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:

• 

  2005 Kia Sorrento, Cant beat it - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By k carr - July 9 - 10:23 pm

  Great car. Interior design is sturdy and practical. Have 4 kids made to fit for my family. Exterior very nice looking and many extras for not much money. Rough ride on dirt and bumpy roads but good trade off for other comforts of car. Excellent warranty. I liked the 3 tone EX, leather seats make it even nicer. Has nice features that were well thought out, Enjoy driving this SUV; it does drive very smooth on the open road (maybe top smooth, received several tickets lately). Will stick with this SUV for a long time. Very satisfied.

• 

  surprising gas mileage - 2013 Kia Forte
  By my_forte - June 30 - 6:03 pm

  Since I was starting a new job that entailed a considerable commute, I needed a car with good gas mileage that didnt hurt the wallet too much. However, since I was going to be spending a considerable amount of time in the car, I wanted as many creature comforts as possible for a low price. The Kia Forte SX 2.4 litre does not sip fuel as well as the 2.0 litre, but I found that driving 100km/hour(legal speed limit here in Ontario), I could attain exactly the 6.2 litres/100km that was advertised...until my last fill-up. The odometer reached 9700 km and at 70-80km/hr while taking the scenic route home, the average consumption dipped to 5.1litres/100km. The 80km trip averaged 5.5litres/100km.

• 

  From Lexus RX to Kia Sorento - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By GRANITE, STEEL, CHISELED & RIPPED - June 27 - 5:46 am

  Purchased in Dec 2015. Road trip from S/Diego to S/Francisco. Two thumbs up. Quiet smooth and comfortable. Avg 28mpg. Have the LX , ,V 6. With 290 hp, it can get up and go. Raced a Porche Cayenne for 3 miles but for smart and backed off. I COULD HAVE DUSTED HIM, but my darling wife got nervous.

• 

  2004 Kia Optima LX - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Problems - June 26 - 11:16 am

  I purchased the car used with 59K miles. I now have 63K miles and have already had to replace the power steering hose ($200 +) and now the power door locks are messed up and literally lock me in the car. I have had to climb out the window, this might be ok if I were Bo Duke. It does have a smooth ride. Sometimes when I first start the car it will stall or take a second to get going, sorta like its not getting gas. The car looks pretty but looks can be deceiving. Dont buy. Run away.

• 

  Happy Newbie - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Emann - June 24 - 4:20 pm

  I just purchased the 2006 Sorento with 35K 4x2 5 speed manual. The 3.5 L V6 has more power than it needs which will hopefully last much longer as a result. What little body roll there is, it is very steady and comfortable around tighter curves and corners. The steering radius is extremely tight and impressive. I am fairly confident that I will be remaining a happy customer. Cheers!

• 

  Great car for the money. - 2003 Kia Rio
  By buddy1970 - June 23 - 10:00 am

  Great car for the money,if you are just looking for basic transportation.

• 

  Great car for the money. - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By ColdClimate - June 22 - 5:00 pm

  We drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a Toyota 4Runner. After 6 years and 100,000 miles on the Toyota I convinced my wife to trade it in. She was very reluctant. Never had a problem with it. We test drove several suvs and narrowed it down to the Nissan and the Kia. We really couldnt justify a $9,000 dollar difference. The cars rode exact. The only drawback was the resale value. We figured that with the great warranty the car should be built well enough to last. We didnt know what any one would think about us buying a Kia since we already own a $35,000 Jeep and a $45,000 BMW. Let me tell you that nobody can tell the difference between it and any other expensive suvs. Great buy for the money.

• 

  Needs some improvements - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Deanna - June 21 - 6:43 am

  A/C went out in 2 months. Dealer did an excellent and fast job getting it fixed. The transmission was acting up so they reset the computer and that fixed the problem and improved gas mileage. Its starting to act up again. Time for them to reset. The fold down in between front seats needs to be improved and the cup holders are terrible. Your cups get stuck and tear open spelling your drink every where. But I would rather have the Kia overall. I did own a Dodge Caravan and a Ford Windstar. Hands down the Kia Is very comfortable and very quiet!

• 

  The optima is a race machine - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Jamie - June 19 - 9:36 pm

  It is a awesome car, but minor problems are going wrong. I commute 65 miles a day. great gas mileage nice and comfortable. The only problem is , is that my trunk latch broke the other day. Now today my front door on the drivers side wouldnt open from the inside and out. It is a fixable problem. The only thing is I look like a retard going in and out of my car just to drive. I now have a paranoia that the other door will go. Or that my key will break!!!

• 

  Not so sure... - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By lindsey1242 - June 19 - 11:37 am

  I just bought my Kia less than a week ago and these reviews are scaring me. Probably should have looked at reviews before I bought... Anyway, I really like everything about the car so far except today I turned on the head lights for the first time, and the dome and map lights come on with the head lights and so far I cant get them to turn off while the headlights are on. I really dont want to drive at night with all the lights on inside the car. Shucks. I hope this wasnt a bad choice.