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:

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  What are you expecting? - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Clinck - March 3 - 4:40 am

  Purchased this vehicle to replace 06, V8 Explorer. Needed equivalent room for salesmans samples. First impression was good build quality. Standard complaints. Torque steer is manageable if you stay off the full throttle. Brakes are firm, so are the seats. You are not coddled in these chairs, they are stiff. Sorento leans in the twisties more than expected since the ride is jarring with suspension set up. This vehicle rides like a ford Ranger pick up. Dont expect suppleness in the suspension when encountering rough pavement. its not there. The nav system works fine but the voice recognition system is awful. Do I need to speak Korean? We will see how this goes after more than 500 miles

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  ESC light is on - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By michelle - March 3 - 3:23 am

  I really like this car. I replaced a 2002 Chevy trailblazer with my Kia. I think its a good choice. That car was junk. Recently my esc off light is on. Any suggestions other than take it to a dealer. It isnt doing anything funky or making any noises. It came on after a bad rain storm. It comes on after about a mile a 2 has passed. Other than that its a great vehicle.

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  bang for the buck - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By mltura - March 2 - 10:00 am

  After the haggling, we paid $17500 after rebate with the optional abs and roof rack. How can you go wrong. Add in the warranty and its a no brainer. My wife and I laugh at the Oddessys on the road. We paid $6,000 + less for a very comparable vehicle. The Kia was as good or better than the competition. What some people will pay just have the Honda name, what a pity.

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  I Dream of Kia... - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Eric F. - February 24 - 10:00 am

  I really enjoy my Kia Sedona, its fun to drive and handles well. The fuel economy is fairly poor, however, the inexpensive price of the vehicle makes up for this fact.

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  Good Value - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Martino - February 18 - 2:00 am

  Owning the Kia just over a year now, Ive found it to be a good choice for the value. The Van has performed well and has been a pleasure to drive on long trips. The Van suffered a broken timing belt at 12000 miles, because of a plastic cover breaking in the timing belt housing. Kias roadside assistance and reimbursement program worked flawlessly.

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  SUPER PRICE - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By SHINOLAGH - February 18 - 2:00 am

  MY 2002 KIA SEDONA PLEASES ME NO END,AS I PLAN TO KEEP IT A LONG TIME THE DEPRECIATION IS OF NO VALUE. ITS WELL CONSTRUCTED AS PROVEN BY ITS WEIGHT 4709 LBS. IVE HAD IT FOR A YEAR AND AM WELL PLEASED WITH ITS QUALITIES AND HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH IT,BOTH THE DEALER AND MECHANICLY.IT HAS ALL THE OPTIONS OF THE OTHER VANS BUT IS THOUSANDS* CHEEPER.

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  my car - 2004 Kia Optima
  By shara - February 18 - 2:00 am

  I am a fan of economic dependability. I am very pleased with this car.

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  Spectra 5 is a nice ride - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By shelbyguy - February 14 - 6:30 am

  This has been a good car so far. I am not thrilled with the gas mileage, I get about 32. Somtimes that dips to 29 mpg. I had a 94 Escort wagon 5 speed that got 36 no matter how you drove it. It would keep up with the KIA too! Otherwise I have really enjoyed the car, runs great and is comfortable even with all the seats full. Stereo is really nice. Insturments and extra features are really nice. Really has the other companies beat on added features I think. No problems mechanically and I am at 20,000 miles today. Some times if it is really low on gas it does not start on the first try. If you turn the key off and try again, it starts everytime, wierd but not a problem.

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  Bad Purchase - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Paul M - February 13 - 10:30 pm

  Traded in a 2008, lx, v6,4x4, real mistake. The 2011 sorento lx 4 cyl. Has loud strut noise, rides rough, loud road noise and the transmission whines on the 4 cyl. The 4 cyl only gets 1 mpg better than my v-6 got. I was told undercoating would help, it didnt. The only solution for the tranny noise was to play the radio louder. This was my fourth Kia in four years. The only good one was the 2008 sorento. Dont take a short test drive on a smooth road like I did.

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  Whos a thunk it! - 2012 Kia Sportage
  By apol732 - February 12 - 4:28 am

  I saw the design change for 2011, and waited. 2012, read reviews, test drove it and a few others, and decided to buy. A year and a half, 31000 miles and no issues what so ever. Ive driven it from El Paso, TX to Jacksonville, FL four times. This is my first new car, i absolutely love it. i took alot of heat for buying a KIA, even I had my doubts, but I do not regret it one bit.