2000 Kia Sephia Review (continued)
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Walkaround

Although the assembly of Sephia occurs at Kia's production facility in South Korea, styling for exterior and interior elements was filtered through Kia's American design studios in Irvine, California. As a result, the overall appearance of Sephia seems familiar in a shape and format similar to other compacts on American roads. Of course, this is the class of cars where conformity in design and homogeneous styling become assets for a non-radical approach that blends into mainstream tastes. To that extent, the Sephia makes a subtle statement with shapely sculpting of what essentially is the three-box form of a small sedan, but with some upscale twists that add eye appeal.

At the nose, for instance, Sephia shows an unobtrusive narrow grille with body-colored bumpers and moldings yet a corner pair of clear-lens headlamps typically found only on more expensive cars.

The bowed hood has flanking notched creases which pick up curving contours of the grille and move these lines rearward to the A-pillars, where they melt into rolled shoulders of side doors. Side panels look flat, interrupted only by delicate bulges of soft flares ringing each wheel well. Door handles, side mirrors and various protective moldings match the body color on LS models as upscale accents. The superstructure above the doors shows more glass than sheetmetal, with a gentle arched line apparent from narrow roof pillars running front to rear across a flat roof.

In back, a high trunk deck rolls over the trailing edge in blunt descent to color-keyed bumpers. A sporty decklid spoiler may be attached as an option to any trim of Sephia, although it looks incongruent with the understated design.

Interior Features

Sephia's interior arrangement maximizes personal space for passengers and delivers more room for heads and legs and shoulders than the class-leading competitors. Twin bucket seats appear in front separated by a center console, while the three-person rear bench in LS models has a seatback that folds to expand cargo space in the trunk.

Also, there are a number of comfort features and perks aboard that are usually not available in this price range. The driver gets a footrest on the left side, for example. The driver's seat cushion on the LS tilts for a better fit, as does the steering column. Front seatbelt anchors on B-pillars adjust vertically for comfort.

The audio system, available as an option across the board, mounts high above the center console for better access, with control knobs and dials enlarged to fit American-size fingers. Dashboard instruments include an analog speedometer with white-on-black face, with a tachometer installed for the LS power package.

Sephia is nicely trimmed even at entry level. Fabric covers all seats as well as inserts in door panels, which have low map pockets. Twin sunvisors and cupholders are provided for front seats, along with two front air bags and three-point seatbelts. Windshield wipers offer two-speed intermittent operation and remote releases control the front hood, fuel door and trunk lid.

Some small cars skimp on safety features, but Sephia matches the class leaders with air bags and adjustable three-point seatbelts. Its chassis structure features integrated front and rear crumple zones, steel bracing in each side door, a collapsible steering column, childproof rear door locks and rear infant seat restraint anchors.