1993 - The Roundening Pt 4 - Mk1 Tasia and filling in the gaps
It’s the 1990s, and brands out there are starting to get really serious about being on every single segment of the market and having an actual car lineup, rather than just random cars that sell.
But FAAL already knew that, hence why they made the Mesaia grow up a bit to be a full fledged C segment car, in all forms. As a result, the B segment stayed vacant, up until a brand new nameplate made its appearance in 1993.
Well. “Brand new”. It actually bears the name of the concept car that became the Mk4 Mesaia shortly after. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Tasia.
Yeah it does look familiar, and you absolutely can spot the shared development it had with the Mesaia since it’s based on a variant of the same chassis.
Both cars shared the same front drivetrain (literally interchangable struts and control arms), but where the Mesaia had rear double wishbone suspension, the Tasia had a bendy boi. Apart from that the design was similar but none of the body parts fit in between the two cars. Despite having a similar wheelbase, the Tasia measured 3.76m, 25cm shorter than the Mesaia. And you could see in the design where they cheaped out compared to the Mesaia.
First off the taillights. One foglight on one side, one reverse light on the other. Then, complete lack of extra plastic cladding on body pillars, or any design extra whatsoever. A simpler front bumper. Every trim gets unpainted door handles and mirrors, and every trim except the GL (pictured) gets unpainted bumpers front and rear.
Though, the car is still available in three or five doors because ain’t losing those market shares. Both versions still have 5 seats.
As for engines, it’s one step below the Mesaia and very simplified, with three petrol and one diesel engine:
- 1.1L 3 cylinder 58hp from the 133R11Mpi (euro 1-2), a stroked down version of the defunct Dima S and Turbo engine
- 1.3L 3 cylinder 70hp 133R13Mpi (euro 1-2), same origin as the 1.1L.
- 1.6L 4 cylinder 82hp 204R16Mpi (euro 1), as seen in the Mesaia
- 1.9L 4 cylinder diesel 65hp 194P19D3 as seen in the Mesaia
All engines available in 5 speed manual. 1.6L engine also available with a 4 speed automatic.
Trims, same:
BL: Unpainted bumpers. 175/65R13 steel wheels with no hubcaps and no upgrade possible. All manual cloth seats, no power steering, no ABS, no airbags, no stereo, manual everything. Optional power steering and stereo but that’s it. 1.1i, 1.3i or 1.9D engines.
CL: Unpainted bumpers. 175/65R13 steel wheels with hubcaps. Standard power steering, airbag and two speaker stereo with dashboard speakers. All manual cloth seats. Optional ABS, 14" alloy wheels, power windows, power mirrors, upgraded stereo with door speakers. Available with all engines.
GL: Painted bumpers. 185/55R14 alloy wheels, standard ABS, airbag, power steering and power windows. Upgraded cloth seats with manual lumbar setting. Optional power mirrors, passenger airbag, 14" BBW wheels, front foglights. 1.3i, 1.6i, 1.9D engines.
You’ll notice that there is no GTI. Not that FAAL is completely giving up on inexpensive sports cars. Just that they were currently developing a new architecture of engines that wouldn’t come for another two or three years. In fact, their last “small” sporty engine was the powerplant of the current Mesaia GTI, and it was still running on one single camshaft and was really, really heavy for its size, being all cast.
Those were all key points FAAL was going to change, and starting 1994 they started teasing the future of their engines: Lighter, DOHC, more powerful. The future looked bright… but far.
Coming next: uh, a lot of things actually, the MK2 Dima, a new breed of engines, and facelifts galore.