Overview & Reviews

Kia Motors is a South Korean automaker that's relatively new to the United States. In its early years, Kia largely catered to budget-minded consumers with well-equipped vehicles priced below competing models. More recently, this growing brand has kept value a priority while also emphasizing technology and sportiness.

Founded in Korea in 1944, Kia started as a producer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The company's name has its roots in the Chinese language, and means "to arise, to come up out of Asia." By the early 1950s, the company had produced Korea's first bicycle; by the latter part of the decade, Kia had branched out into motor scooters, with the rollout of the C100.

The 1960s saw Kia expanding its lineup to include motorcycles and three-wheeled cargo vehicles. Naturally, the next logical step was automobile production, and the company began moving in this direction in the early 1970s. By 1973, Kia had built a facility designed to make its automotive dreams a reality; its Sohari plant held the distinction of being Korea's first fully integrated automobile production facility, and went on to spawn Korea's first internal-combustion gasoline engine. A year later, Kia unveiled the Brisa, Korea's first passenger car. By the end of the decade, Kia's technology was being used to manufacture vehicles like the Peugeot 604 and the Fiat 132.

By the late '80s, Kia's lineup included new models like the Concord, Capital, Potentia and Pride. In 1987, Ford brought the Pride to U.S. shores, rebadging it as the Ford Festiva. Seven years later, Ford dealers got a replacement for the entry-level, subcompact Festiva in the form of another Kia constructed product, the Aspire.

Kia finally began selling vehicles in the U.S. under its own name in the early '90s, trumpeting its presence with the introduction of the compact Sephia. The car's rollout was gradual; in the early days of its production, the Sephia was only available in select Western states. By the mid-'90s, SUVs had emerged as a phenomenally popular and profitable vehicle segment. Kia responded with the 1995 Sportage, a compact SUV. By the end of the '90s, Kia's nationwide rollout was nearly complete.

Financial difficulties in the late '90s prevented Kia from expanding its lineup beyond those two models. Hyundai, South Korea's other major automaker, acquired the company in a merger in 1998.

Kia has been on a major upswing since its purchase by Hyundai, with improvements in build quality, performance and overall refinement. Reliability, previously a weak point, has also improved markedly and consumers' confidence was further bolstered by Kia's substantial warranty program. Today, Kia is on a dramatic upswing and offers a broad lineup of well-built coupes, sedans and crossovers that stand out for their value, performance and sporty styling.

User Reviews:

• 

  My new Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By First-time Kia owner - July 11 - 2:00 am

  I wasnt immidiately considering the Amanti as my next car at first. But then I looked inside the car, and decided right there. The Amantis interior would look right at home in any luxury sedan, and here it was in a $25,000 KIA! Even though the rest of the car wasnt quite as impressive the ride was comfortable, but acceleration and handling were somewhat disappointing) but the interior made me go for it. I have owned the car for about a month now, and have about 1,000 miles on it, and nothing has gone wrong yet. And if it does, KIA will pay for it, so Im not worried.

• 

  Very good value used - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By wildkard58 - July 4 - 3:44 am

  I bought a 2008 Kia Sedona LX (no options) in November 2011 for $12,600 CDN. The car had 38,000 kms on it with full bumper to bumper warranty until September 2013. Ive had it for 17 days now with 1,000 kms put in. The V6 engine is the same as the Hyundai Genesis V6 - smooth with plenty of power. The Sedona is a very good highway cruiser: quiet, comfortable and decent gas consumption. In the city, the suspension will tell you every bump in the road. It doesnt handle as well as its competitors but thats not saying that the Sedona handles poorly. It is car like in handling but not as good as its competitors. Base LX model is pretty loaded. Very good minivan for your money.

• 

  Worth My Money - 2001 Kia Rio
  By 1st Time Kia Owner - June 30 - 10:00 am

  Bought it with 39000 miles on it. Went through a cold icy winter with only 1 problem - the lock tended to freeze up. But it has always started on the first try, has a great heater. Gas mileage is better than I expected. Because Im short there is adequate leg room in back of the driver for one of average height.

• 

  Awesome car - 2002 Kia Optima
  By PeterM - June 30 - 10:00 am

  had this car for over a year now, love the milage can go forever it seems with the gas light on. the only major problems ive had is the car lurches when im breaking sometimes and a sensor went out, had the sensor fixed but havent had the breaks checked yet. plenty of room in front and back, im 63 so that says something. dont care for the stock radio, doesnt bring in AM channels well, could get Milwaukee stations in, in MI with my Focus, cant with the Kia

• 

  KIA Spectra GSX : A Pleasant Surprise - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By EarlA - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Purchased a 2003 for my daughter, who was moving to Arizona. She flew out, but I drove the KIA, hatch loaded to the gills and a fully-stuffed roof carrier, 2500 miles from NJ to AZ, averaging 31 MPG at speeds of 70-80 MPH. Had to downshift a few times going over the Continental Divide, but generally the power was adequate. I think the 2003 model has more torque than the 2002. The car was comfortable, too. Only request would be for a little more "grunt" from the AM side of the AM/FM/CD player; max volume was overwhelmed by road noise at 70 MPH! The hatchback design is very versatile. Car has performed flawlessly so far.

• 

  Economic Luxury - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By Chris - June 18 - 2:56 am

  I have always been impressed with the look of the Kia Amanti since its debut in 2004. Kia has captured the luxury look of Jaguar and Mercedes Benz without the pricing. So far, I continue to be impressed with my own Amanti including the performance and the interior design. The extras on the car are wonderful and the price was also a benefit.

• 

  Just got it - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By dreamer - June 17 - 12:56 pm

  FWD LX with TRS, CPK, auto-dimming mirror and floor mats all under 20400+TTL Seems like a good deal. Car performs well. It is much noisier compared to a chevy traverse. Pick up is OK giver a 4 cylinder. Not much more to report at this time.

• 

  LOVE my KIA Sedona! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By TAF - June 11 - 10:00 am

  We have had our new Sedona for almost 2 weeks now. Just took a trip to the beach and loved every minute of the drive! Highway mileage was decent, but have not had a chance to drive too much in the city to rate city mileage. Price was excellent compared to competitors.We paid so little for our Sedona that we were able to have a video entertainment system installed. This car has so many neat extra features that my Nissan minivan never had. I want to know why more people arent driving these cars! They are great!

• 

  Beatifull eye catching Suv - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Bert - June 6 - 11:40 am

  I bought my 2016 Kia Sorento on Oct 31 ,2015 shiny Red Apple exterior and beige interior , wood trim on doors and shift knob,,it looked like a very expensive import Suv,,,heated front seats ,etc...well the tires pressure was 45psi and I was surprised because on the side wall of the tire says 44psi max but the mpg was 32 for the first few days, ride was very bumpy and I could feel every single imperfection of the road, so I decided to lower the tires pressure to 40 psi ,, ride improved a lot much smoother and quiet but mpg went down from 32 to 25/26 and that caught my attention very much,,I kept that psi for 2 weeks and mileage was very low,,so I went back to 45 and " Wow" my mpg went up again !!! Now I keep 42psi on the 4 tires and mpg average 26/27 , still good because 39 dlls gets me a full tank of gas for 1 1/2 week of driving..my only concern now is a very weird jolt on the transmission when I come to an stop, it launches forward lightly when I am waiting at the stop light and when slowing down to stop the shifting is lil bit abrupt, not smooth as it should be in a brand new car,,,engine is dormant in Eco mode ,,but very alive fast and powerful in sport mode, but every time the engine is turned off driving mode goes blank meaning you have to set Eco or sport mode again and again....overall I am happy with my Sorento I will take it to a Kia dealership to have the tranny and engine checked, but the Sorento looks are great ,comfort is superior if tires are kept at low psi,,noise is lil bit high at 60+ mph and you have plenty of room for long legs ,tall people and lots of hide away places under the rear back seat if you carry expensive items...and I am a happy owner of this gorgeous Suv..Sorento LX 2016

• 

  great buy - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Will Lowe - June 4 - 9:40 pm

  This is a great car for what you pay for it. For what you spend on gas a year, it will pay itself off in 3 years. At 4.55 a gal I pay $32 to fill it up. I get 40 mpg hwy and 32 city. I have 43,000 mile and runs great. Dependable and reliable. There is one thing that is flawed with it design when you drive it make a noise when your on the h. W it whistles when the wind hits it at a certain direction. The A.C. kind of sucks but the climate here in the bay area is nice and cool.