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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  2004 EX 4WD - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Mac9902 - January 18 - 2:00 am

  I just purchased a 2004 Sorento EX 4WD with luxury package, ABS, and spoiler. The car was for my wife who had fallen in love with the Sorento. I must say that for the 48 hours Ive had it Im very pleased. The build quality seems excellent. We have the EX with luxury package so it has all the bells and whistles. Pretty fun to drive, but I havent taken it off road yet. Ill update my reviews after Ive got some more miles on her. I rated reliability as a 5 because of the short time I owned the car.

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  Best of the rest - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Jack - January 17 - 6:40 am

  We shopped several SUVs, crossovers and vans. Was a big fan of Toyota. This vehicle has us "converted". I am a big man and I have plenty of room behind the wheel/passenger. We opted for the 4 cyl as this gives us plenty of pep and decent mileage for our driving style. Just roamed the WV mountains and had no lack of power up & down hills. Is a treat to drive esp when compared with our Sienna. Plenty of storage space and room for our dogs to roam. Comfortable! Keep up the good work Kia, we will be back!!

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  Sorento Review 2005 - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Skaggs - January 14 - 5:03 pm

  This suv is a very good value and the ride is a bit hard, more truck like and the radio is poor and could use an up grade. With the gas price the way it is now, Iwould like to see the next years model get something better than 20-22 mpg

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  Cant beat the price per safety & option - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Jay - January 10 - 1:06 pm

  Were looking for a family size car with decent fuel efficiency under 20K. Weve checked RAV4, CR-V, Mazda 5, Santa Fe, Rondo, & Sportage. After the test driving, knocked off RAV4, Rondo & Mazda 5. CR-V not chosen simply because weve owned Honda & wanted to make a change + price. Santa Fe looked good but fuel efficiency was somewhat disappointing. This sportage gave us smooth ride, enough power (family of 4), and it was quite spacious for all 4 passengers. The 2nd row seat has three reclining options which are great to our kids during a long ride. On top of that, Kias 3K incentive made it impossible to find some other alternatives. Purchased around 13K w/ Cash for clunkers.

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  Very Happy with This Car - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Brandon Mintern - January 4 - 9:50 pm

  Its not often you can get a 4-year-old with only 35K miles for $5K, but that was the case with this one. The fuel efficiency has been great, and it gets around the small confines of the city very well. Parallel parking is a breeze, and the manual transmission makes it fun to drive in spite of a bit of a lack of power. Actually, driving it at about 5-6000 RPM can generate decent power for the small engine, but I drive more easily for gas mileage close to 35 MPG. I was very surprised by the amount of space. Front and back seat passengers will not be cramped, and the trunk is surprisingly roomy. For the low price and dependability, along with the overall good design, its a bargain.

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  Some problems, but good car - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By mountaineer6 - January 4 - 5:58 pm

  I bought my 2008 Spectra about 2 years ago with 18,000 miles Certified Pre-Owned. Only major problem Ive had is the front end is so out of whack (sometime shaking violently at highway speeds other times not and knocking noise), and no one can seem to fix it. Was told it was probably the tires, so I replaced them for the problem to resurface as soon as the were worn in. Now Im about to drop another $500 to replace the front struts and hopefully resolve the issue. Kia says that it isnt covered under the warranty (because apparently the struts on a car with 40,000 miles should go bad.) Get 30mpg, SO FUN TO DRIVE, kinda slow but peppy, maneuverable, good visibility, ugly but sporty look.

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  Best Van For The Money - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By bonnie - January 4 - 2:00 am

  Its everything the research says. It lacks a few of the gadgets that the more upmarket minivans have, but it has everything you truly need. The engine is remarkably smooth, the ride very good, the build quality much nicer than expected. And you simply cannot top the warranty! I dont know why anyone would buy anything else.

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  Really Fun To Drive - 2012 Kia Optima
  By mswhitfield - January 3 - 4:31 am

  2.5mths and almost 3k miles, I am still enjoying my Spicy Red Optima. (Midlife crisis? Maybe) After over 7yrs in a Chevy Equinox, off the showroom floor, that I soon came to loathe, thats an understatement. I had a Lexus in mind, but the SX blew me away. Kia has come a long way from their buy one get one free days.

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  A very good car - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Clark A. Nichols - December 30 - 2:00 am

  Last year I bought a new 2002 Rio and I found that I loved the car, only I wanted something that had a automatic shift. I turned in the Rio and bought a 2003 Spectra. I have been very pleased with the cars ability to keep up with other cars twice the price. My Spectra is fully loaded with just about everything a person could ask for. I like the fast response I get from a four cylender, as good as any car on the road. I have driven the car to Tucson, Arizona which is only a six hundred mile trip each way, but the car didnt disappoint me in its preformance. I love the car as well if not more than The Rio that I first had.

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  Great Commuter Car for the Money - 2008 Kia Rio
  By kyatty - December 29 - 2:56 pm

  I was in the market to get to and from work everyday and wanted to keep my costs down. I had only owned Japanese cars, with one exception of a GMC pickup that was a big mistake. I was a little unsure about the KIA, but after nearly 2 years Im glad I took the plunge. This little car is just what I needed. The fuel economy is quite good, but could be improved. Its surprisingly fun to drive. Its far roomier than you would expect from its dimesions. Ive never had a single problem with this car --just regularly scheduled maintenance. Sure, I get the occasional odd look from other attorneys when they see me in my little Rio5, but I could care less.