Kia is a bunch of bastards!!!

[JOS3]

i told you

 

[protegeV]

for the love of crap, they could prolly buy a DGM CF center bezel and it would prolly pop right on

 

[acts]

lol... hell we had a kia spectra and traded that peice of s*** in for my pro 5.. the quality sucks.. I dont care what the warranty states.. 8 times the car broke down in 8 months.. they gave me my cash back and I went to Mazda right across the street... so I can see lotsa happy owners of this ride. It makes me wonder if Mazda somehow sold them the design rights to the protege 5 as they do provide engines for kia correct? weirder things have happened.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

Guess what?
Last time we passed by the Kia dealership, me and my friends saw a Kia SUV with the same front end as the BMW X5.

A few days later, at another dealership, we saw some Kia Rios with a huge spoiler and a hoodscoop, it really looked like the STI. Funny thing is that when we went to ask for some info, we saw taht the "hoodscoop" was just those that you can find on ebay and which you stick to your hood with some 2 sided 3M tapes. It is called teh Kia Rio Tuner (with only 104 hp)

Here's a link to it:
http://www.autonet.ca/francais/Nouvelles/AutoNouvelles/Stories.cfm?storyID=12337

Ya me too!! Saw the Rio w/ an STI spoiler and hood scoop w/ gold rims at a local Kia dealership.. I'll see what I can do for pics tomorrow.

 

[Giallou P5]

******* gay

 

[protegemp52000]

It doesn't look that bad to me, after all it is a p5 rip-off, but it's still a KIA.
Flame on!!!

 

[fLyPiNoY7]

all i can say is wtf...

 

[akProtege5]

lol .

 

[billzebub]

Ford owns 17% of KIA. They probably sold them the design

 

[rookie]

Ford owns 17% of KIA. They probably sold them the design

Most likely, that is exactly what went down... saw this in the mag the other day I too was like - WTF? (boom02) Ford is not doing all that great with their vehicles so if they can make a quick buck - they will do it. It just proves that the P5 design rocked.

Anyhow - I guess it does not matter... it is still a Kia. Good luck owning that for 10 long years. It will just NOT live that long. Just recently I was on the business trip and drove a new Optima for 3 weeks. Talk about SUV handling, no balls and just plain cheapo feel of it all over the place.

Anyhow - now all the P5 wannabees can have a decently looking hatch and buy it new... but it is just a wannabe...

 

[YelPro03]

I checked it out at the NY Auto Show in April. When I first glanced at it I thought it was a P5. Just from sitting in it, playing with the switched, opening and closing the doors/hatch.. it seems pretty decent for the price point they're aiming for (they weren't on sale yet back in April) but they 'look' decent. Proof is in the pudding. I have not idea how it drives, handles, etc.

 

[jjac28]

LOL, what if this KIA doesn't have the paint chip problem, tranny problem, and acouple other problems the P5 have?

Dude, what the hell are you talking about? The Protege is one of the most reliable cars out there.

I think KIA skould be ashamed of themselves. They're trying to capitalize on the looks and success of the MP5. Bastards.
Someone should send them a letter or something....now, wheres my lawyer

 

[rubixcubix]

man if you guys think that interior is p5 bizarro land, my cousin just got a new elantra and i swear some hyundai engineer bought a protege and loved it so much he brought it to work and designed a clone, the look and dimensions are so similar and the interior is freaky, i get in and its like my protege, only everything is ever so slightly different.
Then i remember that she has a 1.6L 106 (or is it 96?) hp engine and i feel better.
the whole thing gives me the willies.

 

[billzebub]

They got Jag S-type lines on the Amanti now, too.

 

[element.8]

for the record...

my girlfriend was in a head-on collision in her kia spectra last year, and the airbags didn't go off.


thus...kia ******* sucks.


we now return to your regularly scheduled spectra5 argument...

 

[changedman]

ugh. idiots.

 

[YelPro03]

I thought the Elantra has a 2.0L, 135 HP engine. I think it's the Accent that has the engine you're talking about.

man if you guys think that interior is p5 bizarro land, my cousin just got a new elantra and i swear some hyundai engineer bought a protege and loved it so much he brought it to work and designed a clone, the look and dimensions are so similar and the interior is freaky, i get in and its like my protege, only everything is ever so slightly different.
Then i remember that she has a 1.6L 106 (or is it 96?) hp engine and i feel better.
the whole thing gives me the willies.

 

[rubixcubix]

I thought the Elantra has a 2.0L, 135 HP engine. I think it's the Accent that has the engine you're talking about.

yeah you're right, my bad. (thumb) BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKIN BOUT!

 

[Dimitrios]

The reasoning behind long warranties is because the product is crap, not because it'll last that long.

Low intial cost means to woo new owners/buyers - if a good warranty meant quality, don't you think Toyota or Daimler would offer a 100k/10 year? Hah!!

Mitstubishi is in the same quality zone; that being crap as well.

As for the design, calm the **** down. If you lived in Europe or some other nation that didn't have such a small car market (yes, the USDM is a small market - we rarely see the cars that other markets see) then you'll see how nearly every other car is a hatch.

It's also a blatant rip off of the Protege5...the front end looks like early 3rd Gen. Protege though..

 

[clownphish]

Blug. (argh)

http://www.autosite.com/Previews/2005-kia-spectra5.asp