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10 wheels mstouflville suntribune thursday may 13 2004 wheels from first page els alhversionshave ventilated discs at the front except for the base lx that hasdrum brakes at the rear solid discs are standard with abs only available on the topline ex luxury suspension is contemporary for the class being coil springs over gas struts at the front independent multilink at the rear and stabi- lizerbars at both ends all versions have 15- inch wheels the base car is the lx for manual trans mission priced at 15895 or 16995 for the automatic the 17695 lx convenience adds air conditioning power lockswindows and heated power remote mirrors ordering the automatic raises the price by 1100 next up is the ex manual at 18695 which adds cruisecontrol and alloy wheels to the lx convenience again the automatic is a 1 100 option lastly there is the ex manual auto add 1100 that gives you fog lamps drivers active headrest and abs for 19995 kia kindly put an ex automatic at my dis posal and let me go where i wanted without a kia rep at my side to talk up the product they were prepared to let me make up my own mind in private a very enlightened approach indeed it said to me kia is quite willing to let the spectra do the talking and be judged on its own merits the venue was californias pacific coast highway out of santa monica with the plan to get to highway 101 and on to santa barbara at the end of march california is a magical place to be compared to cloudy and dank toronto with the sun full out the tempera ture hovering at 22 c and the highway in a lazy saturday afternoon mode it was time to roll down the windows and enjoy on this stretch of road you see everything the interior of the 2005 spectra is uncluttered and the quality of the materials like the plastics makes this a much more enjoyable place to be from the mid60s ferrari 330gtc in red of course to plum crazypainted hemi cudas to a brace of shelby cobras all this non plused the little spectra more then holding its own swapping lanes because people here drive fast and using turn signals is anathema in southern california its important that the sightlines be good as well as the brakes after long winter i couldnt help stop ping at an oceanside park and wander down to the beach to watch the parasurfers their rainbow hued chutes propelling them across the wave tops the sun was so warm stream ing in through the open door windows and with the seat reclined i confess i lost track of time when you have to get back on the pch it is usually from a sand or gravel shoulder and into the teeth of californians who dont believe in giving anyone a break here the spectra had the power to get up to speed when it counted i noticed the same thing later exiting from the santa monica pier park ing lot getting up to speed the automatic shifted crisply this welcome jolt of horses was appreciat- imwikiiiej f rontr 20litre d0hg inline vp fourcylinder 138rip 136 lbft ih price- ed later in the evening crawling through din nertime bumpertobumper traffic in venice the world capital of the loonies and drifters when someone in front decides to turn left and just stop to look aimlessly around the trick is to spot a crack between cars in the next lane and make your move but you have to have the steering and throttle response not to mention reflexes to do it here the spectra performed perfectly i was happy a good day a good drive and a good car the segment where the spectra sits is jammed with worthy competitors chev cavalierpontiac sunfire honda civic volkswagen golf stepsister hyundai elantra and the new hot favorite in the class mazda3 but with the changes to the 2005 spectra it certainly ranks right up there with the com petition kia like i said at the top is looking for respect and with the new spectra its deserved jzsij j m markham economist sun the mssjit game in town scan alllsgpi automotive account executive kim armstrong striving to help you build your business