I bought one brand new, still own it but its been parked for the last 2 years. The orignal engine performed well when it was new but had idling issues of dropping its rpm below 1 and one other issue was the blown up airfilter box that I had to replace multiple times.
The engine is not good with fuel economy also it was driven only 70,000kms when engine started to give up and started giving black smoke. I spent around 45k back in 2012 on engine head and ring replacement but all this money went to drain because the car engine never got stable and then I gave up and left it parked for 2 years.
At the end, I went to bilal ganj and had it swapped with a Toyota Japanese 1nz 1500dual vvti automatic engine. To this day, the car is half self start and 100% more reliable than it was brand new. Never had any mechanical or engine issue ever again.
Conclusion is orignal engine is unreliable and s***, value of the car have deprecated alot so I can't sell and replace this vehicle with another.
The quality of body is tough and rugged but I've been trying to locate front bumper for a very long time, I can't seem to find one. Also, all 4 lights have been repaired and I can't seem to find and buy all 4 at a reasonable price.
If anyone can get me quote for all 4 light (front and back) and the front bumper, I would be very grateful.
This is my opinion and review as an owner of KIA SPECTRA which was bought brand new.
No hard feeling for Spectra lovers, because I too own one but not exactly happy with the purchase.
The car works great now with a toyota engine just an FYI.
