The Kia Sephia is a compact car that was manufactured by the South Korean automaker Kia Motors from September 1992 to 2003.

The first generation Sephia was badged Kia Mentor in some markets, and as the Timor S515/S516 in Indonesia. This convention continued on with the second generation version, which was also badged Kia Shuma and Kia Spectra.

First generation (1992)

The first-generation Kia Sephia is the first car that was actually designed by Kia with their own chassis. Engines available were the B-series engines, with the 1.5-liter rated at , the 1.6-liter , and the 1.8-liter BP engine at from 1994. The car was presented in September 1992 to replace the aging Capital, which was rapidly losing market share. The Sephia proved quite successful, selling over 100,000 in its first full year in the home market (1993). A total of 472,920 Sephias were sold over the life of the original Sephia.

In the United States, sales began in late 1993 for the 1994 model year. This was the first Kia to be exported to the US. An update came in the 1995 model year when grille and tail lights were restyled and all US-market Sephias except California-market RS/LS models got upgraded to the new 1.8-liter DOHC four-cylinder BP engine as used in the Mazda Familia (BG). Kia licensed the engine design from Mazda, but manufactured it themselves.

It was launched in Europe in the spring of 1994 as the Kia Sephia in some markets and in others, including the United Kingdom, as the Kia Mentor. It was similar in size to best-selling European small family cars like the Ford Escort, but was priced similarly to smaller cars like the Ford Fiesta. Its key rivals in Europe were budget-priced Eastern European and Far Eastern imported products including the Daewoo Nexia, Hyundai Accent, Proton Persona and Skoda Felicia. In Brazil, the car went on the market in March 1994. It was only offered with the 1.5-liter twin cam engine with and was considered a competitor to the domestically built Chevrolet Omega and Volkswagen Santana. To make a car suitable for the Brazilian market, Kia went through the trouble of studying Brazilian road surfacing and importing of Brazilian gasoline to properly program the engine management. Due to Timor's status as a national carmaker, the Timor S5 was exempt from taxes and duties levied on other cars sold in the country despite being imported from South Korea. As the result, Timor S5 was sold at half the price of a comparable Toyota Corolla.

thumb|left|Timor S515 with its Timor badge swapped to Kia

The Timor S5 range consisted of the "S515" (SOHC carbureted), "S515i" (DOHC, fuel injected), and "S516i LE" (sports-oriented limited edition, licensed by Prodrive). Timor also had produced the "SW516i" station wagon and a "SL516i" limousine in a limited number.

The Timor S5 was briefly assembled locally at the Timor assembly plant in Purwakarta, West Java with imported parts in 1998 before its discontinuation due to WTO disputes. Sales continued up to 2007, using inventory from vehicles produced up to 1998.

Second generation (1997)

In 1997, the Sephia was completely redesigned as a four-door sedan and five-door liftback, this time in-house by Kia itself with help from Mazda. Kia used a DOHC 1.5-liter and its own new DOHC 1.8-liter engine (the T8D engine, originally developed for the Kia Elan) and an improved air conditioning system. In South Korea, the Sephia label was retired in 2000 and replaced by the Spectra. The Sephia production totals were 628,168. In Russia production of the Spectra continued until 2011, produced by Izh-Avto. The Spectra liftback was also assembled in Malaysia between 2001 and 2010. Production began at the HICOM AMM plant in Pekan, and was later transferred to Naza's NAM plant in Gurun.

Australia

The second generation Sephia sedan and liftback were badged "Mentor" in Australia when released in May 1998. Kia offered an entry-level "SLX" with the 1.5-liter inline-four engine, standard with five-speed manual transmission or optional four-speed automatic, and equipped with power steering, air conditioning, and cloth trim.

From June 2000, Along with the sedan, Kia dispensed with the 1.5-liter engine and SLX/GLX model identifiers. This update brought redesigned headlights, a new front bumper, adjustments to suspension calibration, and an overhauled four-speed automatic. Kia Australia discontinued the Spectra in 2004.

References

  • Kia Sephia Owner's Manual (1st generation)