Kia Spectra5
When I first drove the Kia Spectra, I hated it. Hated it. At the time I was getting new test cars every week to evaluate, and most of the cars were expensive, flashy, powerful, luxurious, and alluring. The Spectra had none of these qualities. After the intoxication of sophisticated iron, the gawky four-door Spectra was a huge let-down--like drinking brackish water after developing a taste for fine Chardonnay. Even my wife's aunt, not exactly an automotive snob, said about the Spectra, "But it's a piece of crap!"
At the time I agreed. My tester was a gawky and awkward four-door sedan, not the subtly attractive five-door hatch/wagon, and the interior was nice but spartan. I had just turned in a Mini Cooper S Convertible that seduced me with its eagerness to run; the Spectra, on the other hand, kept me at arm's length with a truly heinous clutch with an absurdly high release point.
Once I dislike a car, I rarely change my mind; if novelty doesn't make a car interesting, familiarity rarely does. Strangely enough, the Spectra was the exception to that rule. After a few days, I had cleared my palatte from the Mini, adjusted to the odd clutch, and accepted the Spectra for what it was.
And what was it? Well, actually something really compelling--a brand new beater. Once I realized that, the Spectra clicked for me. With a sub-$20K price, comfortable seats, an eager but coarse four-cylinder engine, and a basic but pleasing interior, the Spectra was just cheerfully begging for abuse. I had more fun pushing the Spectra to its frenetic but meager limits. Remember our conversation about driving slow cars fast? Well, the Spectra excelled in that scenario. I would have no hesitation loading a Spectra with camping gear and slinging it sideways down gravel roads, engine zinging in toothless frenzy. Dirty? Dinged-up? Who cares? It's only a beater, after all.
And really, the Kia isn't that slow. Car & Driver clocked a Spectra5 to 60 mph in just under 8 seconds, which a decade or two ago was solely the province of sporty cars. I ridiculed the 1974 Chevy Laguna 454 by comparing its acceleration to the Spectra, but expectations of a 454-cubic-inch Chevy muscle car are different than expectations of a beater. And 8 seconds to 60 would have qualified for bona fide hot hatch status in the 1980s. Even better, the Spectra5 is the beautiful swan to the four-door sedan's ugly duckling, with smooth wagon lines somewhat reminiscent of the Mazda Protege5 (with which it shares its goofy concatenated appellation).
The problem with this scenario is that even as an inexpensive new car in the $15,000 range, that money could buy a heck of a used car. Sure, you get a fantastic warranty and what is now supposed to be some pretty good reliability; but given a choice between Spectra and a used Subaru WRX for the same price, well ...
Maybe a car that thrives best as a new-car beater will really come into its own when it's used and dirt cheap. I could see picking up a Spectra5 in a couple of years when its resale value collapses.
--Chris H.
Big Chris on September 04, 2008 at 07:46 AM
The day after Mr. Hafner and I first met, I picked up a Kia Spectra5 at a car rental place in Seattle. It had 1200 miles or so on it when I picked it up. I spent the better part of the next week driving the living snot out of it. Up and down the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula - a mix of narrow dirt roads that a loaded with fun/spooky corners and some faster winding paved roads. The car performed like a champ. I was stunned and disappointed when I first got the car, thinking I somehow got shafted by getting a KIA for a rental. Boy was I wrong. Certainly it wasn't the Subaru WRX, but I don't think that was the competition that Kia had in mind. I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these today, especially not at the price point. We had the hatchback version, and it was great for throwing our luggage and gear into as we zipped around NW Washington State. It got great gas mileage, and had enough power to pass without fear on narrow two lane highways. It's never going to be a rally car, and you have to accept that going into it, but it will be a champ for every day living.
Big Chris
Rob the SVX guy on September 04, 2008 at 08:32 AM
Appellation? Wow. I've never heard that one before. I'm learning about cars, AND words in this post. But back to the subject, yeah, from the back they definitely have a bit of Protege5, which I might ad, are holding their resale value quite well.
In terms of fun to abuse beaters though, I think I'd go with the ford contour SVT. :)
Mochi Mochi on September 04, 2008 at 08:47 AM
If we were in the EU we'd have the luxury of being hatch snobs - rejecting lesser cars. Here in the US no such luxury exists. If I see a new car with a hatch (4 or 2 dr) I get excited. There have been a number of inexpensive cars in the past few years that have come on the market that offer hatches. Almost without exception the Hatch versions of these cars have been SO much better looking than their boring sedan siblings - the Aero, the Aveo, and the Yaris as examples. It is a peculiarity of our US car buying culture that hatches and wagons (the smarter more practical better looking option) don't sell as well as a sedan or coupe - something that has caused Honda to go sell and then withdraw hatches over the years. You can't by a new Civic hatch here, but in the EU you get the choice of a 2 or 4 dr hatch.
What's also interesting is that these little hatches that are running around over here seem like pretty nice cars. I've wondered about the KIA Spectra. Obviously I had some concerns based on early reliability issues from KIA. Sounds like those have cleared up. It's great to know the Spectra is such a decent little car with a lot of practical good, good gas milage, AND a lot of fun.
Hmmm wonder what's happening on craigslist... Ok. So you can pick up a Spectra sedans for not much money. Hatches are rare - as usual and expected. Please new car buyers of this country do us a favor buy hatches - IN LARGE QUANTITIES - so the rest of us can buy them from you in a few years.
David Drucker on September 04, 2008 at 09:20 AM
Chris wisely noted that "The problem with this scenario is that even as an inexpensive new car in the $15,000 range, that money could buy a heck of a used car."
Or two.
Here's a 2003 Grand Marquis with 38K on the clock with a buy-it-now of $7900:
http://tinyurl.com/64n8lx
And here's a '97 Mazda M Edition, with 75K, for $5500.
http://tinyurl.com/5fp962
Having those two, side-by-side in my garage, would be way more satisfying than the Kia, warranty be damned.
David Drucker on September 04, 2008 at 09:22 AM
OK, ebay doesn't like tinyurl links. Here are the real URLs:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350095067960&
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120300746918&
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on September 04, 2008 at 09:42 AM
I read once, somewhere, that Kia is supposed to be the "sporty" division of Hyundai.
Years later, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that, but this post helps.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on September 04, 2008 at 09:42 AM
I read once, somewhere, that Kia is supposed to be the "sporty" division of Hyundai.
Years later, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that, but this post helps.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on September 04, 2008 at 09:42 AM
I read once, somewhere, that Kia is supposed to be the "sporty" division of Hyundai.
Years later, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that, but this post helps.
Rob the SVX guy on September 04, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Kia and Hyundai are not related.
on September 04, 2008 at 11:53 AM
From Wikipedia:
The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group was formed through the merging of South Korea's largest car company, Hyundai Motor Company, and the nation's second largest car company, Kia Motors in 1998. It is the world's fifth largest automaker as of 2008. The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group also refers to the group of affiliated companies interconnected by complex shareholding arrangements, with Hyundai Motor Company regarded as the de facto representative of the Group. It is the second largest South Korean chaebol or conglomerate after Samsung Group and was previously known as the Hyundai Motor Group.
Rob the SVX guy on September 04, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Ah. Weird. They merged.
PS: Citing wikipedia?!
Mochi Mochi on September 04, 2008 at 01:51 PM
"PS: Citing wikipedia?!"
"Hyundai and Kia, owned by the same South Korean conglomerate..."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-03-22-korean-cars-usat_x.htm
Yup - I'm validating Wikipedia by referencing USAToday (chuckle) - you gotta get your news from somewhere :) But wait there's more! This merger took place in the 1998-99 time period following the collapse of Kia.
"Now under Hyundai's ownership, Kia has improved its production quality and packaging in recent years."
http://www.edmunds.com/kia/sportage/review.html
"In July 1998, the government and the creditor banks offered a public bidding for
selling out the Kia group. Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, and Ford took part in the bidding
process. At the first and the second bidding round, all of candidates failed to satisfy the terms
of acquisition proposed by the creditor banks. At the 3rd bidding round, it was determined in
November 1998 that Hyundai which offered the most favorable terms took over the Kia
group.10 In December, Hyundai finally signed a contract with the Korean Development Bank,
the major creditor bank, regarding the acquisition of the Kia group. According to the contract,
Hyundai secured 51% shares of both the Kia Motor and the Asia Motor by paying 1.18
trillion won and was given a favorable condition that Kia’s debts amounting to 7.47 trillion
won were written off.11 As Hyundai paid the acquisition money (amounting to 1.18 trillion
won) to the creditor banks in March 1999, it became the new owner of the Kia Motor and the
Asia Motor. By taking over the Kia Motor and the Asia Motor, the Hyundai-Kia group was
able to forge a solid position having over 70% of domestic market share and become the 7th or
8th global automaker by combining its affiliates’ production capacity into the total volume of
2.9 million units (1.8 million in Hyundai and 1.1 million in Kia)."
"MERGER AND RECONFIGURING OF HYUNDAI-KIA" - Byoung-Hoon LEE, Sung-Jae CHO
(This is actually an interesting paper you can review at:
http://www.gerpisa.univ-evry.fr/rencontre/9.rencontre/S13Lee-Cho.pdf )
"Q: What do you call the CEO's office at Hyundai-Kia's America operations?
A: The departure lounge."
- motortrend
http://blogs.motortrend.com/6230125/editorial/the-trouble-with-hyundai-kia/index.html
TurboDave on September 04, 2008 at 04:25 PM
Ah, Rob the SVX guy, if you were really obsessed by ALL THINGS AUTOMOTIVE, you'd have know about Hyundai and Kia. Several models of similar size share engines and/or platforms.
Rob the SVX guy on September 04, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Yeah, I sorta quit reading about Kia or Hyundai back in 1998-1999 or so. >shrug< You got me. I am no kia expert. :P
David Colborne on September 05, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Kia and Hyundai have come a surprisingly long way over the years - these days, I have a fair number of friends that rate Hyundai's build quality up there with Toyota, though whether that's because Hyundai is getting that good or whether it's because Toyota is slipping a little is certainly open to debate. Either way, yeah, the Koreans are making cheap cars, but they're making cheap cars that stay together for a while. I can live with that.
The Spectra5 isn't a bad choice - yeah, it's not going to leave you breathless, but it's also not going to leave you bankrupt or screaming at the steering wheel while you get on the freeway. Sooner or later, tuners are going to jump on top of these things; personally, I think it's going to be sooner than later, now that the perennial source of extremely cheap thrills (Neon - Dodge, you f---ing idiots...) is gone.
Rob the SVX guy on September 06, 2008 at 09:58 AM
David: Werd about the neon. Idiots. The one thing enthusiasts have to look forward to coming from the Kia/Hyundai group is the new RWD tiburon. The last time a cheap, sporty RWD car was available was the Nisasn 240sx. Hopefully it will develop a cult like the old Corolla AE86. :)
Steaming Pile on September 08, 2008 at 04:57 AM
2008 Kia Spectra 5 - $14,353 after $1500 rebate.
2008 Toyota Yaris 4-door sedan (base) - $12,857, straight up.
And yet the Spectra is a beater. Interesting.
Jason Carpp on December 02, 2008 at 10:59 AM
I've never been impressed with Kia cars. The only vehicle I found remotely attractive was the first Kia sold in the US, the Sephia. Since then, things went downhill and I hated Kias. Even the new Sportage cross-over SUV and the Spectra, UGLY!