Mazda Demio

See also Mazda 121 for other cars using this name

The Demio (also sold as the Mazda 121, Mazda Metro, Mazda2 and Ford Festiva Mini Wagon) is a small minivan or tall station wagon which debuted in 1996. As of 2005, 892,000 Demios had been sold worldwide since introduction.

Origin

In the 1980s Ford approached Mazda to create a B-segment small car for it. This resulted in the 1987 Ford Festiva. The same platform spawned the Autozam Revue in 1990, which Mazda sold as the 121 in most markets. Then the Festiva was redesigned in January 1993, still based on the same platform. Kia also built versions of the first and second Festiva, both for itself and for Ford's sale in the United States.

1996

When it came to redesigning the Revue, Mazda came up with a tall hatchback, minivan-esque package (the Revue was already over 1500mm tall). Introduced in a time full of negative press coverage, the Demio became a surprise hit for Mazda in Japan, and also foreshadows the current crop of B-segment minivans such as the Opel Meriva, Fiat Idea and the Renault Modus.

The new 1996 Demio (sold as either the Demio or 121 outside Japan, or Metro in Australia) used the DW platform. Production started in July of 1996. The Demio was updated for 2000 with a revised exterior, cabin air filtration, retuned automatic transmission, and available DSC. It was also sold in Japan as the Ford Festiva Mini Wagon.

Engines:

• 1.3L B3-ME I4 (1996-1998)
• 1.5L B5-ME I4 (1996-1998)
• 1.3L B3E I4, 61kW/108Nm (1999-2001)
• 1.5L B5E I4, 74kW/127Nm (2000-2001)

NBA star Scott Pippen appeared in the TV commercials for the Demio's launch.

2002

The Demio was redesigned in 2002 on the DY platform. The Demio name continued in Japan, while the rest of the world dropped Demio and other names in favor of Mazda2. The badge-engineered Ford version is no longer made, as Ford began importing the Fiesta into Japan. In some European markets, Germany for example, it is also sold as Ford Fusion with slightly different head- and taillights. It is based on Ford's Fiesta on the Global Ford B3 platform which is based on Mazda's DY platform. The car is produced for Europe at a Ford plant in Valencia, Spain. North American sales of the Mazda2 are expected to start in 2007, where other subcompacts (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit) will also debut.