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I found out one of the Hyundai dealers offers "employee pricing" (invoice + $200) to employees of the company I work for.  So I have that in my back pocket as a target price.

I also went to the local Kia dealer after hours and saw several dozen Spectra5s on the lot.  I checked their inventory online and it says they have 44 2005 Spec5s with AT but no sunroof (just the way I want it).  None had cruise control, but I think the dealer can add that.  With that many 05s left on the lot, I can probably afford to wait until later in the year to buy if I don't get a deal right away.  I also noticed they had some 2006 Rios, but no hatchbacks.  I could test drive one though, just to see whether it would be worth waiting for a hatch version.  

I drove the brand new 2006 Kia Rio today and it is "Da Bomb!"  It is just like the Scion xA, but a little better in all respects:  a little roomier, a little quieter, a little less harsh, a little more powerful.  The one aspect that could use improvement is rear seat leg room; otherwise, I would say Kia has hit a home run with its new Rio.

I drove a sedan; unfortunately, hatchback production hasn't started yet.  I am hoping my dealer gets some hatches in soon because I might buy it over the Kia Spectra5 even at the same price, mostly because of the awesome mileage:  29 mpg city/38 hwy.  

Geez, this is my job and I haven't even done that yet.  Heck, I don't even know if it shares a platform with the also-all-new-for-2006 Accent.

What's going on?  These two, then new Yaris/Aveo/Honda/Nissan in 2007?  Perfect timing.  

New Accent & new Rio = same platform.  Just look at that autoshow and spy photos; they are identical (for me, the window shape is generally a good way to tell if two cars are on the same platform.

The new Rio is very nice, but I need to decide if I am willing to wait for the hatches to get here (the supposedly haven't even started production yet), and whether it's worth it considering it will run virtually the same price as a 2005 Spectra5 with incentives and clearance pricing.  (I estimate using the EPA calculations I will save about $20/month on gas with the Rio).  

Finally, up goes the xA review.  Not that you needed it.
 

UPDATE:  I finally bought something:  I pretty much settled on the Hyundai Elantra, but didn't think I would be able to find my combination of options (GLS 5-door with AT, Cruise & CD, but no sunroof or ABS) in a 2005 model due to depleted inventories.  Nothing in my local county, but I found two at a dealer 40 miles away.  Neither one had CD, though.  I ended up buying an Electric Red Elantra GLS 5-door with AT, Cruise & Cargo Net for $13,900 + TTL.  I could have done better if I bought in September since Hyundai rolled back their incentives in October, but what's done is done.  The car also has a rear spoiler which wasn't included on the sticker.

I've upgraded the factory cassette player with a Pioneer CD/MP3 head unit in the dash plus a Pioneer CD changer in the trunk.  Car runs great; getting high 20's mpg so far.