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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  Its just a matter of time. - 2003 Kia Rio
  By wilolaboy - September 7 - 2:00 am

  Kia has been doing some homework with the Rio and its entire lineup. The 2003 Rio Wagon is a lot better than a Echo or the Accent. Why? , because of the interior, cargo, desing, and warranty. If you put them together, no other small, reliable and economic new automobile can match. Not even Hyundai or the overpriced Toyota Echo.

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  Trouble free luxury - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By likesoafar - September 7 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our two-tone Sedona EX in Spet. 2002 with leather, rear AC and sunroof. My wife has put 8K on it already and we have had zero problems. Very solid build quality an execellent transmission. The ONLY rattle comes from the third row seats on occassions. I had a friend who knows cars sit in it without seeing the name. He looked around, felt the materials and said, "Is this a new Acura minivan or something?"

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  Sorento EX ,great suv for your money - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By trawets20 - September 7 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I bought our Sorento in January, and it only has 1,300 miles on it,but so far its been great.We test drove many other small and midsize suvs,before we finally settled on the Sorento.It is very roomy, and the interior is very well constructed,compared to others we test drove.People often give compliments on the sharp styling and 16"alloy wheels.For the price of the ex sorento ,we got alot more suv,and features than any of the other makes we looked at, like (SaturnVue,Mitsubishi outlander,Ford escape,Honda crv,Hyundai sant fe).We are very satisfied with our Sorento>

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  2009 Kia Optima TRANSMISSIONS ON OPTIMAS ARE BAD! - 2009 Kia Optima
  By unsatisfied - September 6 - 10:17 pm

  I had problems with acceleration from the time I bought this new. I was told there wasnt a problem they put it on the computer and there wasnt anything wrong....I am a woman so...it was well we cant find anything wrong. I was charged for the KIA maintenance plan for 5 years...and low and behold at the end of 5 years....they found it needed a new transmission....!!!

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  Avoid the Optima - 2007 Kia Optima
  By RichardErikson - September 6 - 2:06 am

  My transmission has been replaced twice. Bad head gasket. I bought it new and it was great for the first two years and then this year it has been problem after problem.

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  Worst New Car ever owned! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Stacey - September 5 - 7:40 am

  Do not buy a Kia, I have had problems since I drove car off show room floor. Check engine light on day 3. 3 different Kia dueler ships before fixing camshaft. Came off production line damaged. Day 3 air conditioner freezes when on longer than 4 hours. Still having problem. Before first oil change. Gas flap will not open at gas stations. So cant always fill with gas. It opens when it wants to. Horrible customer support from Kia. Kia service dept isnt sure how to fix things cause car is to new.

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  3 yrs later... - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By rifral - September 5 - 7:03 am

  I gave 5 stars too... 3 years ago! The styling is cool, awesome sunroof, decent cargo and passenger room and... well... thats about it. 2 brake switch replacements* (recently recalled), less than expected gas mileage, squeeks and rattles and lately the transmission is reving too high. I have no faith that this rather expensive model will last me the 10 years I was hoping for. It might be a hard sale once the warranty expires! *when the brake switch blows, the car is completely dead. I know things happen but I shouldnt have to see my car being towed on a flat bed twice while making car payments.

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  Gas Guzzler - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By jeffp - September 4 - 8:36 pm

  Overall nice vehicle poor gas economy

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  Love my 2016 Kia Sorento! - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Kristen Glidewell - September 4 - 5:43 pm

  After a lot of shopping for SUVs with a 3rd row, I made the decision to purchase the Kia Sorento. The car looks and rides like a $50,000 SUV, but at a fraction of the price. I am typically drawn to European cars, but feel this car offers all the luxuries I am accustomed to with the backing of a 100,000 mile warranty. One additional selling point for me was the large amount of usable cargo space. Many of the newer SUVs have a significant sloping to the back window, which is not practical for 3rd row occupants or dogs. The Kia Sorento gives my 3 furry friends significant head room in the back. There is also an air conditioning vent in the 3rd row so my pups can stay cool. My kids love the car too. They have always been spoiled with their rides and this car is no different. We are very happy with the fit and finish of the car.

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  Best SUV for the money. - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Frank - September 4 - 12:48 pm

  Nothing negative from my vehicle so far.The most impressive is the engine.Almost 300 hp propels this SUV down the road quickly and effortlessly.At 80 mph it is barley working.Ride and quiet much improved.I owned a 2012 and a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe and the improvements in the 2017 Sonota are very apparent.Gas milage at 75 mph is about 25.5. I would expect thirty at speed limits.Regular gas no problem.We love it and cant wait for our first road trip.