A five-door hatchback variation of the Spectra sedan mixes spry road manners of a small FWD sports sedan with the cargo capacity of a pint-size SUV and the miserly fuel efficiency of an economy car. So it's partly a sporty car styled like a street-racer hatchback, but also partly a small wagon and thrifty runabout that's practical to use but fun to drive. Spectra5 holds the same engine and running gear as the four-door Spectra, although it gets a strut tower brace in front for improved torsional rigidity, stabilizer bars plus taut tuning of the four-wheel independent suspension. It also looks sharp in upright stance with curvy lines spread across a broad structure and a spoiler pinned high atop the hatchback lid. In the cabin Spectra5 has perforated leather wrapping the steering wheel and shifter knob, metal-finish trim on dash and doors plus shiny metal pedals.

The small-class SUV by Kia emerged with a new design last year as a crossover wagon built on the front-wheel-drive (FWD) platform of a car with the versatile cabin of a wagon but the smooth ride quality of a compact sedan. For 2006, Sportage repeats but with an air filtration system standard on all trims and a standard Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) on EX trim.

Kia equips all Sportage models with extensive safety features. There are FWD and all-wheel-drive (AWD) options. Two tiers of trim apply -- base LX and deluxe EX, with two different powertrain choices. A bargain-priced Sportage LX entry edition packs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine for 140 hp with a manual five-speed shifter. Sportage LX V6 and upgraded EX V6 get a twin-cam 2.7-liter V6 worth 173 hp linked to a four-speed automatic with Sportmatic manual shift mode. (...BACK)