New Kia Spectra and Spectra5 to Come Standard with Six Airbags

New Fully-Loaded Spectra5 is Available Across America This Month

Kia, the other South Korean automaker, stunned the worlds automotive press with just how advanced its new 2005 Spectra sedan and sporty 5-door model have become in comparison to the outgoing version.

Kia hasnt stopped with improving its own car, however, but now will offer the Spectra in all trim levels with more standard airbags than any other compact car, beating the big boys in all-important safety specifications.

Kia will include dual advanced front airbags, dual front seat-mounted side airbags, plus two full-length side curtain airbags as standard equipment in the Spectra sedan and Spectra5.

But while the safety technology comes standard, it wont be completely free. The price of the new base Spectra LX goes up to $12,620, a small price to pay for what may now be the safest standard compact model on the market.

"Were confident that this pricing, combined with a generous list of standard equipment and a priority on safety, will set the Spectra apart from other compact sedans in the market," stated Peter M. Butterfield, president, Kia Motors America.

The new 2005 Spectra5 liftback is currently on its way to dealers across America, and offers a lot of standard features including air conditioning, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, cruise control, and a 6-speaker AM/FM/CD player. The Spectra5 is also more sport-oriented than its 4-door sibling, featuring a black mesh grille, blacked out headlight surrounds, deep front air dam, integrated fog lights, rocker extensions and lowered rear valance.

"The Spectra5 was designed to be the sportiest Kia ever," commented Kia Motors America president and CEO Peter Butterfield during its debut at the New York auto show in April.

Under the skin are even more go-fast goodies, including performance-oriented fully independent suspension tuning right out of the box, plus standard 16-inch 8-spoke alloy wheels within P205/50R16 performance tires, and even a strut tower brace. Aiding handling further are stabilizer bars front and rear, rare in the entry-level compact class.

Inside, the 5 gets perforated leather trim wrapping the steering wheel and shift knob, plus a two-tone color scheme highlighted by sport fabric seats and door panels. Requisite metallic accents spice up the cabin too, while metal foot pedals give it a custom racing touch.

While the new Spectra5 is the sportiest version of the Spectra lineup, its doesnt compromise practicality to attain this status. Rather, its 5-door configuration makes loading and unloading cargo extremely easy, and larger, more wagon-like design upping capacity to 18.3 cubic feet behind the rear seats. While a liftback version of the old Spectra was available, it wasnt as spacious.

Whats more, like the sedan the Spectra5 delivers what Kia claims as best-in-class passenger volume at 98.1 cubic feet, larger than the Mazda3 Sport, Ford Focus ZX5 and Toyota Matrix.

The Spectra5 gets the same gutsy 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine as the sedan, once again making 138 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 136 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. Its a sophisticated piece of machinery, featuring 16-valves, dual-overhead cams, multi-port fuel injection and continuously variable valve timing (CVVT). Par for the course, the Spectra5 follows its sedan sibling by offering a standard 5-speed manual transmission and optional 4-speed automatic.

Now with six standard airbags, the Kia Spectra sedan and 5-door Spectra5 are the class leaders for safety. Together with each models additional attributes and strong 5 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper and 10 year/100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty, the Spectra is hard to beat.