‘The modern, Japanese-looking Kia Sephia’ – From the Old Box

In March 1993 we were able to announce, in AutoWeek number 13, that a new car brand would come to the Netherlands. The South Korean Kia would follow in the footsteps of Hyundai in our country. That was what they were going to do with the Sephia, or so we learned. “The Pride is not chosen for the start on the Dutch market; it is too similar to the old Mazda 121. Kia Motors Netherlands opts for the Sephia, a much more modern sedan of its own making.” Well, that Pride would also come later and the Sephia was not entirely of its own making. In AutoWeek 25 of the same year, which was published exactly 30 years ago, we were able to experience this firsthand.

A closer look at the first Sephia that we were able to take a closer look at showed that there were also clear Japanese influences in the big brother of the Pride. “On closer inspection, the Sephia appears to be closely related to the Mazda 323. For example, both cars have a 2.5 meter long wheelbase. We also see similarities when we look at the suspension and brakes.” We saw that well, the Sephia was indeed a Mazda 323 of the BG generation under the skin. The engines also came from Mazda. These were well-known four-cylinders from the B-series, which became available as a sixteen-valve a little later in the penultimate 323. The Sephia initially had to make do with the older eight-valve 1.6.

Kia Sepia.

Just like a modern Japanese

“We didn’t count on being confronted with a car that might as well be a modern Japanese,” we wrote 30 years ago. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, indicates that the Kia Sephia comes from a country with an emerging car industry and is therefore perhaps not quite up to date on any point.” If we still had to look for something, it was the logo that Kia was carrying at that time, with a kind of plume of smoke coming out of the K. “The logo evokes the image of heavy industry. That is of course not the intention and so a ‘luxury logo’ is now being designed.”

We thought it was great to be on board the Sephia. This also helped that Kia did not have to do everything itself, but could use Mazda technology under license. “The Mazda engine accelerates it from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.2 seconds. During hard acceleration, the machine produces some grunt, but once up to speed, the car is pleasantly quiet. The Sephia shifts like a Japanese, so smooth and hassle-free.” We also found the handling fine, the steering was direct and the power steering that was missing on the basic version was only missed at low speeds.

Kia Sepia.

Neat price

Speaking of that basic version: it was on the price list for 27,900 guilders. With that, the Kia Sephia had a lot to offer for the money, we thought. “A decent price for this small mid-sized car that can easily compete with the Japanese and European competition. We therefore have no doubt that the still virtually unknown Korean will make its way smoothly when it comes onto the market in September this year. to the Dutch buyers.” Yet it was not yet such a stunner as perhaps hoped, because 1994 was immediately the peak year with 868 copies sold and the arrival of the Kia Sephia hatchback could not change that. However, the Sephia did a bit better than its successor Shuma. It was only from the Cee’d that appeared in 2007 that Kia really got a stronger grip on the compact middle class.