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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  The Sorento is a Blast! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By DElliot - April 10 - 2:00 am

  Weve had our Sorento for four months and it remains the only car Ive ever had (out of about 20) that seems to be worth considerably more than what I paid for it. It is a blast to drive and the engine has enough torque to embarass many V-8s off the line. Since Kia hired Porsche to do the suspension tuning, the stiff ride is understandable and in my view, preferable. When you factor in the double five-star crash test results-- what a deal! Im so glad I didnt get a Lexus RX 300 or a BMW X5.

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  Also own a Aorento - 2007 Kia Optima
  By now have 2 - April 8 - 9:33 pm

  My wife fell in love with the looks of the ex v6. We drove the Optima, Ford Fusion and Honda Civic. The Optima has more to offer, a better warranty and we have 17,000 miles on our Sorento and it has never been in the shop.

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  Great Value - 2010 Kia Soul
  By biznusav8r - April 8 - 4:33 am

  Just bought it tonight after looking for several weeks at xB, Fit, Element & Cube. All the included features and warranty just cant be beat. I wanted a manual transmission again to teach son how to drive and this will do just fine. Not sports car shifting/handling but not expecting that anyway. Our family of four is very comfortable around town which is 95% of drive time anyway. Very stable on road. 18" wheels slighty less give than 16" on the + model, but the rest of the ! features were worth it. So far so good!

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  Kia Sedona is worth looking at - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By mary2907 - April 7 - 10:00 am

  This is a great family van. We just recently purchased this van and we could not be happier. Luxury interior and lots of special features have surprised everyone we have shown this van to. Dont shy away from this van because of the reasonable price. It is just a great van at a great price. We now own 2 Kias (the other is a Sportage) and were very happy.

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  Why pay more? - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By George E. Edrington - April 7 - 10:00 am

  After extensive study I found I could buy more value with less dollars. Why buy a name like Honda and pay $5,000 more? I still get 10 yr 100,000 mile warranty and more features.

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  We love ours! - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By Pastor Mike - April 6 - 7:56 am

  My wife and I were looking at cars to replace our Lincoln LS we gave our son for graduation. When my wife saw this new 2008 left over Amanti she said "lets drive this one". The sticker was $32,000 with every available option so I told salesman we didnt want to spend so much. He said "BIG discounts" so I said ok lets drive. My wife and I both loved what we saw and drove so we went home with it. We now have about 6,500 miles and am very happy with our purchase. We are getting 27.5 mpg on highway and are averaging 23.5 overall driving. We have had no problems with the car and plan to drive it till the wheels fall off.

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  KIA AMANTI38671 - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By USER284316 - April 3 - 2:00 am

  It is definitely a luxury car without the luxury price tag. It handles beautifully and with all the air bags it has, I feel quite safe in it.

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  GREAT MINIVAN - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By familyof5 - April 3 - 2:00 am

  This minivan is amazing. The options, features and factory warranty that you get for the price are what convinced us to buy this vehicle. We had a Pontiac Montana for three years before buying a Kia Sedona and are very happy with our purchase. I did a lot of research and test drove several makes of vans before we decided this was the one.

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  It covers alot - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By abaxter - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Its so nice that its easy to put on miles and not know it.

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  Almost a 10 - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Elfpeople - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Have this car for over a year and Im still in love with it. Its lived up to all my expectations and then some. Its easy to handle, great on gas and the maintenance is a dream come true. The only thing that I would change is the positioning of the second row passenger side seat. It should be closer to the door for easier access.