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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  My First Kia - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Burtimymus - May 20 - 4:30 pm

  Great first time small car; since Ive owned it have done over 1000 miles & it hasnt missed a beat. Did not like that I couldnt order a base one from my dealer but the up package I got with A/C made it a better car than I thought it would be. I love this car so far, the only downside I have noticed is I have to turn the overdrive off when going up steep hills, but definitely cannot grumble about the warranty. At the price I paid this car is a steal.

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  My Sedona - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By tarndt - May 20 - 8:40 am

  I really like my Sedona. It drives well and is always dependable. If I could change anything about it, I would only change the room between the two middle seats. It is difficult to get between them to strap the other kids in the back seats or for adults to climb all the way back there to sit. I would also increase the mpg it gets. I think that a minivan should get great gas mileage as it is a family vehicle and most families are on tight budgets.

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  Just a piece of my mind - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Omy - May 18 - 2:00 am

  While the car is beautiful in the outside and all I had to rate it low on performance because since I got the car, which by the way I bought it with only 21 miles on it, it has been giving me problems with the drivers side door window. The car has power everything and so the window opens by itself and many times while driving in the Highway, which scares me half to death.

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  Great Ride for the money - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By jodi - May 17 - 10:00 am

  Compared to other mini vans out there, the Kia Sedona is a lot of van for the money. There are a lot of items that come standard in the kia, such as the rear air and power locks, that is optional in many other mini vans. I was really surprised at how well the van travels on the highway. It was a smoothe fast ride. The breaks have squeaked from the first few months. We had them checked and we were told that it is nothing to worry about. The trunk is a little hard to pull down. Other than that, we are very pleased.

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  Good second car - 2002 Kia Rio
  By tkorcal - May 14 - 10:00 am

  Has been a good dependable second car. Too small for primary vehicle of family. Would be good for young person also. No problems, Oil changes only.

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  excellant buy - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By CD - May 14 - 9:29 am

  a lot offered for the money, the ride is a little stiff

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  A Great car for the price! - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By Joey P - May 9 - 12:06 am

  I did a lot of comparing to other cars when I went into the world of compact cars (I was seriously looking at cars like Corolla, Mazda 3, Focus, Civic, etc.). For the price of this car and what you get, I find that the Kia Spectra was the best choice for me. I was looking for an all around fuel effecient, comfortable, reliable get around town type of a car. The cabin is very comfortable, the style is nice and the car performs great! It has all the power options, a CD player, and even great tires! Im very happy with the Spectra. Im 6 tall and the driving is comfortable and the console is very user friendly. If youre looking, test drive a Spectra!

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  Love my Sorento - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By James - May 7 - 11:53 am

  We just bought our Sorento two weeks ago and we love it. Its so much more "car" than we thought we would get for the price. Gas mileage is not great, but that wasnt the reason we bought the Sorento. It is loaded with features, drives great (actually, more maneuverable than my old Honda Prelude), looks nice, and fits our budget. Friends and family all are very impressed with the car. We are having our first child later this year and feel like weve got a safe, reliable vehicle to serve as our flagship. Id highly recommend the Sorento to anyone in the market for a mini- or mid-size SUV.

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  Buy The V6 - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Toad - May 5 - 8:56 pm

  We purchased the EX I4 FWD, Premium Pkg 1 with no third seat. We wanted high mpg and cargo space. I would have bought the V6 but the Prem Pkg also requires the Limited Pkg and DVD which are a waste of money IMO. You can get a Garmin for $200 and a portable DVD for $100 The I4 is currently delivering ~22 mpg on the highway and about 20 city. While the I4 has adequate power, the V6 appears to get equal and probably better MPG. Also, we have driven the V6 about 5 hours on the highway as a dealer loaner and the V6 ride is much smoother and less choppy than the I4 for some reason. The Sorento is a comfortable car, even for a 6 tall driver like me. The EX should have a radio upgrade available.

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  Good Minivan,Eexcellent Value - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By bluedevils - May 2 - 10:00 am

  Interior - quality materials, convenient, well designed, comfortable seats, upscale feel with leather. Excellent stereo. Powertrain - Responsive in spite of 4800 lb weight. Very few warranty issues. Solid, reliable, well-built vehicle. Enjoyable to drive and travel in this vehicle. Smooth and quiet. Fuel economy - we get 20 mpg overall, 22-23 highway @ 75mph, 17 mpg city. Value - outstanding value. Loaded for low $20s Features- Lacks some key features in this segment: foldaway 3rd seat, all wheel drive, power sliding doors, etc. Has some nice features that others lack: moonroof, pwr passenger seat, pwr rear windows, Homelink, etc Excellent warranty & safety ratings.