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1998
Kia Sephia

Starts at:
$9,995
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New 1998 Kia Sephia
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Not rated
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Available trims

See the differences side-by-side to compare trims.
  • 4dr Sdn Manual
    Starts at
    $9,995
    24 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn Auto
    Starts at
    $10,970
    23 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn Manual LS
    Starts at
    $10,995
    24 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn Auto LS
    Starts at
    $11,970
    23 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn Manual LS Pwr Pkg
    Starts at
    $13,325
    24 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn Auto LS Pwr Pkg
    Starts at
    $14,300
    23 City / 31 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs

The good & the bad

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Expert 1998 Kia Sephia review

our expert's take
Our expert's take
By
Full article
our expert's take

The tailpipe doesn’t rust, and the rattles are gone. The body looks substantial, but the appearance is deceptive. It’s still a little car, even though it is longer and a tad taller than its predecessor.

The 1998 Kia Sephia LS is redesigned and all dressed up for this year’s sales, but questions remain about whether it has anyplace to go.

The problem is this: The Sephia is trying to succeed in a brutally tough segment of the U.S. auto market, the small-car group, cars with wheelbases of up to 104 inches, which account for 27.3 percent of all new cars sold in this country.

Even if the Kia Sephia matched its rivals in quality — and it doesn’t — it would have a tough road to travel. People don’t know Kia Sephia. They know Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Prizm, Nissan Sentra, Chevrolet Cavalier, Ford Escort, Mazda Protege, Dodge Neon. And they know Volkswagen Beetle, absent from these shores for 21 years but due to return in grand form this spring.

The Kia Sephia’s strength is pricing. Its base prices range from $9,995 to $14,300. Compare that with the Honda Civic, priced from $10,650 to $17,280; or the Chevrolet Cavalier, from $11,610 to $19,410; or the VW Beetle, which starts at $15,200.

But lower prices may not be enough to give the Kia Sephia a boost. Consumers work from complex needs and desires in buying cars. Many are concerned about quality and safety, and they know that, say, a Toyota Corolla is a high-quality and reasonably safe small car.

Other car buyers simply don’t want to look stupid. They want a car that the public perceives as “smart” — something like a Honda Civic — even if that means buying a used model. And others learned long ago that the Chevrolet Cavalier offers solid transportation at a reasonable cost, making it the perfect small car for people who want to “buy American,” or for those with a passion for reverse snobbery.

Below-market pricing might buy the Kia Sephia some important short-term attention.But South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp., the car’s manufacturer, is going to have to come up with more than that to make a serious run of it.

The new front-wheel-drive Sephia LS is a beginning. It is a quite decent car, marked by many nice touches, including projector-type headlamps, power door locks and windows, power steering, tilt steering column, cruise control, and a remote trunk-release button. A new,rust-resistant stainless-steel exhaust system is also among the Sephia LS’s improvements.

The test model also comes with a four-speed automatic transmission — not bad for a car under $15,000.

The caveat on the Sephia LS involves feel and execution. It’s okay, but it’s not put together as well as a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Those rivals feel tight and well-constructed. Their seams fit perfectly. Their plastics are supple, thus imparting a feeling of wealth. By comparison, the Sephia LS’s plastics are hard and toy-like; they shout, “Cheap!”

There’s also the matter of th e LS’s engine. It’s a 1.8-liter, double-overhead-cam inline four-cylinder job capable of producing 125 horsepower at 6,000 rotations per minute and 108 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm — again, commendable for a vehicle in this price and size range.

But the engine in the test car idled roughly, downshifted frequently and tended to whine at highway speeds. Engines in rival cars purred by comparison.

Standard brakes on the Sephia LS include power vented front discs and rear drums. A four-wheel antilock system is optional, along with optional four-wheel discs. A five-speed manual transmission is standard; the four-speed automatic is optional.

The Sephia is offered in three trim levels — Base, LS and the tested LS Power Package (the power door locks, etc.). All models seat five people.

1998 Kia Sephia LS

Complaints: Rough engine idling; noisy engine at highway speeds.

Praise: All things considered, a good value. A good commuter with promising reliabil ty and dur ability for owners who religiously attend to the Sephia’s maintenance requirements.

Head-turning quotient: In terms of raw visual appeal, actually one of the best-looking small cars available. Cute.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Average in all three categories. Highway-competent. Good braking. The test model came with the optional antilocks.

Safety: All the standard safety features. But some initial crash tests suggest that the Sephia fares worse than some competing models in offset crashes — angled hits behind the front fenders and along the forward portions of the front doors.

Mileage: About 27 miles per gallon. Fuel tank holds 13.2 gallons. Estimated range is 344 miles on usable volume of recommended regular unleaded gasoline in combined city-highway driving, running driver only with no cargo (trunk capacity, 10.4 cubic feet).

Sound system: Six-speaker AM-FM stereo radio and cassette with console-mounted single CD player, installed by Kia. Good.

Price: Base price on test model is $14,300. Base dealer invoice on that model is $12,601. Price as tested is $14,750, including a $450 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: Basic transportation — with a few spiffs– at a fair price.

1998 Kia Sephia review: Our expert's take
By

The tailpipe doesn’t rust, and the rattles are gone. The body looks substantial, but the appearance is deceptive. It’s still a little car, even though it is longer and a tad taller than its predecessor.

The 1998 Kia Sephia LS is redesigned and all dressed up for this year’s sales, but questions remain about whether it has anyplace to go.

The problem is this: The Sephia is trying to succeed in a brutally tough segment of the U.S. auto market, the small-car group, cars with wheelbases of up to 104 inches, which account for 27.3 percent of all new cars sold in this country.

Even if the Kia Sephia matched its rivals in quality — and it doesn’t — it would have a tough road to travel. People don’t know Kia Sephia. They know Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Prizm, Nissan Sentra, Chevrolet Cavalier, Ford Escort, Mazda Protege, Dodge Neon. And they know Volkswagen Beetle, absent from these shores for 21 years but due to return in grand form this spring.

The Kia Sephia’s strength is pricing. Its base prices range from $9,995 to $14,300. Compare that with the Honda Civic, priced from $10,650 to $17,280; or the Chevrolet Cavalier, from $11,610 to $19,410; or the VW Beetle, which starts at $15,200.

But lower prices may not be enough to give the Kia Sephia a boost. Consumers work from complex needs and desires in buying cars. Many are concerned about quality and safety, and they know that, say, a Toyota Corolla is a high-quality and reasonably safe small car.

Other car buyers simply don’t want to look stupid. They want a car that the public perceives as “smart” — something like a Honda Civic — even if that means buying a used model. And others learned long ago that the Chevrolet Cavalier offers solid transportation at a reasonable cost, making it the perfect small car for people who want to “buy American,” or for those with a passion for reverse snobbery.

Below-market pricing might buy the Kia Sephia some important short-term attention.But South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp., the car’s manufacturer, is going to have to come up with more than that to make a serious run of it.

The new front-wheel-drive Sephia LS is a beginning. It is a quite decent car, marked by many nice touches, including projector-type headlamps, power door locks and windows, power steering, tilt steering column, cruise control, and a remote trunk-release button. A new,rust-resistant stainless-steel exhaust system is also among the Sephia LS’s improvements.

The test model also comes with a four-speed automatic transmission — not bad for a car under $15,000.

The caveat on the Sephia LS involves feel and execution. It’s okay, but it’s not put together as well as a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Those rivals feel tight and well-constructed. Their seams fit perfectly. Their plastics are supple, thus imparting a feeling of wealth. By comparison, the Sephia LS’s plastics are hard and toy-like; they shout, “Cheap!”

There’s also the matter of th e LS’s engine. It’s a 1.8-liter, double-overhead-cam inline four-cylinder job capable of producing 125 horsepower at 6,000 rotations per minute and 108 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm — again, commendable for a vehicle in this price and size range.

But the engine in the test car idled roughly, downshifted frequently and tended to whine at highway speeds. Engines in rival cars purred by comparison.

Standard brakes on the Sephia LS include power vented front discs and rear drums. A four-wheel antilock system is optional, along with optional four-wheel discs. A five-speed manual transmission is standard; the four-speed automatic is optional.

The Sephia is offered in three trim levels — Base, LS and the tested LS Power Package (the power door locks, etc.). All models seat five people.

1998 Kia Sephia LS

Complaints: Rough engine idling; noisy engine at highway speeds.

Praise: All things considered, a good value. A good commuter with promising reliabil ty and dur ability for owners who religiously attend to the Sephia’s maintenance requirements.

Head-turning quotient: In terms of raw visual appeal, actually one of the best-looking small cars available. Cute.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Average in all three categories. Highway-competent. Good braking. The test model came with the optional antilocks.

Safety: All the standard safety features. But some initial crash tests suggest that the Sephia fares worse than some competing models in offset crashes — angled hits behind the front fenders and along the forward portions of the front doors.

Mileage: About 27 miles per gallon. Fuel tank holds 13.2 gallons. Estimated range is 344 miles on usable volume of recommended regular unleaded gasoline in combined city-highway driving, running driver only with no cargo (trunk capacity, 10.4 cubic feet).

Sound system: Six-speaker AM-FM stereo radio and cassette with console-mounted single CD player, installed by Kia. Good.

Price: Base price on test model is $14,300. Base dealer invoice on that model is $12,601. Price as tested is $14,750, including a $450 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: Basic transportation — with a few spiffs– at a fair price.

Factory warranties

New car program benefits

Basic
3 years / 36,000 miles
Corrosion
5 years / 100,000 miles
Powertrain
5 years / 60,000 miles
Roadside Assistance
3 years / 36,000 miles

Certified Pre-Owned program benefits

Age / mileage
6 years or newer / less than 80,000 miles
Basic
12 months / 12,000 miles
Dealer certification
165-point inspection

Consumer reviews

3.2 / 5
Based on 5 reviews
Write a review
Comfort 3.2
Interior 3.3
Performance 2.9
Value 4.6
Exterior 3.6
Reliability 3.6

Most recent

  • If your mentally ill like me, its perfect

    As a first car at a total cost of $300 (And about $2k more just to make it safe and viable to drive) it’s definitely a car. Its got fair gas mileage, good commuter on flat terrain, and generally holds together well. One of the largest complaints is sound dampening, or lack-thereof. On the highway it gets exceptionally loud and if a strong breeze comes you may as well wear earplugs (actually had to do that just to keep my hearing while commuting down a particularly nasty stretch if road). Its also hard to get parts for, and those available are less than desirable. The fact I have to replace my door handles every year as part of my scheduled maintenance is exceedingly stupid thanks to the only supplier making intentionally bad exterior door handles. But I love this car. I wouldn’t have sunk so much money into it if I didn’t. Most other cars would barely function if only one axle actually powered the vehicle, but my car got me through highschool on just a single axle before I actually had a shop take a look at it. This thing can function through some of the worst times, and keeps chugging even after maintenance lights have burnt out due to prolonged use. It kept going even after all the abuse and neglect its previous owners subjected it to As a first car, not bad. Would have loved to see it brand new
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 3.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 2.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 3.0
    2 people out of 2 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • It gets you there

    I owned this car in high school purely because I had $1000 to spend, and that's what was on the lot. It was tan, ugly, and had zero features, but if properly maintained it'll last forever and get you where you need to go with relatively little drama. It shouldn't be anyone's first choice, but if you find one in good condition and just need a people mover, I would recommend it.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 3.0
    Interior 2.0
    Performance 1.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 2.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Love at first sight and drive!

    I love this car! I actually own one and yes it might breakdown a few times but if you know the right people and know hoe to get the cheapest parts, fixing it will not be as expensive as buying a brand new KIA Soul (which has absolutely no space inside). I've owned this car for a long time and It has never failed me when I need it the most. Over all I give this lil' bug 5*'s!
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Would rate it with an Accord

    A very safe an well put together vehicle, I was surprised as to how tight the whole thing was. I thought it would be a tin can, but have been totally blown away at the handling, the smoothness of the ride, and the gas mileage. The only problem is the locks freeze up in the bvery cold weather. Other than that, it is a remarkable car.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 3.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 3.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Very unhappy

    This car has expensive parts. Labor is expensive. No room inside. Everytime you turn around, something breaks. Has nice power, hit the gas and blow everyone away when the light turns green.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 1.0
    Interior 2.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 3.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 1.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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FAQ

What trim levels are available for the 1998 Kia Sephia?

The 1998 Kia Sephia is available in 3 trim levels:

  • (2 styles)
  • LS (2 styles)
  • LS Pwr (2 styles)

What is the MPG of the 1998 Kia Sephia?

The 1998 Kia Sephia offers up to 24 MPG in city driving and 31 MPG on the highway. These figures are based on EPA mileage ratings and are for comparison purposes only. The actual mileage will vary depending on vehicle options, trim level, driving conditions, driving habits, vehicle maintenance, and other factors.

Is the 1998 Kia Sephia reliable?

The 1998 Kia Sephia has an average reliability rating of 3.6 out of 5 according to cars.com consumers. Find real-world reliability insights within consumer reviews from 1998 Kia Sephia owners.

Is the 1998 Kia Sephia a good Sedan?

Below are the cars.com consumers ratings for the 1998 Kia Sephia. 80.0% of drivers recommend this vehicle.

3.2 / 5
Based on 5 reviews
  • Comfort: 3.2
  • Interior: 3.3
  • Performance: 2.9
  • Value: 4.6
  • Exterior: 3.6
  • Reliability: 3.6
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