2008 Kia Spectra User Reviews

Pros

Mileage beats the sticker report.

Cons

Purchased our Spectra 11 months ago. No Cons to report.

Purchased As New

My wife and I drove our '08 Spectra cross country and back, putting over 6,000 miles on the little car and it ran fantastic. Comfortable ride, great gas mileage, easy to handle in all the weather conditions we encountered. Excellent car with an excellent price. Get all the options, it is worth it....read morehide

Pros

fuel economy, comfort, handling

Cons

for the money - none

Purchased As New

I've put 50K trouble-free miles on mine since new. Much of it mountain interstate on 500+ mile trips where I've had BMWs back off in the twisties. It keeps the mileage off my '05 GTO and doesn't come up short on a road trip. Low engine and wind noise, ample power to weight ratio and predictible handling. Lots of trunk room and fun to drive....read morehide

Pros

turns well and ave fuel economy for it class

Cons

electrical issues & lousy in cool weather!

Be warned!
I bought my Spectra new and have been dealing with both electrical issue and cool weather issues.

First the head lamps are suppose to turn off completely and stay off when the car is off and parked. This is not the case. I have had to call to have the car jumped when returning to it. The running lamps somehow turn themselves back on.
The dealership said this is a known issue with the alarm system but has not been corrected since they were first made aware of it back in 2007.

The second the car is very sluggish in cold weather, and forget about using the windshield washers. They freeze up in temps below 25. Once again the dealership reported these were known issues.

BTW: the warranty is the worst. How many auto companies do you know that make you buy the factory warranty? Kia does...read morehide

Pros

Good Fuel economy, and it really is 5 star crash rating!!

I first had a 2007 Kia Spectra..I loved loved it...just last month my mom and me were in a wreck..Thank God we were ok but, the Kia did awesome. I was shocked to know how good it held up. My dad is a firefighter and he was in shock cause we were going 55 to 60 miles per hour when we hit. The dash broad didn't even move in the car. My mom and me were very please of the turn out. Kia has got a good name from us. Now I own a 2008 Kia Spectra and I'm still very pleased. I'm staying with Kia for ALONG time. Also, the gas mileage is great. I drive 3 hours total a day 4 days a week and I only have to fill up 2 times a week and the price it's bad at all....read morehide

Pros

good fuel economy

Cons

ride is rough

I have just bought my third Kia. I first bought one when it was a Sephia in 1993. I have loved all three of them. I have had great gas mileage. The only trouble I had with my second car was the paint kept peeling off around the fog light. But the warranty took care of that. I have not had to pay for any oil changes on the last two cars. Love my KIA....read morehide

Pros

great fuel mileages,good excelaration

Cons

get the cruise control.

I have a 2006 Kia spectra EX.It currently has 37,000 miles on it.No problems so far.Runs and drives very good.Averaging about 28 to 30
mpg with the a/c on small country roads and in town driving combined.Typical small car not much room.Sits really low to the road.Has a little road noise.This car had 10 miles on it when we bought it from the dealer.I'm about 6 ft and my wife is a little over 5 and we can both fit in it fairly well.Although i'm sort of a big fellow and the width is a little tight for me.Salesmen were to pushy.Money leeches.Stick to your guns and get a good price.You should be happy with this car.I also do all my oil changes and have added a high flow air filter.After 10,000 miles on conventional,switch to sythetic.I did this with a mazda i had and accumulated 117,000 and didnt have to change the spark plugs still ran like it was brand new....read morehide

Pros

33 mpg on hwy,runs good,really like it

Cons

rides a little bumpy,like a small car

I bought it a month ago,took on a 600 mile ride,hope it's a good ride in the winter

Pros

Love the car. Good fuel economy and fun to drive. Plenty of room for us to trave.

Cons

None so far. Love it!!!!

I am 6-4; daughters are 6-2 and 5-11; wife is 5-10. We put all 4 of us in the vehicle and travel 200 to 350 miles for basketball and volley ball tournaments (trunk is loaded). Plenty of leg room and drives fine (I have the 5-speed). I could not be happier with this vehicle at this point (approx. 8,000 miles on my '08)....read morehide

Pros

38MPG Standard CD player excellent value 100k warranty!

Cons

the resale value driver seat doesnt have a lot of support

I bought my Kia april 4th with 5 miles on the odometer its been a good car so far i get about 35MPG it does well on trips it now has around 7000 miles on it and havent had any problems

Pros

My Kia Spectra is sporty it has tinted windows,alloy wheels, and fog lights. Has great acceleration

Cons

The only thing that I found annoying was that I wish I had leather seat. The cloth ones get dirty.

My Kia is wonderfful and looks pretty good for a gas saver. I love it.