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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  great - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By whelgedalen - October 4 - 2:44 am

  bought new in 2002, even though i try not to buy the first model year for any vehicle. my mileage has been a consistent 28 mpg hwy with 6 large people and luggage. plenty of power.

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  First-timer for a van and Kia - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By DavisFamily - October 1 - 9:10 pm

  We bought the Kia because of the 5-star rating. We liked many of the features and loved the way it handle. It was more affordable than any other van we had researched and offered more than enough comfort and safety for our family. However, this being our first van, we are still undecided if we would purchase another Kia. Its interior design is questionable-like the hazard button-it took me forever to figure out how to change the radio and climate without hitting it with the side of my hand. The back seat has a middle seatbelt that comes out of the ceiling and doesnt fit anyone right that uses it. And whats up with the conversation mirror-everyone is so tiny its of no use!

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  Bless My SOUL! - 2013 Kia Soul
  By Di Matus - October 1 - 6:16 pm

  I LOVE driving my peppy little SOUL+...around town. But heaven forbid I have to get out on the open road/highway; then I feel like Im riding in a very lightweight, inexpensive vehicle (which it is). BUT...I like the styling, its fun to drive with great acceleration and the price was right. Nevertheless, Im upgrading after 3 years.

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  AWESOME!!!!!!!! - 2005 Kia Rio
  By krol - September 28 - 6:21 pm

  The Kia Rio 2005, its been my first car. I had it now since 2007, I had a couple problems with the axle. But nothing super expensive, or unfix-able plus this is a used car. People tell me it feels like you are in a go car, which i dont mind it actually feels cool! It is comfy and perfect for a petite person. After all there years still works perfect!!!!!!!!!! Oh the gas is good!

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  Kia Built a Winner - Great Value! - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Jason - September 22 - 8:46 am

  Updated after 10 months - Bottom line - The Sorento is still a quality ride. My biggest knock is the UVO electronics has had to be reset several times after locking up and the KIA service department weve dealt with SUCKS! At 5K we took this vehicle in for a front passenger door rattle and were lectured by the service manager about how if they find a penny or something similar in the door wed be charged $105 per hour for repairs. In fact if they found nothing wed be charged for their troubleshooting time. After dealing with GREAT hassle free Honda service it blew my mind how the KIA service manager treated us! Just cant beat Honda service, pretty sure well go back to a Pilot or maybe scale down to a CRV in 2018. ORIGINAL REVIEW - This Kia is a really nice mid-size SUV! Im a Honda guy, my daily commuter is still an Accord. My wife is the primary driver of the Sorento and it replaced our 08 Pilot. We really research major purchases like this to death and tried out most of the SUVs in this class, minus the luxury brands. It took us 2 months to make a decision and it came down the Sorento and the Pilot. I honestly dont think wed have went wrong either way but after 3 months of ownership were still happy with the Sorento. We love our LX but our only regret is going cheap with the LX. In hine sight the larger touchscreen, some of the active safety features and the fog lights wouldve been well worth the extra cost. Well probably drive this Sorento for 2 or 3 years and upgrade, probably only looking at the Pilot and Sorento at that time. Things I like about the Sorento: Power, the V6 is a beast. Comfort, very comfortable passenger compartment. Front and middle row are every bit as good as the Pilot, third row comfort goes to the Pilot but we dont use the third row much. Fuel economy is pretty good were right around 24 mpg overall. Quiet, comfortable ride. The warrenty is huge, it was the deciding factor in our decision. The only knocks: Small infotainment screen, this is my fault for going cheap. Lack of storage when using the third row. Overall were very happy with this Sorento!

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  to soon to tell - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By michael rabinowitz - September 21 - 1:00 pm

  Tight handling,designed booth inside and out handsomely.Im kinda of crossing my fingers on reliabilty.

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  Great midsize SUV with extras - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Mary1 - September 13 - 5:30 am

  I have had my Kia Sorento for a little over a month, and absolutely love it. It provides a comfortable ride, good horsepower, great storage, and cargo room. It is convenient to have the stereo controls on the steering wheel so you do not have to reach over 20 inches change the station. Ha, ha. It took a little work and waiting for my dealer to find the color/option that I wanted (Radiant Red with a sunroof), but it worked out. I test drove an Acura MDX and BMW X5, but found the Sorento shared many of the same features, gas mileage, etc. for less money.

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  Great for the price - 2010 Kia Forte
  By jezdjb - September 10 - 4:04 am

  This little car is quick, comfortable, and good looking. 6700 miles so far and no issues what so ever. We avg 29mpg with city/hwy mixed. Havent gone on the "long drive" yet but Im guessing it will be fine. Like it so much we went and bought a 2011 Rio SX so it wouldnt be lonely :)

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  Was really hoping for more - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Sara C. - September 9 - 10:00 am

  Just bought this car in August, only has 1500 miles on it and Im already having issues. The transmission seems to be acting up. I live in Florida and 3-4 times now when in drive, but stopped at a stop sign on a slight hill, the car does not budge when I give it gas. Not sure what this is about. Can also feel hard shifting while driving. The fuel economy is worse than expected - at best 21 mpg. The avg mpg reading never seems to be correct. Also, being petite I am building muscles trying to close the back hatch. Its crazy hard to close. The good news is that I love driving it. Its a beautiful car. It fits the family well. I was just really hoping for better fuel and more reliability.

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  Not the Greatest, But it gets you there. - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By R. Eubank - September 8 - 9:50 pm

  This "Economy" car is one of few that I can fit comfortably in. Im 62" and the drivers cabin is roomy for a small car. The backseat is even OK. Not very powerful, but use 4WD in the mountains...it gets you there; not quickly, but it gets you there. I thought that the 4-cylinder would get better gas mileage, about 19 in town and 22 highway. All in all, I would but another Kia. Mmaybe the "Sorento." Hmmm, now there is a car.