Kia Spectra: a serious contender.

"There is a three year lag between where customers think Kia is and where it actually is," says Peter Butterfield, President and CEO, Kia Motors America. Exhibit "A" in his argument is the newest version of his company's biggest seller, the compact 2004 Spectra. The Spectra is a clean-sheet re-design that doesn't share any components with its previous incarnation (though it does share a platform with the Hyundai Elantra); and it's easy to imagine that the first things put down on that clean sheet were specs for the class-leading Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. In fact, a head-to-head comparison with the Corolla and Civic reveals that the new Spectra has evolved from a cheap also-ran competing largely on the strength of price and warranty into a worthy rival that actually eats its better-known competitor's lunch in a number of key categories.

LEVELING UP. The Spectra gets a new 2.0-liter DOHC engine with Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) which produces 138 hp and 136 lbs.-ft. of torque; an increase of 14 hp and 17 lbs.-ft. over its predecessor. By comparison, the Corolla's 1.8-liter engine makes 130 hp and 125 lbs.-ft. of torque; and the Civic's base 1.7-liter engine turns out only 115 hp and 110 lbs.-ft of torque. Unlike Kia and Toyota, Honda reserves its variable valve technology for its top-of-the-line EX model that makes 127 hp and 114 lbs.-ft. of torque, but to get the extra horses customers have to spring for pricey features like a power moonroof, and even then they get less power than the base Spectra. Another area where Kia ups the ante is brakes. Low-tech rear drum brakes have been standard for even high-level compact cars like the Civic and Corolla, but the Spectra fits solid discs in the rear combined with vented discs in the front. On the interior, the Spectra is noticeably bigger with a class-leading passenger volume of 97.0 f[t.sup.3]vs. 91.4 f[t.sup.3] for the Civic and 90.3 f[t.sup.3] for the Corolla.

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But the feature that will really have the number crunchers at Honda and Toyota sitting up and taking notice is the Spectra's airbag system. Kia has taken the bold move of making a six-airbag network, including full-length side-curtain modules standard on even its low-end $12,620 LX model. (The Civic and Corolla don't even offer side-curtains and charge hundreds extra for seat-mounted side units.) Add to that the fact that the Spectra, like all new Kia vehicles, is designed to achieve 5-star National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety ratings for front- and side-impact, and it's clear that the Korean maker is staking out safety as a key selling point over its higher-priced competitors. And if Butterfield's hypothesis "People equate safety with quality" is true, then Kia's quality image should improve markedly. Which could spell trouble for Toyota and Honda, who sell their compact sedans based largely on quality and reliability. As for competitors with less sterling quality records like the Ford Focus and Chevy Cavalier (soon to be Cobalt), they could find themselves leapfrogged by a Korean upstart that has only been selling cars in the U.S. for a decade.

KIA RISING. So what are we saying, that Kia is going to eclipse Toyota and Honda in the compact market? Hardly. First of all, there will only be 50,000 Spectras available in the U.S. this year and 70,000 to 100,000 in subsequent years--far below the 300,000+ unit pace set by the Japanese. But in a hotly-contested segment that has traditionally yielded low profit margins (or no profits if you believe the mewling of U.S. domestic automakers), losing 100K units in sales is serious. And Kia seems to be pursuing a course that will win it more customers. In addition to the improvements already mentioned, the Spectra has significantly upgraded interior materials, reduced cabin noise and narrowed panel gaps for improved fit and finish. Butterfield says his short-term goal is to surpass both Mazda and Mitsubishi in overall sales and he is already close enough that brisk Spectra sales could put him over the top. As for Honda and Toyota, who often seem to be focused solely on one-upping each other, they may find that if the new Spectra can erase that three-year perception gap it will prove tough competition, indeed.--KEW