2004 Kia Amanti Midsize Car Reviews & Ratings

Luxury cues abound inside the Kia Amanti, especially with the leather option.

The instrument panel and dashboard could have come from any of a number of high-end, much more costly cars. There is a hint of a Buick look to its build, with a heavy, eyelid-like hood running the width of the car; this may be intentional, however, as Kia lists the LeSabre as one of the Amanti's targets. The wood grain trim on the dash and center console looks less faux than some whose different bits and pieces truly are cut from the same burl. It's not overdone, but applied sparingly where it adds elegance, not just any and every place good glue can hold it in place. The dash-mounted monitor that comes with the Leather Package is under-utilized, a four-inch display surely can handle more than the usual trip computer info, time, date and audio selection, and it's redundant, as the same data can be called up in the instrument cluster.

Seats are supportive, comfy without being soft. A long day's worth of consecutive hours doesn't leave one's bum numb or even demanding a good stretch. Glass area is more than adequate, especially the side windows. The steep rake of the windshield brings the inside rearview mirror quite close to the driver's face, requiring a conscious turn of the head to scan. Power controls for the front seats mimic the metaphoric controls popularized by Mercedes-Benz and are as readily understood; mounted as they are on the doors (like Mercedes does), however, makes manipulating them somewhat awkward.

Interior room is comparable with the major players in the Amanti's target segment, comprising, in addition to the LeSabre, the Chrysler Concorde, the Ford Crown Victoria and the Toyota Avalon. In front-seat accommodations, the Amanti boasts best-in-class head and leg room and gives up no more than in inch in hip room. Rear seat passengers enjoy best-in-class head room but otherwise don't fare as well, losing 1 inch of leg and hip room to the Avalon and 2 inches to the LeSabre and Concorde, although the rear doors' limo-like openings are some compensation.

The Amanti comes up short in cargo space, by more than 3 cubic feet to the Concorde, but by less than 0.5 cubic feet to the Avalon. Kudos, though, to the trunk's full finish and the inside pull-down, sparing fingers from the dirt and muck that road trips routinely leave on a car's trunk lid.

The glove box is unique, the top third fitted with two cubbies to keep small items from rattling around. Otherwise, interior storage is routine, with the usual door-mounted map pockets, seatback-mounted magazine racks and cup holders. Three accessory power points are provided, one at the base of the center stack, another in the center console and the other on the back end of the center console for rear seat use. Missing, though, is a detent in the center console rim to allow a cellular telephone cord to fit beneath the closed console cover.

All controls, save for the front-seat power buttons, are conveniently placed and return good tactile feel. Easily scanned and comprehended climate control and stereo functions and settings are managed by familiar and user-friendly knobs, buttons and roller switches. Headliner-mounted assist grips are nicely damped front and rear, the latter fitted with garment hooks.

The Amanti does everything Kia expects it to, and very well, indeed. As a commuter, it's sufficiently agile with good visibility to maneuver in congested traffic. As a long distance traveler, it's a delight, quiet, smooth and tireless, both in willingness to make good time and in occupant comfort. The sound system lives up to promise, with good radio reception and quality sound.

Where it doesn't excel is sprightliness, in both acceleration and anything approaching sporty handling. Its 200 horsepower is lowest in class, while its curb weight tops the class scale. These factors, combined with the admittedly low-tech engine management system, may have played a large role in the 20 miles-per-gallon fuel consumption on a day-long, 500-mile drive at an average speed only slightly higher than California's posted maximum.

Similarly, the Sportmatic transmission promises more than it delivers, returning a smidgen of driveline lash on throttle lift-off and upshifting on its own in manual mode as the engine hits a pre-determined rpm.

Ride over handling governed choice of tire specifications, as did cost the choice of tire supplier; the Michelins originally considered lost out to local guy Hankook, and steering response and cornering tell the sad tale. There's also more unsprung weight than is the norm in the Amanti's aspiration class, leading to noticeable suspension movement on rough roads.

The Amanti's anti-lock brakes delivered as promised, with controllable stops and light pedal pulses.

Kia sells one model of the Amanti. It comes with one engine, a 200-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6. And the sole transmission offered is a five-speed Sportmatic automatic.

But that one model comes with a decent complement of safety and comfort and convenience features. The hardware side lacks a few features increasingly commonplace in the class toward which Kia casts a covetous glance, but given the Amanti's price point, this isn't surprising. Nor, given the aggressively priced option packages, is it something buyers should feel compelled to deny themselves.

Everything that by rights ought to respond to a push of a button does, plus some. The front seats are power-adjusted, the driver's in eight ways (plus lumbar), the passenger's in four. Outside mirrors, too, are power, as are the windows, all four of which have one-touch up/down. Front seat occupants may dial up personalized temperature settings from the fully automatic climate control system. A durable-looking and sturdy-feeling fabric upholstery is standard.

Occupants enjoy state of the art automatic safety protection, with a total of eight configurations of supplemental airbag restraint systems, the dual frontal airbags being two-stage, deploying according to crash severity and seat occupancy. Antilock brakes are standard.

The Leather Package ($1805) buys leather seating surfaces and a two-memory capability for the driver's seat and outside mirrors, a dash-mounted trip computer monitor and a premium stereo with six-disc in-dash CD changer. The Convenience Package ($900) adds a sunroof, heated front seats, auto-dimming inside mirror and three-frequency, programmable remote opener.

The ESP Package ($550) adds a Continental Teves-developed electronic stability program, traction control and brake assist. Continental-Teves is a leader in this technology and we recommend ESP highly for its ability to help you avoid an accident.

The option packages are layered, as in, to get the Convenience Package, the Leather Package must also be ordered. And to get the ESP Package requires purchasing the Leather and Convenience Packages. Actual MSRP for the ESP, then, is $3255, still not a heavy premium for all it buys.