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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  great car for money - 2004 Kia Optima
  By realdeal425 - March 10 - 6:00 pm

  great features- smooth and comfortable ride

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  new Kia owner - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By kia - March 8 - 1:10 am

  I have a 2005 Kia SUV. After the first service I had a flat tire after leaving the garage and had to pay almost $200 for a new tire. Then immediately the electronic key kept turning on the emergency horn and required more than 24 hours in the garage. Im not too happy with this car to date. I had a Honda for more then 10 years and never experienced this.

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  Awesome - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Jason C - March 8 - 12:16 am

  For the price you cant beat the Sorento! A truck frame/ Rear-Wheel drive. This blows all the other vehicles in this class away, except maybe the Lexus or BMW. But then again people with a Lexus or BMW wont probably care about mounting a class 3 hitch. If you buy anything else your getting ripped off.

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  2013 Sorento V6 - EX Great vehicle!! - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By tracywright - March 7 - 2:20 am

  I love my Kia Sorento V6!! Never thought I would purchase Kia but after disappointment over Subaru, I thought I test drive Kia Sorento and boy was I surprised! The vehicle drives like a german car. Very solid, smooth, great horse power and love the sharp look of both exterior and the interior. Kia Sorento V6 is better than BMW 5X. Why? Better performance, better price and sharp looking. I was really surprised how well the vehicle drove. It has everything that the BMW 5X. I am extremely happy with the vehicle.

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  Sleeper of the year - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By tmm - March 6 - 10:00 am

  Lots of luxury for a reasonable price. Definately worth a look see.

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  Got it today - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By t_d_h_m - March 6 - 10:00 am

  Picked up my new Sedona today and couldnt be happier. After reading all the reviews in here, decided to take the plunge. Got a super deal on a super Minivan..woohoo!!! I cant believe all the goodies these vans are equipped with! I would recommend this vehicle to everyone!!!

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  great SUV for the price - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By West VirginiaSorento - March 6 - 10:00 am

  no problems so far, only complaint is the gas mileage

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  AMAZING gas mileage - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By RICK - March 6 - 8:50 am

  I purchased my Spectra the day after Thanksgiving, and I definitely have no complaints. I just calculated that Im getting an average of 35mpg in a mix of city/highway driving, which is a big step up from my old Cavalier that I traded in. The seats are comfortable, I like the way the dash is designed, and the ample trunk space. The AUX jack makes life easy too. All in all, this is a great economical car, and I hope to have many years with it!

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  It is what it is. - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By jr5285 - March 6 - 2:26 am

  I love the kia sportage, i weigh 215 pounds and i am 6ft3 and i find myself to be very comfortable in both the driver seat and the passenger seat. I like the arm rest in the back as well as every door in the kia has a cup holder as well as the back seat arm rest. My car came with cruise control and a sunroof and a v6 engine with 60,000 mile warranty and 3 months of satellite radio. And they even gave me a even trade in on ford explorer (it had 70,000 miles on it) and i still owed 10,000 dollars on it. So i think i got a real bargain. Oh and my headrests are adjustable.

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  Rust / Corrosion Problem on my Sedona EX - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By powerontario - March 5 - 3:20 pm

  Rust appeared on the hood of our 2004 Sedona EX about 2 years ago. It started as small pimples/spots below the grill both on the inside and the outside. The cost for repair is $1102.64 and their offer is that we each pay 1/3! Dealership 1/3, KIA Canada 1/3, customer 1/3. I also only have a limited time to accept this offer? They insist that this is an isolated problem, even after I sent them pictures of 5 other 2004 Sedona vehicles with identical rust marks and a promise to send more. Also please be aware that if you do have a Sedona around this age make sure you insist that they check the REAR COOLANT LINES. These are also starting to rust out.