Some people consider Hyundai and Kia to be simply rebadged versions of the same cars. The two brands do have a close relationship, despite the fact that this is not the case. Hyundai acquired Kia in 1998 and now has a 51 percent share in the business. The two corporations are now regarded as sisters because that share has decreased to around a third.
Hyundai and Kia frequently use one another’s vehicle platforms as a result of their tight cooperation. Do the cars from both brands have the same engines?
In This Article...
Does Hyundai belong to Kia?
Although Kia and the Hyundai Motor Group are separate companies, Kia Motors is a subsidiary of Hyundai. The distinction between Kia and Hyundai is that each brand has its own brand philosophies to build its vehicles in a distinctive manner.
Does Kia outperform Hyundai?
Which automobile is superior?
the Hyundai or the Kia? Overall, both companies provide a wide range of reasonably priced cars, but their lineups have been designed to appeal to distinct types of drivers. The goal of Hyundai is to offer the best value for motorists seeking a comfortable ride and traditional appearance.
Who builds the Kia engines?
Hyundai and Kia produce their own engines, and a recent manufacturing fault may result in the premature death of more than 1 million of those engines.
For the same problem, Hyundai and Kia made separate recall announcements. About 572,000 examples of the 2013-2014 Santa Fe and 2013-2014 Sonata are included in Hyundai’s recall. About 618,160 units of the 2011-2014 Optima, 2012-2014 Sorento, and 2011-2013 Sportage are included in Kia’s recall.
One of two enginesa 2.4-liter, direct-injected, naturally aspirated I4 or a 2.0-liter, turbocharged I4powers each of the involved vehicles. The motors’ various production dates range from 2010 to 2014.
The problem is due to manufacturing mistakes. It appears that metal debris in the crankshaft oil passageways wasn’t properly wiped out, and a second mistake led to surface roughness in the crankpins (crank journals). The connecting rod bearings, which enable the connecting rods to move freely, may receive less oil as a result of these two issues.
The engine may begin to knock as the bearing ages from contacting a rough surface without lubrication. The engine may seize up and be doomed to the scrap heap if the driver doesn’t understand what’s wrong and the bearings fail. If the engine seizes while the car is moving, it also poses a safety risk.
In May, notice will be given to dealers and owners, the latter by first-class mail. Owners must visit the dealership so that mechanics can examine and perhaps replace the engine. Owners who have previously paid for repairs must follow certain procedures in order to receive reimbursement from Hyundai or Kia.
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Are the engines used by Hyundai and Kia the same?
Yes, a lot of the engines used in Hyundai models are also used in Kia cars, and the reverse is also true. Several instances include:
- The Hyundai Kona, Hyundai i20, Kia Ceed, and Kia Stonic all have Kappa G3LA/G3LC engines.
- The Hyundai i30, Kia Ceed, and Hyundai Elantra all feature the Kappa G4LD engine.
- The Kia Rio, Kia Ceed, and Hyundai i20 all have Gamma G4FA engines.
- The Kia Ceed, Kia Rio, and Hyundai Accent all employ the Gamma MPI/GDI/T-GDI.
- The Kia Sorento, Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Stinger all use Theta MFI/GDI Turbo engines.
- The Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento both use the D4HB engine.
- The Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Stinger both use the Lambda MPI/DGI/T-GDI.
Is Kia up to par with Toyota?
According to a J.D. Power research from 2019, Kia has the highest initial quality in the non-premium segment in the United States. The 2016 Kia Soul, 2016 Toyota Corolla, Prius, and Prius V were all rated as being among the most dependable vehicles on the road by J.D. Power.
Is Kia’s warranty equivalent to Hyundai’s?
Both Kia and Hyundai provide remarkable 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranties in addition to lengthy standard warranties. the following benefits of the Kia warranty: Basic 5-year/60,000-mile warranty with limitations. Limited anti-perforation guarantee for 5 years and 100,000 miles.
Which is the more reliable brand? Kia or Hyundai?
In the auto business, there are two ways to quantify reliability: over a longer period of time (more than 90 days) (three years). Both companies receive excellent ratings, making them excellent options for used and certified pre-owned cars as well as good, reliable new cars.
- Both Hyundai and Kia have excellent ratings in J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study, with only 74 faults per 100 vehicles for Hyundai and 72 problems per 100 for Kia.
- The same is true of J.D. Power’s longer-term Vehicle Dependability Study, which rates Kia and Hyundai at 126 and 124 faults per 100 vehicles, respectively.
- These two brands, together with Hyundai’s high-end Genesis brand, dominate the market for both short-term quality and reliability.
What distinguishes Kia and Hyundai from one another?
Hyundai delivers a more opulent and flowing style, whereas Kia creates cars with a sportier look. With a little more varied selection of cars, Kia’s lineup includes the Sedona minivan, which reaches a wider target population. Hyundai, meantime, sells a line of high-end vehicles under the Genesis brand.
Do Hyundai and Kia use the same parts?
The competition between siblings is among the fiercest everywhere, and this is also true in the case of Hyundai and Kia.
As a result, the two businesses have an ownership position in one another, with Hyundai directly owning 33.9% of all Kia shares and Kia having an indirect stake in Hyundai through ownership of Hyundai Steel and supplier Hyundai Mobis.
Both are regarded as mainstream brands in Australia and frequently rank among the top 10 brands on sales lists.
Last month was one of the few times, according to VFACTS sales data, where Kia actually outsold its brother.
In May 2021, Kia sold 7124 cars, making it the third most popular brand in Australia, and Hyundai sold 6450 cars, placing it in sixth position.
History
Kyungsung Precision Industry was established in December 1944, near the close of World War II, with the intended goal of enhancing the infrastructure and enhancing mobility in a war-torn Korea through the production of bicycles and steel tubing.
Automobile production started in 1962, although the firm concentrated on producing licensed versions of models from other manufacturers rather than designing and creating its own vehicles.
Prior to the start of production of Mazda-based passenger vehicles, including the Familia-based Brisa, in 1973 at the company’s first automobile manufacturing site in Sohari, South Korea, this involved the production of Mazda-designed and engineered light trucks (near Seoul).
The Peugeot 604 and Fiat 132 cars were among the other models built at this time. Later, Kia built and marketed the Ford Festiva, which was based on the Mazda 121, in collaboration with Ford, who at the time also owned a stake in Mazda.
The Ceres light truck was the first Kia-branded vehicle made available in Australia in 1992. It had a 2.2-liter diesel engine with a five-speed manual transmission and a starting price of $14,957, although it only produced 52kW of power and 142Nm of torque overall.
The Mentor hatchback and Sportage SUV were the first passenger vehicles to arrive in this area in late 1996.
The original construction company, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company, was expanded into the Hyundai Motor Company in 1967.
Similar to Kia, Hyundai got its start in 1968 by producing licensed replicas of foreign automobiles, in this case the Ford Cortina.
Hyundai, in contrast to Kia, concentrated on constructing passenger automobiles and began work on one of the first independently designed and produced South Korean vehicles. The business enlisted the help of European experts, including the former managing director of Austin, and entrusted renowned design studio Giugaro with the duty of designing in order to accomplish this.
The tiny Pony was the outcome, which was on sale in late 1975, with shipments to South American and Middle Eastern nations starting the following year.
With the Hyundai Excel line, which came first as a five-door hatchback and later as a four-door sedan, exports to Australia started in 1986.
The earliest Excels had either a three-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual transmission with a carburetted 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 52kW and 123Nm of torque. Prices for a base GL manual initially began at $9990.
Due to Kia’s insolvency during the late 1990s Asian financial crisis, Hyundai was able to purchase an initial 51% ownership in the company in 1998 after outbidding Ford, who had previously had a stake in the company.
Brand portfolio and positioning
Over the past 20 years, Hyundai and Kia have advanced in leaps and bounds, shattering any lingering perceptions of the subpar, inexpensive, and cheery cars both brands produced in the 1990s. These advancements have been made possible by stunning designs, dramatic quality improvements, and the use of the most cutting-edge technologies.
Hyundai and Kia are both positioned equally in the market as mainstream brands competing head-to-head with companies like Toyota and Mazda, unlike Volkswagen and its sister brands.
In a rough sense, it may also be said that Hyundai has recently exhibited more conservative designs, while Kia has historically exhibited a more dynamic design language.
With its lineup of N models, including the i20, i30, and Kona N, Hyundai is the only one of the two to have a dedicated performance sub-brand.
Kia offers GT-Line and GT variants, but has used these names in a more haphazard manner.
Although Hyundai and Kia each have a sizable selection of vehicles, neither manufacturer is present in every market.
Micro and light automobiles (Kia Picanto and Rio), medium (Hyundai Sonata), big cars (Kia Stinger), and vans are segments in which one brand currently serves Australia exclusively (Hyundai iLoad).
While Kia is unable to introduce its similar Telluride here due to the lack of a right-hand drive variant, Hyundai also offers the huge Palisade in the large SUV class.
Although theoretically Hyundai only owns a small portion of Kia, practically both companies share mechanical underpinnings, such as chassis, powertrain, and infotainment systems.
The interior and external designs, as well as the final technical adjustments made to the cars, are what differentiate them most.
One area where the two manufacturers do differ is in the after-sales service; whereas Hyundai gives a five-year, unlimited-mileage guarantee with five years of capped price servicing, Kia offers a standard seven-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and seven years of capped price servicing.
What about Genesis?
Genesis serves as a luxury subsidiary inside Hyundai Motor Company and is to Hyundai what Lexus is to Toyota. Although it is placed above both Hyundai and Kia, it has closer links to Hyundai.
Before the brand was spun off in 2015, the Genesis moniker originally emerged in 2008 on a Hyundai-badged sedan and coupe riding on a unique rear-wheel drive architecture. Here, it was formally introduced in 2019.
Even though the Hyundai Motor Group now has its own independent luxury brand with Genesis, the Hyundai and Kia brands continue to provide their own lineups of opulent vehicles.
For instance, in 2018, Kia unveiled the second generation of the full-sized luxury sedan Quoris/K900, which is built on the same platform as the premium Genesis G90.
The future: EVs and E-GMP
With models derived on platforms for internal combustion engines, such as the Kona and Ioniq from Hyundai and the Niro EV from Kia, both Hyundai and Kia have rapidly pushed into the electric vehicle market.
The company has stated that it would keep selling these EVs derived from ICE, but it is also introducing a wide range of models on an exclusive all-electric platform known as E-GMP.
Ioniq 5 and EV6 production-spec models from Hyundai and Kia have been made public, and Hyundai has also hinted at the arrival of the Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 7.
Is a Kia engine trustworthy?
To obtain their overall reliability ratings, the RepairPal team considers a number of different variables. Simply put, your out-of-pocket ownership expenditures will be cheaper the more dependable your car is. The cost, frequency, and severity of repairs are some of these variables. In order to calculate an individual brand’s total RepairPal reliability rating, these categories are averaged.
In the RepairPal reliability rankings, Kia came in at number three, including second place when only non-luxury brands were included. The Kia Reliability Rating is 4.0 out of 5.0, placing it third among all car brands out of 32. This evaluation is based on the average of 345 different models.
“Kia had three well-liked models, including the Soul, Rio, and Forte, in the top 30 with Excellent ratings. The Optima and Sorento, two of its most well-liked cars, kept their Excellent rankings within the top 100.
What drawbacks exist with Kia vehicles?
Kia may have improved in a number of areas, such as the electronic and hybrid market, but some of their models still fall short when it comes to safety. For instance, reviews of the Kia Seltos have been mostly negative due to the lack of safety features that are commensurate with the vehicle’s pricing.
Both hill hold and brake assist are absent. At the moment, features like an electric parking brake are rather widespread. The Kia Rio, which lacks adaptive cruise control, a review camera, and even blind-spot monitoring, is the same.