Kia Spectra

Name: 2003 Kia Spectra
Brand: Kia

First Take

You'd have to search far and wide to find a worse new car than the Spectra. Available as either a four-door hatchback or a conventional sedan, it's essentially the same as the now-defunct Sephia. The Sephia sedan we tested suffered from an awful ride, a noisy cabin, a crude, unrefined powertrain, uncomfortable seats, and clumsy handling. Cabin materials felt cheap and insubstantial, and weak detents allowed the doors to swing shut--sometimes on a leg--when the car was parked on an incline. The Spectra sedan also received a poor offset-crash-test score from the IIHS.

Reliability Details

Owner Satisfaction Details

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2003 Small cars Reliability

No Data Available

Crash and Rollover Tests

IIHS Front Moderate Overlap

IIHS Front Small Overlap, Driver

IIHS Side Crash

NHTSA Overall Crash

NHTSA Overall Frontal-Crash

NHTSA Overall Side-Crash

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Crash and Rollover Tests

IIHS Front Moderate Overlap

IIHS Front Small Overlap, Driver

IIHS Side Crash

NHTSA Overall Crash

NHTSA Overall Frontal-Crash

NHTSA Overall Side-Crash

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Kia vs. Other New Car Brands

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Owner Reports

Worse Better

Owner Satisfaction Owner Satisfaction

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Driving Experience

Comfort

Value

Kia vs. Other New Car Brands

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Kia vs. Other New Car Brands

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Crash and Rollover Tests

IIHS Front Moderate Overlap

IIHS Front Small Overlap, Driver

IIHS Side Crash

NHTSA Overall Crash

NHTSA Overall Frontal-Crash

NHTSA Overall Side-Crash

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2003 Small hatchbacks Ratings

2003 Kia Spectra

$2,725 - $2,750

CR MPG:

Road test

Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser

$2,775 - $2,900

CR MPG:

Road test

Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Honda Civic

$3,150 - $4,900

CR MPG:

Road test

Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Honda Insight

$3,300

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Hyundai Accent

$2,850 - $2,925

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Hyundai Elantra

$3,025 - $3,075

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Kia Rio

$2,850 - $2,875

CR MPG:

Road test

Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Mazda Protege

$3,050 - $4,625

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Mitsubishi Lancer

$2,925 - $11,050

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Pontiac Vibe

$3,100 - $3,350

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Subaru Impreza

$3,025 - $5,650

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

2003 Toyota Matrix

$3,500 - $4,325

CR MPG:

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Reliability

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2003 Volkswagen Beetle

$ NA

CR MPG:

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2003 Volkswagen Golf

$3,125 - $4,875

CR MPG:

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Reliability

Owner Satisfaction

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Seating

2 front, 3 rear

Drive Wheels

Front

Warranty

Coverage varies among versions of this vehicle

In most cases, automotive warranties are based on the vehicle identification number (VIN), and the warranty will be valid regardless of ownership. The dealership can tell you exactly how much warranty is left.

Read more about extended warranties

4-door hatchback

sedan

5-speed Manual
4-speed Automatic

1.8-liter 4 (126 hp)

Model History

2004-

Current Generation

The redesigned 2004 Spectra offers a comfortable ride, quiet interior, and good fit and finish. The four-cylinder engine delivers lackluster acceleration with the automatic and unimpressive fuel economy. A Spectra5 hatchback was available starting in 2005. The Spectra comes with standard side- and head-protection air bags, but it still got a Poor in the IIHS side-crash test. ABS can be extremely hard to find.

2000-2003

2000 Redesign Year

The Spectra is merely a lightly restyled four-door hatchback version of the noisy, uncomfortable, and shoddily built Sephia. The 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine provides adequate acceleration, but the automatic transmission shifts abruptly and often. In 2002, the Sephia and Spectra names merged to just Spectra.