Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Spectra - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By KIA - October 8 - 7:23 am

  I bought my Spectra, new. The gas mileage is great! I usually get 26 mpg around town; 39 mgp highway. Its the perfect car for around town, but a little small for interstate driving. It has great pick up and handles turns well.

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  Bye Bye Kia - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Bri - July 17 - 5:10 am

  Well, I owned this car for 11 months and totaled it a couple weeks ago. Overall I enjoyed the Spectra5, and it did pretty well with a rear collision at 50 mph. Pushed me into another car, so both the front and back ends got it, but neither crumpled that far. Safety-wise it did pretty good. The driver seat during the collision slid to the back and put me into a reclining position. Strange, but not a serious fault in my opinion. So, good on safety, brakes stopped me, but the Civic behind me... not so much.

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  Terrible trans! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By disgusted - June 23 - 10:00 am

  First transmission replaced at 17,000 miles, 2nd at 23,000. Water "sloshing" around somewhere in the dash/floor area that "cant be fixed". I like the warranty, but when the cars in the shop, youre stranded. No rental, no loaner, just stranded. I paid $950 for a used Mazda 626 with 175k on it and its way more reliable than this!

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  Outstanding! Move over Toyota! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By joe - February 15 - 5:03 am

  Before you pay more for a Toyota, Honda,etc, you owe it to yourself to look at the Kia! I bought this car a month ago and i cant say enough good about it. Style and features outside are great! Interior features and style, looks and feels awesome, then we get to the best part. This car handles and drives incredibly! I have the SX model which has the sport tuned suspension and it handles and feels like a sports car! I dont understand edmunds review about the motor. They say it gets noisy at high rpm, not mine! The 2.0 in this car has plenty of power and does not require high revs to push or pass! I have the 5 speed manual, its great! Dont overlook the Kia, youll just pay more!

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  Replaced a 1997 Gr Caravan - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Mike - January 24 - 5:13 pm

  We had just purchased an Optima for my wife and I had noticed the Spectre5 on the lot. Not many cars make me stop and give them a second look, but this one did. Some quick reference checks and I bought it 3 days later. Although I miss the room in my Caravan I have to say this is one of the most fun cars to drive. Gas mileage has been just under 30 MPG in mostly city type driving but I know that will get better as it breaks in. Although no car is perfect I havent found any major items to complain about. There has been some talk of Kia not honoring their warranty but you just need to maintain very through records if not serviced at a KIA dealer,

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  Buyers Remorse - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By James - December 18 - 5:33 am

  This vehicle is really uncomfortable to drive for more than an hour. The drivers seat curves up sharply jabbing into your rear end. Im not a skinny guy, but by no means large either. But the real disappointment is in the 23 mpg avg Im getting. Mostly highway, this is very disappointing in a car this size. Now one nice thing is that the controls are easy to reach. Second, this car really has some kick. It will jump out in traffic like a 6 cylinder vehicle if you need to. But it fails to be a good ride and to be economical to drive.

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  I love my KIA soo much! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By James - October 16 - 4:26 am

  OMG, where do I start. I bought it new NOV 07, I got to choose the one I wanted any color anything. Took one look at my white EX 5spd rear spoiler, and I was hooked. So long story short 2 1/2 yrs later and car approaching 60,000 miles on it now, not a thing has gone wrong. People always comment on my car, and how clean and good it has held up! I take care of my car but dont baby it! I think it handles really well, and at times I feel like Im in a sports car. The rear spoiler makes it look so much better and 5 spd Overdrive, I dont have to always down shift up hills (only when some trucker or slow car gets in front of me. All and all At least take a look and consider!

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  good car - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By bnk - September 25 - 10:23 am

  i had a rodeo before so it sucked the gas and I went and bought this car. Its not too fast but its the sx so its sporty. Wish it had chrome wheels and a system

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  Cant beat em - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By AJ - July 26 - 12:50 am

  I traded in my 05 Kia sportage v6 for the spectra5 sx and I gotta say, you cant go wrong with these cars. I had to trade for better mileage which wasnt very good on the sportage and Im glad I did. The spectra is fun, sprite, well equipped, and a lot of bang for the buck. I compared Mazda3, Pontiac Vibe and Chevy Malibu and in the end I stuck with what I knew.

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  Great value, like all the "kiadai" cars - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Jose in Dallas - July 17 - 3:43 am

  Overall this vehicle is great for a subcompact. The Hyundai 2.0 L sounds fantastic at 6000 RPM but gets rather thirsty. Engine noise is very little until you get on the freeway. Very comfy suspension with the smoothness of a Caddy until you take a sharp corner where it leans like a pickup truck. The overall build and quality of these Korean cars (Hyundai & Kia) has been improving every year but they are still not on the same level as the Japanese. With the 100,000 Mi warranty the vehicle is a great value for the price.