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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  shouldve been great - 2003 Kia Rio
  By George - September 4 - 5:03 pm

  I bought this car second hand from an elderly lady with 8,300 miles on it, and at first I loved it. Good performance due to light weight, and great mileage (32 mpg) certainly had me feeling good when gas prices soared. Love the warranty coverage, though Ive had to use it throughly, and this was the cars ultimate undoing. By 61,000 miles of mixed city, suburban and long highway drives, it has gone through several (4- 5) sets of front wheel bearings, a control arm, a few sensors (check engine light comes on every spring for something different) and a TRANSMISSION. Im currently facing another failed sensor, an ominous noise that the dealer says is "normal" and spotty starts. Hoped for better.

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  The half a truck - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By Fnkycld - September 4 - 2:00 am

  My experiences are great with my vehicle. Dont have any major complains, you just cant get a perfect vehicle. You would want features from all vehicle if it could possably be done.

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  Great value, great warrantee - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By colokiaguy - September 4 - 2:00 am

  Solid vehicle loaded with standard options including key safety features like side curtain airbags. Performed great in recent blizzard. Very roomy compared to others in its class. Cant beat this value. Other than the rough ride this is a great vehicle.

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  Consumers Beware! - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Consumers Beware!!!! - September 3 - 6:36 pm

  My van has a thumping noise caused from the struts. What bothers me the most is that Sedona vans have been known to have this problem since 2002. Had I known this I would have driven right by this dealership on the day I bought my van. Now, I am stuck. Kia is aware of this noise and has established it as an "irritant noise" and not a safety issue; therefore, at this time nothing can be done until Kia develops a replacement part (which will be covered by warranty, given the warranty does not expire before the part is invented). Great van -- if you dont mind a brand new vehicle that makes a thumping noise. Before you buy a Sedona do your research -- talk with other Sedona owners.

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  Buyers Remorse - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By SRM - August 31 - 7:03 am

  This is a gorgeous loaded vehicle, I got all the bells & whistles in this model. BUT if youre commuting like I do, 120 miles a day + up to 20 in errands on lunch etc, its horrible on gas. Im filling up every other day and gas is going up. I traded in my 8 yr old Hyundai Elantra because I have 3 kids, 2 in car seats and a 12 year old who didnt fit in the back. The KIA is better, but still a super tight fit w/2 car seats and a 3rd child. The space isnt as "spacious" as I hoped for. Im trading it in this weekend for a 4cyl car. I cant afford the gas, Im averaging 18.3 mpg which is good for it, but I didnt realize how quickly its used up. If I could afford the gas, Id keep the vehicle.

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  Watch Warranty - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By DLaPrade - August 30 - 10:00 am

  This is the third new vehicle I ever owned. Of the three, this vehicle has been the most dependable. The only drawback is the warranty is not what it is made out to be. I was told if I didnt service the car with all KIA parts, it would not be covered. Needless to say only the Dealership provides these parts at an inflated price. I am happy with the car but very disallusioned with the Dealership and bogus warranty. Carry your warranty book with you as they will try to tell you things arent covered unless you show them proof from the manual. Customer Service with KIA needs major improvement.

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  Cant Beat The Price! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By slapshot - August 30 - 10:00 am

  Weve had our Sedona now for about 3 months and we LOVE it! No one else can hold a candle to Kia in what you get for the price. Other vans are thousands more, and they nickel and dime you on options. My biggest concern, of course, will be reliability and ongoing quality of materials. That said, interior and exterior finishes seem solid and well thought out. We hope that our Kia will be with us for a long time to come!

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  MADE IN USA (well, 56% of it anyway!) - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Kippster - August 27 - 8:03 pm

  Ive had my AWD EX w/Limited, Premium and 3rd row seat, for a week now, so far, so good! I promise to post updates every 1000 miles or so. My criteria for a SUV was simple (or so I thought). Get the same or better fuel eff as my 03 Acura TLS (which was trouble free until transmission issues at 125k); 23/27. Only averaging 20 mpg in mixed driving so far, well see if it gets better. And, it needed to be made in the US. Easy right? Not so. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsu, Acura? All overseas. Plus, I loved the monkey sock puppet commercial! Kidding. 60, 000 B2B, 100,000 eng and trans wtty. 4 cyl is a bit noisey on the otside, but not inside. Smartkey, nice leather, upgraded stereo w/nav, try one

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  Good Car for the Price - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By lorijohnston - August 26 - 4:05 am

  I am surprised at some of the other reviews. I bought this car used with 16,000 in early 2005. At the time, I needed an inexpensive and reliable car to get me back and forth between work, home and school. Six years later, I still own the car and I still love it. The only major expense was a timing belt change at 102,000 miles. Over the years I have had only one mysterious problem. The transmission at times would stick in one gear. Every time I have encountered this issue, I simply pulled over, put the car in park for a second, returned the car to drive and the problem ended. I would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone who needed reliability & affordability. I own 2 Kias today!

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  2010 Sedona Brakes - 2010 Kia Sedona
  By kia2010owner - August 24 - 3:52 pm

  The rotors on my Sedona 2010 always stress on a downgrade. The whole system vibrates and sounds like it will fail. Car has less than 35,000. Dealer told me it is the way I drive. I live on flat land with little or no traffic to stress system. One "Goodwill Warranty" machined front brake 7/7 and rear brake 6/6. Within 3 months I had to drive the same grade...huge vibration. Immediately took car to dealer...Insisted I needed to replace all rotors (approx $500.)..Took to my local brake specialist...$70.00 ..machined left front rotor...pads good. Did not need to replace rotors. Again 6 months later brakes vibrate on a downhill grade. Anyone else experiencing this?