Hello fellow auto enthusiasts! I am a custodial single father of three. I purchased a 2000 Kia Sophia base model. It has A/C, manual roll up windows, 4 cylinder EFI engine, with automatic transmission, and is a four door sedan version. Obviously I bought it for the room. It is very roomy inside. It has a huge trunk that even the Mafia would like. It also has dual airbags; one drivers and one front passengers. The seatbelts are easily accessed, and the rear seatbelts are a shoulder-lap combination style belt which I also liked. The seats are adjusted in two ways; for leg length and they also recline. The also have an adjustable headrest. The only downfalls of the interior would be two things. First, the dome light should be positioned further forward. It is too hard to reach to turn on while driving. The second complaint I have is that the center console latch is poorly made and broke the first week I had it. As for the other complaints, well here go's. After I had 3000 miles on the vehicle I noticed that the rubber on the drivers side door wouldn't seal properly. I would roll the window down and have to hold the rubber in place in order for it to be partially sealed. But then I would get that annoying wind Whistling sound. At around 4500 miles, the check engine light came on. After taking it to the dealer, it no longer was on until at 7800 miles when the engine light came on again. After yet another trip to the dealer, it was no longer a problem. That is until at 12000 miles. I forgot to mention that I also had regular oil changes done at every 2500 miles. I even had it changed after first 500 miles, which is suggested by most dealers. The dealer told me that it was due to needing its regular maintenance intervals. My front brakes I had to replace after 4000 miles. According to the ones I bought, I should not have to replace for at least 40,000 miles. So what kind of cheap material was used on the brake pads put on by the factory? The last complaint that I have is that when I apply the brakes, accelerate, or when the overdrive kicks in, I feel slack in the front suspension and it makes this rubber squishing, rubbing sound. It is almost like the bushings are worn out. I had it checked and they said that it seemed like there wasn't anything damage, that it was in the way it was designed and assembled at the factory.
Overall it was a good car, but I have previously owned Toyota's and there is no comparison in this case. My Toyota I drove for 250,000 miles and did not have any problems with it other than changing the oil and spark plugs. This Kia Sephia would make a great car for a first time buyer, college student, or rental car. But as far as I am concerned, I would not suggest it to you. When a person pays for a new car they expect it to perform flawlessly and act like a new car.