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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  The Kia - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Bucar - August 29 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle performs well. I have two concerns with it. There is a noise in the air conditioner compressor(replaced once and still has noise) and the brakes are rough when decending hills.

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  So Far So Good! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By raggedyluver - August 29 - 2:00 am

  Being a new Kia Sorento owner (2months), I can only state what I know now and so far, so Good! The car is comfortable to ride in and to drive & very smooth ride/ My test drive was on the roughest road around here and it was excellent. The seats are plushy and everything I need is right at hand, the only complaint so far is how close the front seats are to the gearshift and stoarge box. I love my new car and weve noticed how close the front hood looks like the very expensive Lexus around! It is top of the line for safety and the warranty cant be beat.I highly suggest you check this one out.We need to see more Kias on the road! Dgh

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  Love It - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By llvdrivers - August 29 - 2:00 am

  Very sporty looking vehicle. It has a strong engine, although it is a little noisy. The workmanship seems to be high quality, and the vehicle has an awful lot of great features for a reasonable price.

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  LEXUS OF KOREA - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By headstix - August 29 - 2:00 am

  After reading reviews and shopping around alot I settled on the Sorento EX with the AWD luxury package. When I pulled into my daughters driveway her husband came out and gasped " Lexus 300 ". I said look at the grill. "KIA,oh my god". That was the first of many. This is a solid truck. The controls are intuitive. The sound system is the bomb. The interior makes me feel like I stole the bosses Escalade. My wife leaves her Liberty in the driveway. Nice.

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  Love it so far. - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Huskerwilk - August 28 - 12:20 pm

  Recently purchased but am very satisfied so far. A lot of thought went in to the building of this vehicle.

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  Could not beat this value anywhere... - 2012 Kia Optima
  By astrol - August 27 - 7:16 am

  My wifes new car is a Satin Metal SX w/tour and tech pkgs. and trimmings. She drove both the 2.4 EX and the 2.0T SX and preferred the latter hands down driving the same exact test route and road irregularities. She didnt feel the need to drive the EX w/Turbo after that. For some reason the SX with the Sport tuned suspension actually feels more refined. The car is very new so no long term data from me as of yet but I cannot imagine getting more for your money than what KIA is now offering with the Optima. The overall level of refinement more than makes up for the few hard plastic bits found in parts of the interior. The 2.0T has amazing torque from 1250rpm with no lag. Yikes! Avg. 28 mpg.

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  AMAZING VALUE - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By seanminnesota - August 27 - 6:41 am

  Had my 2013 Sorento for about a month and love everything about this vehicle. Have owned Nissan, VW, Audi, Honda and the Sorento beats them all on interior design and comfort as well as handling (with exception of course of Audi). Every possible bell and whistle and perfectly executed. Handles like a dream in snow and ice. MPG slightly lower than I expected but still quite good for a vehicle this size. Hands down my favorite car yet, test drive the Sorento if youre in the market for this type vehicle. The other tipping point for me was the third row seating, awesome for hauling my nephews and their friends and when folded down provides terrific cargo space.

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  Great vehicle, very happy - 2016 Kia Soul
  By Scott F - August 26 - 12:16 pm

  We just purchased a 2016 Kia Soul.. After giving several makes and models much consideration and alot of research we test drove the Soul. My wife and I love it.. Why ? For one this car has a great smooth ride for such a short wheelbase. Its surprisingly quiet as well. We traded a 2011 Hyundai Sonata for this and although it never gave us any trouble this Kia out performed the Sonata in ride and noise level. The base model which we bought has alot of great features for the money. The visiblity out of the windows is nice. Your a little higher off the ground than the new sedans out there. As for the storage space there is plenty for a little car. No, your not going to haul lumber home with it but the rear storage compartment is well thought out. My wife has back problems and the vehicle height is just right. You dont have to get "down into it". or climb up either. The seats are firm yet comfortable. It comes with a great warranty as well. Acceleration- Its no speed demon unless you floor it but we werent looking for that . At take off its a little slow at first but does well just the same. The braking is responsive and handling is nice too. There are three levels of steering sensitivity you can control with one button while your driving. Comfort, which gives the steering wheel a more luxury car feeling,, medium,, and sport for a quicker response. It has bluetooth and a ton of nice features in the radio. Im 54 and have owned everything from 70s Cadillac land yachts to pickup trucks and I have to say that in initial quality and and all around comfort the Kia Soul is suprisingly smooth and comfortable. Its just plain fun and economical to drive..

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  Wow, what a ride - 2010 Kia Sedona
  By Joe - August 26 - 2:00 am

  Male,Age 75,I traded my 2002 Mazda Minivan (116,000 miles) for this 2010 Sedona. Drove home from MN.to Tx. then turned around and drove to San Francisco, Ca. and back to TX. All interstate. This car is a real great road car, holding the legal limit of 80 mph in Texas on I-10 for over 400 miles. Carried a lot of "stuff" to Ca. as I am downsizing the house. 3700 miles mostly between 70 & 80 mph I averaged 22.6 mpg. Great for this size car. Similar mileage to the old Mazda MPV which was smaller and lighter. Both with V-6 motors. We saw a lot of the Western USA, from the MPV, so I am used to road travel. Wish my wife was still alive to enjoy this great new Mini-Van.

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  My Kia - 2008 Kia Optima
  By Karin - August 26 - 2:00 am

  I have nothing bad to say about my Kia Optima. The only thing I dont like is the headlights. They are pointed too low. Its like 20 ft in front of you is bright, then it drops off to total darkness.