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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  1st Mini Van - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Corlisia Sims - November 30 - 10:00 am

  I bought this van on 7/27/02 as it currently has 1300 miles on it. I have not had any problems except for a little rattle coming from the drivers side dash area. Its a great van compared to other vans Ive drove and researched. The price is great. The gas miledge is poor. I guess Im use to driving my BMW which I can go 400 miles before I have to refill compared to 200 on the Sedona LX. Hopefully this Kia will hold up. Never thought I would be buying a Kia use to BMWs, Toyotas. But when I saw the KIA SEDONA I know I had to get it based on the price and the standard features!!

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  Pretty Nice for the Price - 2009 Kia Rondo
  By LB - November 25 - 1:26 pm

  I purchased as a 1 yr old used car from a rental sales place. This vehicle was used but in like/new condition. I really like it. It handles well and seems very soundly built. I was very surprised because Kia was the worst on my list last time I purchased a car.

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  Nguyenny - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By nguyen - November 24 - 11:33 pm

  I bought this car to replace my 2002 Kia Spectra hatchback, plus I needed something a little newer. I travel alot and use of my car on the road is a must for everday usage. It ride an d handle very good, excellent fuel mileage, getting somewhere around 26 in the city and 35 on the highway. I have this car for almost one year and already have close to 24,000 miles on it already. Check engine light came on one time, took to dealer and they replace the sensor for me, but I did not break down anywhere. Check engine light will come on if you try to top this car off, I did this twice already. I have no bab say about it, I go to D.C. and Baltimore area almost every other week with no problem.

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  Good Value - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By CLarsen - November 23 - 2:00 am

  The car drives well. I love the leather seats. The front console that folds down is wonderful. I wish the clock was positioned on the radio. It is akward to look up. This is our 2nd mini van and the first one with the 2nd sliding door. With 2 children in car seats it is vital. Difficult to get back to the rear seats. Back seats arent the easiest to remove. I like our Quest where the back seat can be slide up against the drivers seats better. Ive been getting a strange electronic sound. At first I thought it was the speakers, but Ive noticed it with the radio off.

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  Solid SUV with nagging issues - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By Jesse - November 20 - 5:56 pm

  Have put 45,000 miles on my 2007 Sportage. Has been very reliable aside from nagging "ESC OFF" issue. The "ESC OFF" illuminates on the dash due to a faulty "brake switch" as defined by a Kia recall for several of its models. I have had to have this replaced three times now (under warranty). Aside from that, brakes wore out after only 35000 miles and had to be replaced ($459). Cheap OEM Bridgestones tires needed to be replaced after 27,000 miles. Put Michelin Hydroedge tires on and it rides much better. Service at 60,000 miles will be costly as well. Averaging 22 mpg in mostly highway driving. Vehicle has been excellent in snow and slippery conditions and has excellent cargo space.

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  Unresolved Problems - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Peggy - November 12 - 10:46 am

  I purchased the Spectra5 for gas mileage reasons and it was a cute car. It was great for the first 4.5 months - consistently 30 to 35mpg and the car was so quiet stopped or running. After that I get 15 to 20mpg with no changes to driving habits, route traveled or where gas purchased and the car is a lot louder. Service dept blames it on weather, car breaking in or just say they dont know and no attempt to look it over. It started at the end of summer before cold started. Make sure that you buy from a dealer that cares. I should have kept my SVU - same gas mileage and no car payment.

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  Still happy after a year and a half - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Mcubed - November 10 - 10:10 am

  I bought my 07 Sorento as a "demo/leftover" in 09 - I have a gut feeling it was originally a lemon- law vehicle (a leftover almost 2 years after model year end?) BUT I now have just shy of 35,000 and its had 2 problems; an o2 sensor failed and a goofy hesitation issue @ 1500 RPM. Just about to do the brakes. Other than the 2 minor (fixed under warranty) issues - GREAT VEHICLE

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  The rio that couldnt - 2007 Kia Rio
  By Arkaneinc - November 9 - 1:00 pm

  I bought the car is July of 2007. Brand new with only 6 miles. Ive owned Kias in the past but nothing like this one. It has the worst gas mileage Ive ever experienced. Not all of the 2007 Models are like this. I know of a lot of them that get 40+ MPG. But if your lucky like me then you will find yourself getting 16-18 mpg hwy doing 55-65 mph. If I could go back in time Id buy a Honda or a Toyota. After taking the car to 5 dealerships they never did fix the problem and have stated they could not find one. You may be one of the lucky ones if you buy this vehicle but there is that other possibility.

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  i saved 8,000 dollars of a dodge - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By jlaubin - November 7 - 5:36 pm

  my kia sedona does not burn rice and kimchi,it really burns gasoline just like the cavavan i traded in.Get up and go is excellent.smooth transmission.i like the shift on the console.it even has a full size spare,cd system is ok it needs a subwoofer..great deal for the money..this is a keeper car not a lease

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  Satisfaction guaranteed. - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Stuart - November 7 - 10:00 am

  After a test drive and a very comfortable experience at the dealership we were sold. They even arranged for a test drive of a competitors vehicle for us, pretty gutsy. If we were looking for good gas mileage it would not have been a good pick, but we wanted a safe vehicle for out of town travel in all kinds of weather. The Sorento is a beautiful vehicle to drive, very quiet with large comfortable seats, enough power for my needs so far and works well in bad road conditions. We drove several SUVs and found the Sorento as good as any,it has excellent standard equipment that are options on most other SUVs.