The five-doors Cerato/Spectra received a mid-life cycle refresh in 2007, three years after the carmaker introduced it to the market.
While Kia was still struggling to find its design language and Peter Schreyer was new in the company, the carmaker couldn’t afford to stop the production of the Cerato/Spectra 5 hatchback. It had to improve it and make it better, even if its career was very close to an end and the cee’d lineup was ready to wow the crowds. After all, the car proved to be a dependable companion, offering good fuel-efficiency and adequate comfort for a daily driven commuter car.

Since the new-edge design trend was closing to an end, Kia tried to enhance the car’s look with softer lines. But it couldn’t save the bland look of the vehicle nor the initial lines that defined the car. Its headlights featured rounded corners and bigger turn-signals. The car’s front bumper was reshaped and featured a wider center grille and two side-scoops. Unlike its predecessor, the grille was chromed. In the back, the slightly raked-forward tailgate received a standard roof-spoiler above the windscreen.

Inside, Spectra retained the same values that made it a good buy for most of its customers. It didn’t enhance the materials used, which proved to be very reliable. Its plastic molded dashboard and center stack were just carried over from the non-facelifted version.

Under the hood, Kia shrunk the engine choice from six to two engines. It kept only the most powerful gasoline engine and, for the European market, the newly developed 1.6-liter turbodiesel unit.