On the sedan, the arched roof flows gently into the deck via a soft, flowing sail panel. Then the back end draws all the various geometrics into a pleasing departure. The backlight (rear windscreen) is more steeply sloped, flowing more smoothly into a shorter deck. The deck lid ends in a sharp crease filling the arc between the large, angular taillights, from which it drops almost vertically from a slight indentation to the fully integrated rear bumper fascia. A large depression scooped out of the vertical trunk panel houses the rear license plate.
The Spectra5 makes an even bolder statement. It's nearly six inches shorter than the sedan, and exactly the same height; but its roof extends almost to its rear bumper, falling gently in height as it does, and visually separating from the more rapidly declining tops of the windows. The roof finally terminates in a bulky spoiler that looks as if it could actually enhance fuel economy while keeping the rear window clean. As with the popular Volkswagen Golf, there are no quarter windows behind the rear door glass, although on the Spectra5 a black plastic panel visually extends the door windows into the sail panel. The result, in our eyes, is less than aesthetically pleasing, with neither the distinctive identity of the Golf, the breezy style of the Mazda3, nor the sexy sass of the Elantra hatchback offered by Hyundai a few years ago. But Kia says the shape maximizes interior volume. Next Page