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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  TALK ABOUT MORE FOR LE$$ - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By MR. HOTROD DIESEL - March 23 - 2:00 am

  HEY! IF KIA MAKES HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS & MILLITARY VEHICLES WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT THEY CANT BUILD A COOL LOOKING MINI VAN?....THIS BULLET PROOF TRUCK HITS HOMERUN!!

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  SO-so, not sure Id buy again - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Y. J. - March 23 - 1:20 am

  Gets you from here to there. Fun to drive. NOT a hot rod, so dont expect one. Good on storage for long trips. Have to get out and stretch every couple hundred miles. Can carry 4x8 sheets. Kia was good about repairing while under warranty (minor body rust, CD/radio, AC condensation on passenger side). Gas tank rusted out after 7 years and 85,000 miles, Kia would not replace and would have cost me about $1200 - 1500 to replace. Not worth it.

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  Wow - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By james e gerber - March 22 - 4:06 pm

  This is my 3rd Kia. The 2006 was a quantum leap over my 2003. The first thing that impressed me was that the controls were all in one place on the drivers console with easy to use buttons. Second the acceleration was a significant upgrade-you can run the air without decreasing performance, a problem with most 4 cylinder cars. Thirdly was the size; its larger than my 2003 and the overall design is exceptional. The tires (Goodyear) are a significant upgrade on the quality tire that Kia used to use as OEM tires. Overall, an impressive job and the car is fun to drive. Oh yes, the trunk space is very good. My 2001 Sephia was ok, the 2003 Spectra was much better and now this. Kia keep up the good work.

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  MPG - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By KIA Sedona - March 21 - 11:23 pm

  I cant believe the mileage I get 14 mpg city. I live in Florida and the ac is on all the time . But I should get better than that . May-be not on second thought . The tack reads 2,500 at 70 miles a hour . My sons car reads 1,800 at 70 mph . When they rev that tight ( 2,500 ) I cant see any increase in mileage . A friend of mine bought a 06 with the same problem. (he got rid of the Kia ). I installed a ne kn filter . Maybe I can get an increase . Going on the highways this week . Stand by .

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  I love my van - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Stacey W - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I am a 31 yr old guy with no kids. I just wanted a vehicle to carry loads of people if I wanted or if I wanted to be able to carry something big. I was choosing between the van and an SUV. I am happy with my choice, I only wish that it had the leather seats. My mom and stepdad have a chrysler town & country and I like the way this drives and rides better, they were even impressed about how well it rode, even in the 3rd row seats. I am impressed how quiet the engine is, even when cruising along at 75mph.

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  Problems getting more frequent. - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Van driver - March 19 - 12:00 am

  Ive driven this van for our work the last four years. Good stuff first, this van rides really nice, and is really quiet on the freeway. The engine is nice, refined. MPGs are pretty decent for such a huge vehicle- we get 22-23, pretty decent. Design wise, it works fine. I do wish the seat scoots back a little further, Im only 510". At about 12K miles, the front rotors warped. The rear hatch started leaking, we couldnt figure out why the car stunk so bad. We needed a new battery at about 19K miles. Now, at 40K, the rear hatch is leaking again, the a/c needs recharge, the suspension groans. The transmission kind of slips and cant hold gears sometimes, and the starter needed replacement.

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  Sorento Surprise - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Erin - March 18 - 9:43 pm

  My husband and I set out to replace our 2004 Mazda MPV with a 7 seater crossover. We drove the Flex, the Journey, and two versions of the Traverse before the Kia. We were looking to test drive the Borego but the dealership didnt have any so we jumped into the 2011 Sorento and were really surprised by what we found. The Sorento has a comfortable, smooth ride. It has great pick up, nice features and enough room for our family of 5. Weve had the car for 2 weeks now and we have no regrets. This car is fun to drive!! It has plenty of zip with its V6 3.5L engine, pretty good gas mileage and the features like the dual vista moon/sun roofs give a new cool to moms "people mover"!!

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  Where should I start? - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By Barbara - March 17 - 3:46 am

  There was a vibration when idling from the start. We took it to the dealer and they kept it off and on for about 5 weeks. They couldnt seem to find the source of the vibration. They replaced a couple of computers; then the transmission,then a module,etc. The vibration is better but still not as quiet as a new car should be. We get about 18/19 mpg. No seat belt light issue at all.The dealership has gone above and beyond to please us,but they now say this is not uncommon in the 2008 model. Why didnt they say that when we first complained? We are disappointed that our first new car in years has/had this problem thats not really fixed. We may trade it before something else happens.

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  Awesome Car - 2002 Kia Optima
  By paqman21 - March 15 - 10:00 am

  I just recently traded in my 2000 Kia Sportage and I was not too happy with it and wasnt sure if I was going to go back to a Kia or try for something else. I test drove the hyndi elantra and there were just too many options on the Optmia I coudnt pass it up. I am so glad I gave Kia another chance. My girlfriend and I love it. Best family car for the money out there. I could not believe I got that much car for peanuts. I would advise anyone to purchase one.

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  Forte-tastic!! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By ddgotrocks - March 15 - 2:36 am

  Drove the Soul (which is GREAT looking, but a bit too small for my needs), the Honda Fit, & a couple others on my radar as well. Forte won, hands down--simply no other car on the market gives the same bang for the buck. Terrific handling and cornering, & features for price cant be beat. Bluetooth: way cool. Sirius satellite: one of those things you didnt know you needed til you have it. Ipod connect: sweet! (note, you can get the ipod connector on ebay all day long for less than $20, including shipping--nearly $40 thru the dealer) Trunk is so big, its almost magic. Ride is quiet and smooth, plenty of room in back seat. Kia is here to stay--Detroit, take note!