Kia Sephia competes in subcompact class with boost in power
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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Funny thing about the latest little Asian economy sedan to reach our shores: When accelerating after stopping for traffic signals in urban tests at San Diego, tires squealed and rubber peeled on pavement.
Can a subcompact econo-car leave rubber?
It can when it's Kia's new Sephia, enhanced for 1996 with a more powerful engine packing twin cams on top and generating up to 122 horsepower.
Good gear ratios in the transmission and engine torque designed to excel at lower speeds enlivens the action so Sephia really zips along, whether traversing suburban streets like I experienced on Nimitz Boulevard heading toward Mission Bay or fast-paced freeways, such as the I-5 which cuts north-south through the heart of San Diego.
Such pleasing manners were not anticipated from this subcompact sedan with the funny name no one can pronounce that's produced by a Korean car company few in this country have heard about until recently.
As to the strange name of this car, say "suh-FEE-uh" and you'll pronounce it like Kia's marketing executives do.
And in case the label doesn't ring a bell it's because Sephia only reached the United States market last year, and Kia, a major automaker from South Korea, only recently set out to establish a dealer network in our country.
Kia Motors America at this point has spread eastward from California and across the South, with plans to complete its national network of outlets by the end of 1996.
Unlike another Asian automaker a decade ago that brought into our market a spate of problems related to quality control and rapid expansion of dealerships, Kia has metered its growth carefully and linked only with select dealers already established in targeted markets.
Kia offers only a sport-utility, Sportage, and Sephia.
Six months before my San Diego tests of 1996 Sephias, the previous edition was sampled. That Sephia, the original Kia entry to the United States, contained a far tamer engine and carried those pesky door-mounted safety belts in the glaring absence of dual airbags.
Due to a meager output of 88 hp with Sephia's earlier engine, the driving experience became totally unremarkable.
By contrast, the new Sephia sedan, offered in trim designations of LS and GS, employs a new 1.8-liter dual-cam 4-cylinder engine equipped with multi-valve technology and multi-port electronic fuel injection.
(California shoppers will face a choice between this lusty plant and a fuel-thrifty twin-cam version of the 1.6-liter former engine, which now generates 105 hp and nets fuel economy numbers as high as 35 mpg. When paired with the smaller engine, Sephia RS for California does not stock the dual airbags of Sephia LS and GS models.)
A manual 5-speed serves as standard transmission for either engine, but a 4-speed automatic appears on the list of options.
To produce its automobiles, Kia teams with noteworthy names from around the world for subsidiary automotive systems. Lotus Engineering of England, for instance, has been involved in 4-wheel independent suspension systems for Kia, while Germany's Getrag worked on transmissions, as Kelsey-Hayes came up with anti-lock brakes and Bosch LH Motronic did the fuel systems.
In addition, Kia has drawn from Japan's Mazda, which owns a piece of the Korean manufacturer, while Ford, possessing a quarter of Mazda, markets a Kia-built subcompact hatchback called Aspire.
Roots of Sephia may be found in a previous version of the Mazda Protege, and engines also stem from that source.
Styled as a notchback sedan with seating for five and bona fide trunk space, Sephia in its 1996 make-over wears new sheetmetal shapes, beginning with a new front hood, sporty fender flairs and a more rounded nose with aero-style headlamps and curvy front bumpers.
Hind quarters support new sleek taillights and bumpers.
Beneath its smooth skin, Sephia's suspension was improved with shorter rear springs and front and rear anti-roll bars added to check tendencies toward lateral roll.
Installing roll bars in this economy class of subcompact sedans may seem unusual but they're a welcome addition because these side supports allow Sephia to manage curves in a stable and predictable manner.
Aided by the quickness of rack and pinion steering, Sephia tackles curve sets aggressively -- and makes the work of steering downright easy, sometimes even fun.
California's twisty roads wrapped around rugged hillsides became my definitive Sephia test track, following Route 76 inland from Oceanside past historic San Luis Rey Mission. The car felt balanced and steady through all turns, its steering wheel firm in hand and accelerator responsive to the foot when urging Sephia to pass.
Later I spent a week living with a Sephia LS outfitted with automatic transmission, and I enjoyed the experience. Some vehicles, although fun at first, become wearisome with time, often due to minor annoyances with the interior arrangements, but that wasn't the case with this little Kia.
Its interior, quite spacious for the class, provided a number of convenient features in a design which made entry and exit efficient and easy.
The cabin, bringing improvements in dashboard design as well as instrument controls and front seating, merits more leg and head space than the best-selling class leaders among imported subcompact sedans.
Twin bucket seats appear in front separated by revised center console, while in the rear a 3-person bench adds a seatback that splits and folds to expand the cargo capacity of the trunk.
Some small cars skimp on safety features, but Sephia matches those class leaders with its new airbags, plus front and rear crumple zones, side door steel beams, collapsible steering column and childproof rear door locks.
Pricing looks favorable too.
Figures for Sephia LS start around $11,000, and my test model with automatic transmission and bonuses like air conditioning and premium sound amounted to $12,700.
The GS model, beginning at a similar figure, makes air conditioning and automatic transmission standard, then adds lighting and power equipment to operate windows and locks.
1996 KIA SEPHIA
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| 1996 KIA SEPHIA VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Subcompact sedan |
| Model Options: |
Subcompact sedan |
| Wheelbase: |
98.4 inches |
| Overall Length: |
171.7 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 1.8-L I-4 16v
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power disc/drum,
GS: opt. 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
24/28 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 10,200 to $ 13,500 |
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