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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  Noisy clanking and knocking suspension - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By FABNY - November 4 - 4:50 am

  Nice quiet ride on smooth roads at all speeds. BAD suspension. Rattles and knocking sounds from front right side only on minor bumps.Did this from day 1 and now over 3500 miles still the same. Even a new one at dealer did the same thing. 3 attempts to fix at dealer results in "COMMON TO THIS VEHICLE"! Come on Kia lets get this fixed or its bye bye Kia forever.

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  real fake lexus - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By stev s - October 26 - 10:00 am

  excellent suv. lexus look alike. only wish had better mpg.

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  MY NEW SORENTO - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By FRNKIE "G"... - October 26 - 10:00 am

  MY NEW KIA RIDES LIKE A CAR AND IS BUMPY ON UNPAVED ROADS. EXTERIOR DESIGN IS EXCELLENT. INTERIOR DESIGN IS GREAT WITH ALL THE ANEMENITIES YOU WOULD EVER NEED IN THE "EX" SERIES. THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS VECHICLE ON THE LONG HAUL IS V/G. AROUND TOWN IS NOT SO GOOD WITH VERY POOR MILEAGE CITY/HIGHWAY WAS A LITTLE BETTER. A/C WAS ALWAYS ON ? A GREAT VECHICLE AND THE PRICE IS EXCELLENT ALSO. FOR MY MONEY THE EX VERSION IS CMPARABLE TO VECHICLES OF WHICH COST MUCH MORE THAN THE SORENTO. THE SORENTO IS EASY TO GET IN & OUT OF WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

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  Good deal, poor fuel economy on AWD V6 - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By AP - October 25 - 6:26 pm

  Got a decent deal on a EX V6 AWD with sunroof and rearview camera. Good power and handling but disappointed with extra stiff ride and shocks/struts noise. Fuel economy no where near EPA estimate, getting 12- 14mpg in mainly city driving. Recommend test driving a few types (I4 vs V6 vs AWD) and monitoring fuel economy reading on odometer before buying. Make sure your comfortable with the stiff ride on rough roads.

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  A Great Bargain - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Tom - October 23 - 8:13 am

  I somehow managed to purchase my Rondo with 30k on the odometer for merely 10k. what a surprise! Seven months later and I still love it. You can haul all kinds of stuff, great acceleration, and it is so comfortable it feels like youre driving while sitting on your favorite couch. The car is an ugly bubble, dont get me wrong. Your friends will might have a few jibes for you. But for the price and the ride quality/reliability, you wont find anything better.

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  Kia a keeper - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By chef - October 22 - 2:13 am

  Having owned several other mid-size SUVs and then switching to a wagon that I was displeased with, I decided to look again into the SUV market. I came across the Kia Sorento here in Edmunds and after reading the reviews, decided to give it a hands on look-see. On a rainy, cold day in Western NY, the Kia responded very well to the slick, sometimes icy roads, both on the highway as well as the local streets. The acceleration on the highway was seamless up to legal 65 and a notch above - it ran smooth and handled firmly which I liked. Excellent vision from the plush cockpit gives one a full view of outside, while the seating is comfortable yet firm.

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  Love it - 2001 Kia Rio
  By mykia2 - October 21 - 1:31 pm

  i absolutely love my kia. i got my rio sedan with about 83,500 miles on it and now has 90,000+. when i bought it the fuel pump was about done with itself so i bought a new fuel pump for $110 and works gret now. while takes a minute to gety up to speed on the highway because of the engine size, the car works great in town.i am nothing but excited to drive this car all the time. sometimes i will find myself just leaving the house to take a cruise just for the sake of driving it. the front ond was rattling alot but i just wrapped some electrical tape around the hook to hole the hood down and it stopped.great car i have owned. my car came with the original radio stereo and has only a tape player

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  Wife loves car - 2009 Kia Rio
  By Randy Mizer - October 18 - 11:20 am

  My wife loves her Rio 5. Already had to have a new transmission put in car with 750 miles on it. Wish it had more power under the hood. Around town it is a nice little car to drive but we live in the Ga. mountains and more power under the hood would keep it from down shifting all the time. We get 30 MPG on average , not bad for where we live. If the new transmission lasts we will be happy with the car.Would have rated car better on quality and reliability if not for bad transmission.

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  Greate Commute Car - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Ed 123 - October 17 - 10:00 am

  This is great for going to work! Excellent price relative to the engine performance you get. Looks not offensive, cute little car that let you zip around town. Except it should come with a bigger tire.

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  Steering Issues - 2002 Kia Optima
  By nt1579 - October 17 - 10:00 am

  I have had my Optima for juts over 6 months now. In those few months, I have loved my car. It drives great, and I have no complaints for the price. The only problem I have is that I have had it in the shop twice in 6 mos. for a bad steering component on the right front wheel. The dealership keeps insisting that its not a flaw in the vehicle, but the body shop seems to think otherwise. Customer Service doesnt seem to be high on their priority list.