Day 4-6
As the final day with the Kia Spectra nears its conclusion there is little if any lasting impression the little
economy car has made. This is not because of the snobbery of an automotive journalist (if that’s what you can call me)
who is used to higher performance cars. I’ve driven numerous economy compacts and been impressed. Even the boring Honda
Civic and Toyota Corolla outclass the Spectra. For all its improved quality and JD Power rankings the Kia still fails
to beat the competition in almost every measure.
In the end the price tag, just over $15,000 for the base LX with only air conditioning and automatic transmission as
option, was never justified. In the end we were driving a stripped model and I could not fathom writing a check out for
$300 a month (a rough guess of a payment from the company’s website) to pay for such a car. I’d much rather be in a
Ford Focus (with a lot more features), Mazda 3 (for slightly more money) or a base Civic or Corolla at near identical
prices. What did I like? The Spectra was very easy to drive, easy on gas (25 city / 34 hwy mpg), had tons of room and
met most basic day to day driving needs. But it lacked a soul and most importantly for the segment it’s in, it lacked
value.
Clarification: In previous reports the Spectra may have been called a 2005 model. In fact this is a 2004 model. The
all-new Spectra is designated a 2004.5 model. So be careful when shopping. A tip, the one advertised in the paper for
$8,000 is the old model.