WOOOOO I really let this place go.
We ain’t done with the Blob Refresh of the brand so here goes:
1992 - The Roundening Pt 3: The Mk5 Foreia
… BUT FIRST
Cigarette break: The 1991 Dima facelift
This placement was totally planned and I absolutely didn’t forget about the car in previous posts. Not. At. All.
Just like they did with the Foreia back in 1988 alongside the release of the Ochlosia, the Dima had to be refreshed as its replacement wouldn’t come for another five or six years.
Not much on the menu as there was no way you could modernize a box that much. On the front, square headlights reminiscent of the concept car, the now traditional FAAL V shaped grille and a rounder sub grille…
On the rear, a smoother taillight bar with rounder fog and reverse lights. The “DIMA” logo also lost its 1980 computer font and was now in the same font as the trim designation.
All the BL, CL and GL trim are back, though the GL is to disappear in 1993.
Engine wise, the 900cc stays the same at 45hp, the 1.1L rounds up to 55hp and the 1.3L is the same as the base engine from the new Mesaia at 65hp.
The S and Turbo, however, didn’t see the facelift. Inexpensive, badly equipped sporty cars were going out of trend, and FAAL had to review their strategy upon them if they still wanted to keep them on the market. Which meant two exclusive engines for one single car were too much.
So anyway back to the
1992 Mk5 Foreia
Disclaimer: For some odd reason, every single sedan version will be shown with ugly ass aftermarket rounded mirrors. Devs plz can you delet them from the C class body :’(
The Mk5 Foreia perfected what the Klinos meekly started and the Mesaia got a little too crazy about. The front end was the perfect mix between the abundance of prestance and square looks of the Klinos, and the blob shitfest of the Mesaia. Everything that had to be round was round, everything that had to be sharp was sharp. It also included the license-plate-wrapped-in-grilles design clue for the very last time, as well as the V-shaped grille.
The rear, though, was definetly inspired from the critically acclaimed Mk3 Klinos released two years ago, retaining the same basic shape. Though the reflector stripe that included the reverse lights remained exclusive to the aforementioned flagship. Also, notice the “make-up” touches connecting the headlights and taillights with the side windows assembly, reminiscent of the same kind of plastic assembly on the 1974 Foreia where it connected the side windows with the liftback.
Engineering wise nothing new (much to the car’s demise), galvanized chassis and regular steel panels to save costs and hammer the nail in 1990s FAAL’s durability reputation. Otherwise the car is sitting on double wishbone rear suspension and regular McPherson front suspension. Since the platform wasnt shared with the Klinos anymore, the downgrade made sense and allowed for the car to fancy up trim wise.
It was offered as a liftback, of course…
But also as a wagon. This one has the factory fancy mirrors that the sedan definetly should have, I mean jesus who gave me a press car with aftermarket headlights, god damn it. Erm.
Unlike the previous generation Foreia, the wagon retained the general design of the rear taillight assembly, cutting the taillights in a half to allow for optimal hatch opening.
And that’s it. Right? Wrong.
See it’s been four years since FAAL lost its beloved sports flagship, the Coupe. And… despite burying it in the grave on account of Group B making it look unsafe, the public missed it. They missed the opportunity of buying a French RWD sports car that sounds nice and has a race pedigree.
So for the pedigree, the Mk5 Foreia entered 
TCC with a version of FAAL’s historic Group B 2.1L 5 cylinder except naturally aspirated and downgraded to 2.0L to fit regulations, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, here’s the race prototype before the Nescovfefe livery:
As for the RWD Coupe version, well…
Due to not being able to justify the costs of completely replacing the Coupe, FAAL went for a two door version of the Foreia. The longitudinal drivetrain allowed for the sedan and wagon to be either FWD or AWD with the TETRA option, and it also allowed the coupe version to be either RWD or TETRA.
Basing the Coupe on the Foreia allowed for much more practicality with the liftback, a much better rear drivetrain… but also the car was way bigger and way heavier, which is why this choice received a mixed welcome from FAAL enthusiasts who wanted the actual Coupe to come back. The general public appreciated the option as a genuine sporty looking car.
Engine wise, we get, regular petrol range:
204R18Mpi Euro 1, 1.8L 4cyl 95hp, which was the top engine option in the Mesaia, here as a base engine.
204R20Mpi Euro 1, 2.0L 4cyl 115hp, same as the previous generation Foreia except with a cat
255R21Mpi Euro 1, 2.1L 5cyl 130hp, base engine from the Klinos
255R25Mpi Euro 1, 2.5L 5cyl 150hp, also seen on the Klinos
Coupe exclusive petrol range:
204R20MpiS Euro 1, 2.0L 4cyl 150hp from the Mesaia GTI
255R25MpiS Euro 1, 2.5L 5cyl 180hp, upgraded version of the 150hp 2.5L with tubular headers
255R21MpiT Euro 1, 2.1L 5cyl turbo 200hp straight from the Klinos
As for diesels:
194P19TD3, 1.9L 4cyl turbo diesel 90hp, as seen in uh, many other FAAL models
255P25TD3, 2.5L 4cyl turbo diesel 120hp as seen in the Klinos and contemporary Ochlosia
Trim wise, available in liftback and wagon:
BL: two speaker cassette radio. Cloth seats. Power steering and ABS standard. 195/65R16 steel wheels. Unpainted bumpers. 1.8L or 1.9 TD engines only. Optional airbags. Optional front power windows, central locking. 1.8L and 1.9L TD engines
CL: four speaker cassette radio. Soft cloth seats. Power steering, ABS, airbags, front power windows and central locking standard. 195/65R16 steel wheels, optional 16’ alloy wheels, AC, front foglights, rear power windows. 1.8L, 2.0L, 1.9 TD engines.
GL: Four speaker cassette radio. Hard plastics covered in soft material. Half bucket soft cloth seats. Power steering. ABS. Airbags, AC, front and rear power windows, central locking and front foglights standard. 205/55R17 alloy wheels. Optional remote locking, climate control, ESC, headlight washers. 2.0L, 2.1L, 2.5L, 1.9 TD, 2.5 TD engines.
And since the Foreia is its own model now it can go a step higher:
GLS: Fully optioned GL + wood trim and specific wheels. 2.5L, 2.5L TD engines.
As for the Coupe exclusive trims, you get:
-the 16V with the 150hp Mesaia GTI engine, which is basically a RWD CL on harder suspensions with standard alloy wheels
-the 20V with the 180hp exclusive 2.5L engine, basically the same as the 16V except GL instead of CL, and with an optional aero package
-the Turbo, with the 200hp engine and aero package standard, which looks like this:
With a weight ranging from 1250 to 1550kgs (1250-1381kgs for the Coupe version) the car was much heavier than its predecessor and quite frankly that changed the way it handled, and the way people were seeing cars in general.
Most cars were getting phat, and 1400kg was not an alien weight for a regular sedan. But this change in trend made people regret 1980s car the same way 1970s people were regretting 1960s car. New Euro norms meant the car scene was going to change whether we like it or not, especially in depollution and safety features. And FAAL hoped for the Foreia to be accepted despite its beer belly. Spoiler alert: it did.
Now FAAL looked back at their lineup and there was only one gap left to be filled in their lineup: the B segment the Mesaia left alone by growing up.
Coming next, the roundening Pt. 4: the Tasia