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Walk Around
The Kia Spectra makes a styling statement, not a busy, fussy one, but one that's clean, with sculpted character lines and interesting surface planes that set the Spectra apart from the look-alike, safely conservative econo-box class.
The fog lights on up-level models are round, adding perceived height to the front end. Headlight housings taper upward at the outer edges, drawing the eye more naturally into the hood's increased slope. The sporty SX and Spectra5 are distinguished by a more assertive front end highlighted by a black mesh grille, blacked-out headlight surrounds and a deeper front spoiler.
A sharp groove etched into the side accentuates Spectra's rounded shape. Embedding the door handles in the groove reduces clutter. Clearly defined fender blisters add sportiness to the wheel openings. One stylistic hiccup is the rear fender blister, which isn't as well proportioned to the surrounding body panel as is the front blister and leaves the rear wheel looking undersized. Badging is minimal, confined to a Kia logo centered in the grille and above the rear license plate.
On the sedan, the arched roof blends gently into the deck via a soft, flowing sail panel. Then the back end draws all the various geometrics into a pleasing departure. The backlight (rear windscreen) is steeply sloped, flowing smoothly into a short deck. The deck lid ends in a sharp crease filling the arc between the large, angular taillights, from which it drops almost vertically from a slight indentation to the fully integrated rear bumper fascia. A large depression scooped out of the vertical trunk panel houses the rear license plate.
The Spectra5 makes a bolder statement. It's nearly six inches shorter than the sedan, and exactly the same height, but its roof extends almost to its rear bumper, falling gently in height as it does, and visually separating from the more rapidly declining tops of the windows. The roof terminates in a significant spoiler that looks as if it could actually enhance fuel economy (by limiting boundary-layer separation) while keeping the rear window clean.
Small vertical quarter windows behind the rear door glass neatly extend what designers call the daylight opening into what would otherwise be a bulky rear pillar. Large taillights wrap into a point that lines up nicely with that previously mentioned groove in the body side.
Visually more compact wagon than sporty hatch, the Spectra5 won't please everyone. On the other hand, now that once-sleeker competitors such as the Mazda3 and Volkswagen Golf have put on so much middle-aged bulk, the Spectra5 is looking better by comparison. Kia says the Spectra5's shape maximizes interior volume.
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