Kia Amanti 2004

Kia Amanti 2004 - In the 1970s, Toyota and Nissan plumped up their U.S. model lines by bringing over a few of these floaters in the form of the Toyota Crown and Cressida and the Datsun 810 (later the Nissan Maxima). A couple of years ago, a similarly eager-to-mature Hyundai brought us the XG350.

Kia's front men concede that America is not waiting breathlessly for a Korean Lincoln. The company's U.S. managers still dream about roadsters and pickup trucks. They planned to show a Sorento-based pickup concept at the Chicago show in February. They want Kia to lure the young and the reluctant to age. The redesigned 2004 Spectra promises to do that, with a slippery new five-door wagon in the mix and a catalog of hop-up parts planned.

Kia's U.S. branch suggested changes to the Opirus to suit Yankee driving tastes, including sharper steering. They also churned out rationales for a skeptical motoring media.

The presentation gradually became more polished and plausible, with only the occasional logical leap. Here's Anderson, explaining how 40-to-60-year-old males, the Amanti's target audience, think differently from typical luxury-sedan buyers, who average 67 years: "The attitude is 'I don't want my father's full-size sedan.' Full-size sedan is a dirty word to these people.

True, the Amanti makes do without the Opirus's heated and reclining rear seats, a must-have in Korea where formal sedan owners typically commute in the back. Kia has also decided against an optional navigation system, a feature that would have hounded the U.S. price over $30,000, the company says.

You get power locks and windows, a CD player juicing eight speakers, electronic driver- and passenger-adjustable climate control, front power seats, and airbags galore, including curtain and side airbags for front and rear outboard riders.

Spring for the $100 Pearl Coat paint and the $20 first-aid kit, and you've checked every Amanti box for a grand total of $28,910. Whatever will you do with the $4804 you saved over an identically equipped Toyota Avalon?

Stouter tires would cure that, but they won't unearth a BMW where there isn't one. Everything about the Amanti says, "Easy going, son." The plush chassis is too soft, the 4117 pounds too weighty for the squishy springs and pliant shocks. The body can achieve real angles to the road, whether squatting on its haunches, nosing down hard under braking (a decent 177 feet from 70 mph), or listing to the outside in turns such as during its 0.73-g skidpad run.

Among a fleet of similar cream puffs, the Amanti holds its own, even without the off-the-line punch of a Detroit pushrod. And Kia, until recently a supplier of yesterday's level of trim and finish quality, jumps into today with the Amanti. The console pieces snuggle together with the tight gaps expected in a Toyota, the switches slide with the oiled precision of a Honda's.

An intricate web of seams and shapes is a sign of intelligent thinking in the Amanti's seats. Except for a slightly short lower cushion and negligible lateral support, the eight-way-adjustable driver's bucket (passengers make do with four fewer sliding options) slips on comfortably. Sorry, bench-seat enthusiasts will have to stick with their Avalons.