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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  Wonderful Car - 2006 Kia Rio
  By Andrew - October 25 - 1:20 pm

  Ive had my Kia for just over two years and its still doing excellent. Im coming up on 20k mileage and nothing has broken or been replaced outside its maintenance. Very reliable if taken care of, and well worth the money.

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  Excellent SUV for the money - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By mrob92 - October 24 - 4:16 pm

  I have been really happy with my Kia Sorento. It drives really well, and handles great in the snow. I am considering getting another once it is time for a new one. It has a lot of interior space compared to similar models.

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  2000 Kia Sportage - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By B.Z - October 23 - 6:26 am

  I have put more money into it than it is worth! Bought it used from Kia (was a rental car in Alaska) and I didnt get the warranty. The warranty should be for the car not the first owner. I have had the rear tire hinge rust and break, the gas door lock break, the air conditioning break at least 3 times, the window fell down (couldnt roll it up or down), the locks lock and unlock themselves whenever they want, the windows wont roll down when I want them too, the child lock doesnt work, and the engine has had its own problems leaving me stranded in 110 degree weather. Even with 4WD and studded tires its horrible in winter! I will never buy another Kia ever!

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  Best car for the money!! - 2013 Kia Soul
  By jsnyd1972 - October 22 - 9:19 pm

  Ive owned my 2012 Soul+ for a little over a year and have 17K miles on it and cant say enough about it. I love the Infinity sound system upgrade I got and would highly recommend it. Its pretty peppy which I like so I guess I cant complain too much about the fuel economy. Im a large person at 62" and 350 pounds and this is the most comfortable vehicle to get in and out of Ive ever had. Im someone who loves to buy a new car every year (Sometimes even more frequently) but this car I will definitely be hanging on to for many years to come. I dont see how you can beat this vehicles options and warranty for how cheap they are. What a value!!

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  Good Job KIA! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By sabz - October 22 - 8:50 pm

  Wow! Cannot believe the new Optimas comfort level, performance, and reliability. We traded our 04 Sedona in for this new 11 optima and am REALLY impressed with what an overall good reliable family sedan this is! Have taken 2 pretty long road trips so far in this and have put on nearly 10,000miles since purchased in December of 10. Has plenty of room for the kids in the back. Has no problem acceleration to speed while merging on to the highway, while being packed with a whole trunk of suitcases and 2 teenage kids in the back!

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  Month 1: Happy | Mnth 3: Sad | Mnth 4: Hating It - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Anan - October 22 - 1:41 pm

  Edited After owning this for 4 months: I should not have bought this vehicle , Feeling very bad for throwing money down the drain. The Vehicle Suspension is very bad. Took to Dealer they said everything is fine as per specs. I noticed that the Vehicle is deteriorating very fastly. In Just 4 months - It shakes as if roller coaster and no suspension is there and too much vibration. Gear shifting is not smooth. Ride comfort is not there , Cornering is not good. and engine has become noisy. Also noticed Wind noise is not acceptable - it is getting worse now at 50 miles Wind noise is too much. I am already hating my vehicle within 4 months. ---------------------------- I own my 2016 sorento Lx for just one month now. Though I was very happy initially now I feel there are areas of improvement like air and road noise at higher speeds like 70 mph. And vehicle suspension is smooth but left-right bumpiness is too much that is annoying and continues for a long duration - I always owned sedan and this is first SUV so not sure if this is normal. Ride is smooth. 3 Mirrors and rear view camera All have different zoom ratio which is very confusing and needs real improvement. Overall I am happy. I always owned Brand value cars like Honda. Trusting Kia as they have shown serious improvement. Hope they dont fail me on my first Kia. The warranty of 10 years 100k is what made me trust Kia.

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  Dont do it!!! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By saarifam - October 21 - 1:01 pm

  I bought my 03 Kia 2 years ago with 49k miles on it. I read good reviews,and it had such low miles I thought for sure Id have it for a long time. Well 2 years later, it has 78,000 miles and it is breaking constant! Every month I have to bring it in to be fixed! At that mileage I shouldnt constantly be in the shop with it. Other cons are its tiny,puts a whole new perspective on "mini"van. Good luck putting anything in the trunk space. Also it has no trade in value at all. My vans exterior/interior is perfect,has lower mileage and I cant even get $1500 for trade. Trading it in tomorrow for a Honda Odyseey. Im so done with Kias.They are sold cheap for a reason,you get what you pay for.

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  Solid & Reliable - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By sanford - October 20 - 11:23 am

  I bought this car in July 2008. I was in a bind, had to get something quick, and couldnt afford hefty car payments. I got a good deal and went with it. For the price, it is a good car. Sturdy, reliable, solid. I have put 28,000 miles on it in 19 months and have not had it in the shop once- we wont mention the trip to the body shop after a silly accident in the snow, will we? I read reviews before purchasing but, worried about gas prices, still went with a 4 cyl. Not a day goes by that I dont wish I had paid the extra $800 for a 6 cyl. The interior is made with lots of rock hard plastic but, for the price, I would recommend this car to someone low on money yet desirious of an SUV.

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  Very poor gas mileage - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By nokia2011 - October 19 - 10:21 am

  45,XXX update. Sold a Jett TDI to buy this car and loved it until recently when I realized the gas mileage would never climb above 23.5 MPG. For many of you it might be acceptable but thats the good part, when the MN weather comes calling, I cant get above 20 MPG. So maybe you think I stand on the gas peddal, not a chance...were talking easy 65 mph on the highway and some county roads with a little bit of town driving. With my wife driving it around a small town all week, I pull 18 MPG. I really want to love this car but the gas mileage is terrible. My 2012 VW passat at 10K miles is pulling and easy 33-34 MPG. Sorry Kia, youve lost a customer who really wanted to stay with youl.

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  WARRANTY NEVER HONORED - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Susan - October 19 - 8:56 am

  The vehicle ran great during our test drive, then down hill battle since! We paid cash for the car, over $26K! have spent in excess of $5K that the "warranty" didnt cover...the problems with gas,[do not appreciate the 12 to 15 mpg], the heater or the air conditioner never has worked properly, stalls whenever without warning, all of the mechanics at the "certified" dealerships tell us, "oh, that part[s] is not covered, but you do need another $600.=/- check up!I want a civil action lawsuit brought against these thieves....help me get an attorney to take on the scammers, please. The dealerships and their mechanics are all at fault, the booklet the vehicle came with is extremely misleading!