(gulp) I bought a KIA

Morden2004

Relaxin'
So, anyone else own a KIA Spectra? I bought a new 2006 Spectra5/Sport with a 5-speed manual tranny. It's ---

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red! and it's a blast to drive. Wonderful suspension, 4-wheel ABS vented disk brakes (I need a lot of stopping power :yes: ), a moon roof and it's just darn cute. I love it.

Paul
 
Hmmmmm.... Not bad, not bad atall...Don't those guys have a 10-year/100K mile warranty? Be interested to see what you think of it a year from now...Pretty shade of green, too...<grin>
 
:cool: I once owned a Ford Festiva LX made by Kia (by virtue of Mazda). I put 165,000 trouble free miles on it. The guy I sold it to now has 275,000+ miles on it and is happy as a clam. Congrats!
 
My brother on my parents side is on his second spectra.He drives a lot.For all the trouble I had,they are a good car with loads of options for the price.Good Luck and enjoy it Paul

Alan
 
I must concur, it is a sweet looking ride. It would be of interest to know how dependable a machine she is for you. Hope it's trouble free.

My brother-in-law, who is a lawyer and my sister-in-law, who works in the insurance industry ( they together bring in some serious $$) and have a Beemer and a Volvo. Well, when on vacation they leased a Hyundai (not sure which model but not the top)
and they said they couldn't believe how nice it was.

Seems like the South Korean auto indusry is "nipping" at the heels of those Japanese folks!
 
The wife bought a Kia Sedona about six months ago, I was very apprehensive about this purchase, however with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty I figured what the hell, after six months I love it, very well built and I can use it to buy gear on rainy days :thmbsp:
 
Out here in Commuter Central California, you usually hear if one of the smaller efficiency cars is a piece of crud. Can't say as I've ever heard a bad word said about a Kia. No news is good news..........................
 
We might be looking at a new KIA or Hyundai for a second car as our second car's
tranny is going out for a second time...

A guy I work with just bought a Spectra as well... he was looking at the Hyundia
Elantra as well, but liked the Spectra much better. :yes: :thmbsp:

Scott
 
SPL db said:
We might be looking at a new KIA or Hyundai for a second car as our second car's
tranny is going out for a second time...

A guy I work with just bought a Spectra as well... he was looking at the Hyundia
Elantra as well, but liked the Spectra much better. :yes: :thmbsp:

Scott
Scott, if you don't mind, I'll pass on the seconds.... :D
 
I must say that is a fine looking little car ya have there. Have a blast whipping around in that thing......YEE HAAAAAAAA
 
Sandy G said:
Hmmmmm.... Not bad, not bad atall...Don't those guys have a 10-year/100K mile warranty? Be interested to see what you think of it a year from now...Pretty shade of green, too...<grin>

Yes, in the U.S.A.! As usual, us Canuck's get it in the rear and have only a 5 year/100K Km warranty (still, not too shabby).

Paul
 
opt80 said:
My brother on my parents side is on his second spectra.He drives a lot.For all the trouble I had,they are a good car with loads of options for the price.Good Luck and enjoy it Paul

Alan

Thanks, Alan. So far it's been a whole lot of fun to drive -- on local Nova Scotia-maintained roads (you know what I mean :sigh: ).

Paul
 
Hyundai's got a pretty fair stake in Kia and if what I hear is any indication, that's a very good thing for Kia. Both companies have a JD Power award or two under their belts this year.
 
Good Deal

Yep, I saw a KIA commercial on the tube the other day. UNDER $12 Grand w/the $1500 rebate. 10yr / 100,000 mi. warranty too! Didn't catch which model, probably entry level. Still, can't beat that with a stick!
 
opt80 said:
My brother on my parents side is on his second spectra.

Just curious: maybe I'm understanding this wrong, but on what other side could you have a brother (or sister, for that matter)?

My son leased a Chevvie Aveo (built in Korea) about 18 months ago, and he loves it. I drove it, then drove a Toyota Echo and bought the Echo. Yeah, it was more money, but it was a nicer ride and had a better reliability rating. To each his own, huh?

He's had no trouble at all with the Aveo, though. Just wish he could stop brushing it up against things with it.
 
KIA Spectra5 update

OK, I've put 500 Km on it and so far I'm impressed!

First, it has a 55 liter gas tank and at 6.3 L/100 that means I'll be stopping for a restroom break loooo...ong before I have to gas it up. Like, more than 8 hours of driving at 100K/h.

The MP3/CD player (4x50 watts -- of course, those are 'new' watts :sigh: it's hardly a Sansui 7070 for cripes sake) is very nice. Now I can get 8 or more albums on a single CD. For a tin-can, the audio isn't too bad at all.

Did I mention that it's red? :D

The brakes are great! The tires are the shits -- well, that may be a bit harsh but they ain't Yokohama Parada Spec-2's. Not even close. I guess those guys in Korea prefered GoodYear because they ain't Japanese :scratch2: .

The steering is quick and predictable -- nice highway feel. The car is very quiet even on the highway at speed. That was surprising. I actually have to crank the window down to hear the horn.. Ah, the horn. That is the typical wimpy oriental sounding bird-chirp. I wonder is there's an air-horn option?

The suspension is one of this cars best features! It is very stable and keeps all 4 (of those $$@&#@ GoodYear Eagles) on the road even in hard cornering. I checked -- no scrubbed-off corners!

I've had it up to 145 so far -- it was wet so I backed off before I exceeded the Eagle's wet road rating :thumbsdn: . This car seems to be very stable at extreme speeds.

The only moderately ho-hum rating I'd give this car (so far) is in the get-up-and-go department. It's adequate but hardly mind boggling. I wonder if there's a NOX option for this engine? :smoke: And, a 6-speed would be nice.

Paul
 
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