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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  Really Enjoying it - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By carconnoisseur - August 18 - 3:57 pm

  We have now had our 2012 Sorento for 2 months/3800mi and we are loving it. We sold our CRV and upgraded to the Kia. The Kia seems much better made and the interior is vastly more comfortable. Most notable is the interior is much quieter. The MPG for us has been very good, with mostly highway I calculated 31.5 mpg, almost exactly what it should be. Also over the CRV you get a direct injection engine and a six-speed transmission. And do not forget the Stellar Warranty!

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  Lucky or a Good SUV? - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Meaggro - August 18 - 2:00 am

  Ive had mine for a little over a month and I love it. Could use more Horsepower. Cup hold is in a real lame place. Stereo sounds great and the add-ons (cargo mat and window visors) were worth the money. Like the full size spare and the fold down rear seats. Good, solid car overall. Also own a Sedona (LOVE IT), this is my second Kia. I love this company, but the dealership makes all the difference. Ive had both a bad experience and a great experience with two different dealerships.

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  Gets you where you need to go - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Rio90 - August 14 - 6:53 am

  I bought this car from my uncle in late 2008, it had about 88,000 miles on it and I have only put about 3,500 miles on it. It runs pretty nice..better than i had expected. My uncle took very good care of it because the interior still looks great. The car starts always starts right away and i kinda like the sound it makes when you accelerate and the radio is off. Speaking of the radio, mine has the stock with CD player on it, its pretty decent, but will probably put a new one in. Can drive to high speeds(highway)if need be, but most of my driving is in town. Overall, this car has been reliable & hopefully it will keep being a good car to me. I plan on driving it until the wheels come of.

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  LOVE my new van....BUT...... - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By r2pnknhds - August 13 - 10:00 am

  This is our first van. I researched and researched before purchasing. I absolutely LOVE IT and you cant beat it for the price and warranty. I couldnt imagine buying the "Brand Name" vans and paying $30k+ for the stuff I have in my sedona. We just bought it a week ago, at 655 miles the engine light is on! NOT HAPPY! Have an appt for service already...never thought Id be in this position.

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  Happy and driving - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By KIA - August 13 - 10:00 am

  I shopped around and read as much as I could before buying. I looked at everything and only drove the ones I liked. The Sedona has the best looking interior of any mini-van, it has the best price and best warranty. This is a great van other than the poor gas milage and smallish space behind third seat. I drive it a lot on long freeway trips to Vegas, I always arrive fresh and never fatigued.

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  We (heart) our Rondo - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By momgray - August 12 - 12:26 pm

  After looking around for over a year (we knew our old car wasnt going to last much longer), we decided to get a Rondo. We had gone to the Chicago Auto Show two years running to see a variety of cars, check out the new models, etc. and all of us loved the Rondo we saw this year best of all (missed it last year). When our old car went into its last gasps we went to test drive it - smooth and great to drive. At the time we bought our Rondo the 08s werent on the lot, but with the deal we got we are quite happy with our 07. My SO, who has a thing against minivans and SUVs (conspicuous consumption) likes our wagon solution; the kids love the room; and I like being able to haul a few friends.

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  Kia yeah right! - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By foryrord - August 8 - 10:06 am

  I will honestly say I never thought Id ever own a Kia. A minivan maybe but "no not a Kia". Well this minivan is the real deal. Lets start with Toyota and Honda, well thats if you can push your way to the front of the line at the stealership and deal with the "our way or the highway" attitude. Well I did some research and bypassed the the red dots all together and went to the local Kia dealer and test drove the Sedona LX . Bought it! Bottom of the line and still exceptional in every way. Build quality and performance are remarkable; very quiet on the highway. My only complaint so far is with the exterior its kinda bland but not ugly.

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  KIA Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By runamukus - August 6 - 10:00 am

  So far so good (KNOCK ON WOOD) I am reading tons of negative about KIA after my purchase and that scares me. However, at 3K (not much) and not any problems. Rides nice, nice stadard equipment, enough get up and go power in traffic (not towing anything though) The dealers are not as nice after the purchase though and this is bothering me...

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  my ne car - 2016 Kia Optima
  By kenneth johnson - August 5 - 10:06 am

  every thing

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  Love it - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By glf2003 - July 31 - 2:00 am

  When I saw ,KIA, I was amazed. I could not believe this was a KIA. The design and style of the Sorrento is striking. Needless to say, I am still impressed by the ride and amazed at the sticker price. I am attracted by the warranty, offer of Lifetime tire replacement, free oil changes for three years and far more features than any other SUV in this price range. I think that the LX in black is much prettier than the EX in black. But, the only way to have the options I wanted was to purchase the EX. You will not be dissapointed if you choose to purchase one.