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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  Good SUV for the price - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Tim - December 10 - 12:50 pm

  Good vehicle for the money. Fun to drive, quiet and so far seems durable. Could do better on fuel economy. Wish the steering wheel controls were lighted.

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  Worth a look - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By kiafamily - December 9 - 11:46 pm

  We bought our Sorento with 35K on it; it now has over 50K, and we havent had a single maintenance problem with it. Comfort, cargo space, performance and looks are all excellent. My wife can fit a full load of groceries in the back with a big jogger stroller with room to spare. Snow and wet weather traction are both wonderful. My only complaint is gas mileage. On the highway in the summer, it gets 21- 22mpg (pretty good), but in the city in winter, youre talking 14-16 mpg (OI!). For any family of four or less looking for a good quality SUV for cheap money compared to Honda, Toyota and Nissan, this is definitely worth a look!

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  none - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By markf - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Wonderful ride, great price and awsome warranty

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  Sorentos Rock! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Kia 4 Me - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Simply put, its great! After driving various models I was surprised to find the Sorento competes most closly with the benchmark Lexus (in terms of comfort/conveinence/performance) than any others tested (15 models). Ill write again once the odometer hits 30k to let you know reliability. The downside: Avg MPG Real competitors in size/weight/hp (Lexus/Jeep/Ford) avg better, but the safty, room, ride quality, cabin quiteness, and solid construction cannot be had until you practically double the price! If you do the math (gas @ 2.00 per gallon and 15K miles per year)the gas "savings" you get will take 23-37 YEARS of driving to realize!

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  Front, Back, Side-to-Side - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Im a Soul Man - December 8 - 9:40 am

  My gf and I drive the Soul Igntion Edition which is so attention grabbing. I gotta say I have a smile every time I drive it. We drove down to Philly last week and really got to see how great of a car is. We had no issues parking, the cruise control is so easy, gas mileage was superb, sound system is so crisp regardless if your listening to satellite or your Zune. Love the seats and the height. The throttle is so responsive although the brakes are a bit of a learning curve but will stop on a dime in no time. The bluetooth is so cool, it automatically connects you when you enter the car and it downloads all your numbers so all you have to do is press the bluetooth button and say the name!

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  So far so good! - 2010 Kia Optima
  By CCC - December 8 - 6:36 am

  Of course Ive only had my 2010 Optima a few weeks but i really have enjoyed it thus far! I looked at the new 2011 Optimas and Sonatas but i really dont like their new "race car" style ( maybe because Im 54?!) But i find the more classic sedan style appeals to me a lot more. Ive been told it has the look of a much more expensive car. My 2010 has a really comfortable ride too. Real smooth and plenty of power for my kind of driving ( around town suburbia with a fair amount of highway ). Love the built in Satellite radio and the standard 6 speakers has sufficient oomph for my R&R-ing. Alloy wheels was a must so i went for the conv. pkg. which also incl.s power seats. Also added sun roof.

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  Shes My Work Horse - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By yankeegirl89 - December 7 - 10:03 am

  This Van Currently has 123,000+ miles on it and counting, weve used it to haul all my kids to their games and meets, move their stuff to their college dorms and apartments. We have moved furniture, appliances, taken trips, been all over in it, shes been old reliable. Havent had any problems with this van, I would buy another one were it not for the fact that in another year I wont need to be moving anymore kids and I can downsize again finally.

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  Luxury at a bargain price - 2014 Kia Cadenza
  By David R. Harris - December 6 - 3:49 am

  Great vehicle! Make a deal and drive away!

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  Great car! - 2013 Kia Optima
  By hoagie5 - December 4 - 11:40 am

  Just traded in a 2011 Optima EX that we thoroughly enjoyed. It was comfortable, great looking, economical, and dependable. We upgraded to an SXL with the turbo and a few more bells and whistles. So far its everything the first one was plus! After owning a long line of GM products, I cant see ever going back....my experience with these cars is just that good.

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  Bad MPGs!!! - 2015 Kia Sorento
  By jesse4964 - December 4 - 3:47 am

  Purchased a 2015 for my wife and after 1400 miles we are still only getting 14 to 18 mpg. Kia says it has a break in period and that we should be getting 20 to 27 mpg after 3000 miles. We only purchased this car because of the mpgs we thought we were going to get, should have just kept our 07 Honda CRV. After a few years we will be getting rid of this vehicle and wont look at Kia again.