia Pride sedan was designated YQZ6390, the hatchback YQZ6370 or YQZ7141. Power came from a 1.4 liter four cylinder. The tiny engine had an output of 75hp and 120nm. Top speed was 140km/h and 0-100 was gone in 10.4 seconds. The last year the Pride was officially sold at the dealer was 2004, by then price ranged from 59.800 yuan to 89.000 yuan.
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