Kia engines: What you need to know about Kia engines
Kia Motor Corporation is one of the world’s largest automobile companies and the best-known South Korean carmaker. After being founded in 1944 and renamed in 1952, Kia initially manufactured only bicycles. From 1961 onwards, Kia appeared as a manufacturer of motorbikes, soon also produced small trucks and, in the following decades, passenger cars.
After Kia fell into financial crisis in the late 1990s, the company was taken over by Hyundai and is now part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Most engines are jointly developed, although some have already been affected by recalls. On some Kia engines, the fuel filters have to be changed after a certain mileage to avoid problems.
Kia Engines Overview
Kia drives the development and production of its engines at several locations. The first Kia engine, a petrol engine, was presented as early as 1973. A first self-developed Kia diesel engine followed in 1978. The different engine types are named after Greek or Latin letters, and can be found at both Kia and Hyundai, depending on the version.
Kia Petrol Engines
- Kia Kappa engine: Under the designation Kappa, Kia sells engines as petrol engines with three or four cylinders in a row arrangement. The engines have two overhead camshafts with chain drive, the number of valves is four per cylinder. The block and cylinder head of the engine are made of aluminium.
- Kia Epsilon engine: Kia engines with the designation Epsilon are petrol engines as in-line engines. The number of cylinders is three or four, depending on the variant. The valves of the engines are operated by a single overhead camshaft, which is driven by a belt. The engine block is made of grey cast iron, the cylinder head of light metal.
- Kia Gamma engine: Engines with the Gamma designation are petrol engines with four cylinders, which Kia has been producing since 2006. This type of Kia engine has a double overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder. The engine block and cylinder head of the Gamma engine are both made of aluminium. The valve train is by chain.
Kia Diesel Engines
- Kia U Engine: Kia U Series engines are diesel engines with three or four cylinders. This type of engine has direct injection and a turbocharger, as well as two overhead camshafts with four valves per cylinder. The units have a cast iron engine block and an aluminium cylinder head.
- Kia R Engine: The Kia engines of the R series are designed as four-cylinder diesel engines with direct injection and turbocharging. The aluminium units have two overhead camshafts, which are driven by a timing chain. The number of valves is four per cylinder.
Alternative Kia Drives
- Kia Hybrid Systems: Kia offers hybrid powertrains for various models that combine electric powertrains with diesels and petrol engines. These include the 48-volt hybrid concept and the plug-in hybrid system with charging option, which can be found in many Kia models such as the Sportage plug-in hybrid or the XCeed plug-in hybrid.
- In electric models such as the Kia EV6, the Kia e-Soul or the Kia e-Niro, the manufacturer installs various electric motors and batteries with different power and range. Depending on the vehicle, buyers can choose between several variants, up to the fully electric all-wheel drive with 430 kW system power in the EV6 GT AWD.
10 modern Kia drive concepts
- 1.0 DPI – Kia engine as a petrol engine with 49 kW (67 hp) engine output and 1 litre displacement, designed as a three-cylinder with intake manifold injection. Offered as the base engine in the Kia Picanto model.
- 1.0 T-GDI – Kia turbo engine as a petrol engine with four cylinders and direct injection. The engine with 74 kW (100 hp) output from 1 litre displacement is installed in the Kia Picanto GT-Line and Kia Rio models.
- 1.0 T-GDI 48V – Kia Mild Hybrid System with 1.0 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine. The hybrid concept has a starter generator that also functions as a drive engine and produces 88 kW (120 hp) in the Kia Rio.
- 1.2 – Four-cylinder Kia engine for petrol with 1.2 litre displacement as naturally aspirated engine. The engine with 62 kW (84 hp) output achieves a torque of 118 Nm and is installed in the Kia Rio with a manual gearbox as the basis.
- 1.5 T-GDI – Kia petrol engine with 1.5 litres displacement, number of cylinders 4 in line. The in-line engine with direct injection and turbocharging has an output of 117.5 kW (160 hp) and is found in the Kia model Ceed.
- 1.6 CRDi – Kia diesel engine as 1.6 litre in-line four-cylinder with turbocharger and direct injection. These Kia engines with 100 kW (136 hp) and 280 Nm are installed in models such as the Kia Ceed.
- 1.6 T-GDI DCT – Kia turbo petrol engine with direct injection and 1.6 litres displacement as a 4-cylinder in-line engine. The engine is installed with 150 kW (204 hp) in performance models such as the Kia Ceed GT.
- 1.6 CRDi 48V – Kia Mild Hybrid System with 1.6 litre diesel in-line four-cylinder common rail injection and additional electric drive. The system with 100 kW (136 hp) is installed in the 5th generation Kia Sportage.
- 1.6 GDI Plug-in Hybrid: Kia Plug-in Hybrid concept with 1.6 litre petrol engine as in-line four-cylinder with direct injection. The system with 104 kW (141 hp) output is found in the Kia XCeed Plug-in Hybrid.
- 3.3 T-GD-i – Kia Twin-Turbo V6 petrol engine with direct injection. The 3.3 litre V-engine with 6 cylinders and 269 kW (366 hp) engine output can be found with all-wheel drive in the Kia Stinger model.
Buy spare parts and used Kia engines
If the Kia engine in your car is defective when the speedometer reading is high, it can be replaced cheaply with an original replacement engine. At Autoparts24 you can find used Kia engines and other parts from car recycling for your vehicle.
Information such as the engine code or model designation makes it easy to find used Kia engines. All car parts are clearly listed with information on mileage and prices.
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