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:

• 

  Unexpected "BEST PERFORMANCE" and Smooth Drive - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By jbburn - March 26 - 11:03 pm

  My family loves this van! I do a lot of driving - simply as routine, and long trip Chicago-Tulsa every month. This mini van is one the best and reliable vehicles I have had (Dodge Grand Caravan, Toyota Sienna) Its comfortable, rides smooth and looks great too. Infinity Sound system, Rear DVD is great feature. The only annoyance has been the engine light @ Gas re-fill and rear sliding doors trouble when the weather gets cold outside. I have had 37,000 miles in 15 months already. No problems from this vehicle, nothing negative in my eyes about it. Love it and would definitely recommend

• 

  Pretty good mini van - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By durangomom - March 22 - 6:10 am

  I bought this van used with 12,000 miles on it, it has been a good car for us, I was very hard on the rotors, and the brakes, we had to travel down a step hill often, so the rotors wore out pretty fast, that was about 2 years, after we bought it, also around the same time, the adjusting part of the p seat went out, and we had it replaced, its a good a car, and it can take hit in the back, it was in a pretty hard finder binder, and hardly crunched up at all. I do recommend this car, for the price its perfect, and I think it is pretty fast, i dont know what some of the poster are talking about, mini vans are meant for large families, they shouldnt be like sports cars, they should be safe for kids.

• 

  2004 Kia Amanti by Bob Gum - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By bgum - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I bought my Amanti in May 2004. I am very satisfied with everything except the noise generated underneath the car on city streets. It could be sound insulated better to aleveate this noise distraction. It is very distracting. However, on the highway, it is very quite. In fact it is one of the quietest cars Ive ever driven on good roads. The wind noise is almost non-existance. The fit & finish is excellent. The gas mileage is a decent 25.5 MPG on the highway. The seats, both front & rear are very comfortable. It could use a little more horsepower but I highly recommend this vehicle. It is an excellent value for your dollar.

• 

  kia sadona - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Chris Loll - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I love everything about my Kia, except for a few things like the lack of legroom in the last row. I cannot get anyone over the age of six to sit back there. It is very uncomfortable. I have also found that I am not getting very good gas mileage with the van. I have noticed that I am only getting about half of what was advertised when I purchased the van. Other then that my family loves riding in the van.

• 

  Top of the class - 2011 Kia Forte
  By bitwize01 - March 17 - 9:25 pm

  I purchased a Kia Forte SX Coupe 2 months back for about 16k. It had 6,000 miles on it and was is great shape. Now that the honeymoon is over Im still very pleased with my purchase. My Kia is definitely turning heads in the parking lot, something that doesnt often happen with a car < 20k. Besides the attractive styling, the comfortable interior with leather and power sunroof (optional) make it a very comfortable daily driver. Further, when youre feeling more engaged, the stiff suspension and ample horsepower make it a blast to drive. Compared to other "economy sport" cars like the Civic or Mazda3, I feel the Forte Koup SX is far and away the best "fun to dollars" ratio.

• 

  A great compromise. - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By jdubbs19 - March 10 - 2:17 pm

  We bought the Sorento after looking at the CR-V and Rav4. The Sorento won out for the obvious: better warranty, features and more truckish styling (at least in our opinion). We got a killer deal (as does just about anybody) and read through the requirements to uphold the warranty to the T. Long story short, its a killer value and so far nothing has gone wrong. Weve put 10,000 miles in three months, taking long trips, moving and hauling lots of cargo. Its proven to be comfortable while averaging about 25-26 mpg on the highway and about 20 mpg in the city. Kias advertised 32 mpg can be achieved and has been, but only while driving 60-65 mph on a steady, flat highway. Id buy it again.

• 

  My new Kia - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By kia guy - March 8 - 3:06 pm

  Great power for a car that price and hosepower. 1st gear power is great. Exterior design is ok. Interior is great. Seats are wonderful with a lot of space. The heated seats burn my buns. Its sooo slient I dont even know the car is running when it is. A little too bouncy though. More than a Towncar I think! So cant make those fast turns without feeling like youre about to roll over. Would not spend $30,000 for a new one but this would be a great buy to get a one year old one. Ive seen some for $15,000 for an 04 with 8,000 miles.

• 

  Love that truck... - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By HJS - March 8 - 2:56 am

  Its a really nice truck with great styling inside and out with good fit, finish and quality... also plenty of power... great offroader, too... had no issues except a split overflow canister which was replaced under warranty... and break shudder comes into the picture once the rotors wear down... but can be avoided by installing better grade after market replacement rotors which are actually cheaper than the original ones...... otherwise my six year old Sorrento is still rock solid and running smooth... it is quiet on the road and comfortable compared to other SUVs out there... will replace it with the same model if it ever falls apart... but so far its holding up very well...

• 

  gas tank problem - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By acea - March 8 - 1:33 am

  Hi! I Love my Kia. My problem is The last two times I filled the gas tank.. 1st time it didnt even registar that I put $40. of gas in it the 2nd time it took forever for it to register $30 of gas 3rd time filled fine but while sitting at an idle I went from 3/4 tank to 0 and slowly went back up to 3/4 dropped a little and back up again it is really strange. Has anyone any info one this problem?

• 

  Quality Family Car - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Rondofamily - March 7 - 11:26 pm

  As our old mini van was on it last legs, we came across the Rondo. I am glad we did! It is a good car at a very reasonable price. It is the perfect size for our family of 4. We have taken it on long trips and find it has the room to haul all our stuff and is very comfortable. The only complaint I have is that the seats stain for no reason. It is like the stains are coming from the inside of the site. Cleaning with water only makes it worse. I have contacted Kia about this issue but have not gotten a reply just yet. The roadside assistance is also a great feature. My wife picked up a screw in her tire and called. They showed up quickly and were able to patch the tire on the spot.