1995 Kia Sportage EX SOHC Inline 4 from North America

Summary:

Serious Piece of Refuse, Stay Away

Faults:

Engine, 3 complete replacements. 2 partial rebuilds.

Electrical Fault

Check Engine Light.

General Comments:

I started out loving this vehicle. It was reasonably priced, 4WD, and had sufficient room for my needs. In the course of the next several months the dealership replaced the engine 3 times, once under warranty, once KIA Paid, Once I paid. After the third engine I had 2 separate overheating incidents that caused me to have the upper end rebuilt each time, again on my dime. I had intermittent electrical failures that increased the cost of ownership and the check engine light would come on for no apparent reason. I wouldn't spend $10.00 for another KIA if I was walking and it was new!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st January, 2003

1995 Kia Sportage 4wd base model 2.0 from North America

Summary:

A great cheap SUV, ideal for one or two people + gear

Faults:

Radiator replaced under warranty twice.

General Comments:

A great cheap SUV.

The 1995 model I have is underpowered - they fixed that in 1996 with the DOHC engine. Tends to overheat on long climbs (eg Mt Palomar near LA).

Need to keep the suspension greased to avoid squeaks.

Clock is hardly visible in sunlight.

Other than that it's been great. I have a Kia dealer/service locally, but getting parts out in the boonies might take a while - so far I haven't needed any.

The radiators both sprung a leak after I had parked in my driveway.

Not too much space in the rear - get the tire carrier.

"Cute" is the word everyone uses to describe this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th September, 2000

21st Jan 2001, 22:48

I have a 95 KIA, it's a piece of crap. It gets really bad gas mileage, it's really underpowered, and it's extremly loud, not to mention the elctrical problems I've had with the A/C and the heating going on and off.

I hope you can trade in your car before the warranty goes out, because if you don't, good luck getting a dollar.

1995 Kia Sportage from North America

Faults:

Oil sending unit, rear main seal, suspension always squeaked, A/C drained into passenger compartment for quite a while.

General Comments:

Great design, crummy implementation. I love the size of the car, interior room, and it did well the one time I had it offroad. The build quality was lacking, and when the local Kia dealer closed, I took my mechanics advice and traded cars to keep my life simple.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th July, 2000

27th Jul 2001, 18:54

I'm not being mean or calling you stupid, but Ford Festivas were built my Mazda. Ford owns most of Mazda. The Ford Aspire was the one built by Kia.

4th Sep 2001, 13:06

The Ford Festiva WAS built by Kia, as was the Ford Aspire. Mazda had nothing to do with either of them.

18th Apr 2005, 21:10

The car was developed and sold by the three marks as the Kia Pride, Ford Festiva, and the Mazda 121.