It was only offered with the 1.5-liter twin cam engine with 112 PS (82 kW) and was considered a competitor to the domestically built Chevrolet Omega and Volkswagen Santana.

The Timor S5 range consisted of the "S515" (SOHC carbureted), "S515i" (DOHC, fuel injected), and "S516i LE" (sports-oriented limited edition, licensed by Prodrive).

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.

The Sephia (sedan) and Spectra (liftback) continued to be sold alongside one another until the 2002 model year updates were introduced.

As part of this update, both body variants were facelifted, and the range was rationalized under the single "Kia Spectra" name.

[12] 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.

[11] The higher-specification "GLX" added central locking, power windows and mirrors, more upmarket trim, plus the option of the larger 1.8-liter engine on the liftback variant.

[11][13] From June 2000,[12] following the change of distributor in Australia to Ateco,[11] Kia discontinued the sedan variant and rebadged the liftback "Shuma".

[14] In their place, Kia offered an entry-level "Shuma" and a limited edition "Shuma FX", which added alloy wheels, central locking, power windows and mirrors, improved audio and higher-grade trim to the base model's air-conditioning and power steering.

[15] This update brought redesigned headlights, a new front bumper, adjustments to suspension calibration, and an overhauled four-speed automatic.

[15] Equipment-wise, the single-specification "LS" offered a driver's airbag, seatbelt pretensioners and immobiliser were added, along with standard powered mirrors and windows and a host of minor trim upgrades.