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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  Bang for the Buck - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Edgar Viera - February 11 - 3:40 pm

  Very comfortable ride, good leg room, logical positioning of instruments, excellent a/c. Killer warranty (10 yrs/ 100,000 miles) Overall, a lot of car for little money.

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  POOR BRAKES BUT GREAT VAN!! - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By ftwcowgirl76 - February 8 - 2:30 pm

  I am a courier so I put a lot of miles on in a short time. I have had to replace the brakes 3 times in less than one year. The first time because one of the brake pads just fell off the vehicle! It now has 66,000 miles and I am already having to replace the rotors and the brakes again. Very poor quality in the brakes! Service engine light came on once already and had to be taken in for that. That time was the solenoid. Now its on again and will have to be taken in again to be fixed. Dont know yet what that problem is. And come on.. do you really need 12 cup holders in a vehicle that seats 7 only?!

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  Gas Guzzler - 2011 Kia Optima
  By vatili1 - February 8 - 11:57 am

  I drove the 2011 Kia Optima LX on an 16 hour highway trip and was expecting to get north of 34 MPG. To my disappointment I only got 30 MPG average. I wonder how the hell they come up with the MPG numbers they post on the window sticker?

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  Mileage over rated - 2008 Kia Rio
  By Edward - February 7 - 11:13 pm

  The mileage rating of 41 MPG is very over rated and was the selling point for me. However, for a subcompact the car performs well, and even at high speed is quite and handles well. The second big selling point for a sub compact was the quietness of the car. This area outdid the other higher price cars on the lot. The sports package put the extra touch on the inside. All and all it is a good car, but Im getting about the same with my Honda as far as MPG and the reason I treaded was for better gas mileage, so in the end I lost. Breaks do squeak.

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  Forte LX - nice surprise - 2014 Kia Forte
  By eastkia55 - February 7 - 9:15 am

  I have had this about 2 weeks so far, and still like it, no buyers remorse. I got the LX with Popular package because I wanted cruise control. Back in 2010 when I bought my Corolla, I had looked at Kia but some of the cars seemed cheap. The 14 Forte is a step up, with slightly bigger trunk and trunk opening than the 13, better seats (in my opinion), etc. I recommend it over the 13 even though you pay more. Wind noise okay, a little noiser than Elantra but a quieter than 13 Corolla or Sentra. Trunk opening (important for me cause I have big briefcases, boxes, etc) was better than Corolla, and I didnt have to bend down as much as Elantra. Sentra trunk & opening bigger and better though

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  Updated Post - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By kialover - February 4 - 7:40 pm

  If you really look around on the reviews of www.edmunds.com, you may have noticed that I have written a few on the kias. We love them all, this van is no different. Granted, this Sedona has had its problems. Since the purchase of the Kia van, we have had to; replace the altinator, replace wheel barring, needs a a coil fixed ($500) and its a gas gussler. I will be the first to admit that I am byist for Kias, I love them. This van is smooth riding, great comfort. Just the older Kias had their problems. Not the new ones though.

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  Decent car for the Money - Wish MPG was better - 2012 Kia Optima
  By soxfan99 - February 4 - 3:10 am

  Leased car in April 2012. Wanted to give the car a few months of driving before writing a review. Rides and handles great. Great tech options. Build quaility is what you would expect in the price range - Its a 21,000 car(25,800 list) - that being said, you can tell where they cut back. Door handles are one example. As far as the stated MPG, have put 11,000 miles of combined driving, never have gotten above 23-24 mpg. Long highway trips (with cruise) 31-32 mpg. Eco or not does not matter. The dealer does know, they said, nothing they can do. Kia corporate only wants to "talk about it". I bet - now that they are giving fuel credits to some owners of other models.

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  Cool SUV bad gas mileage - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By Daisy - February 2 - 10:00 am

  Ive bought my 2011 Kia Sportage almost 3 weeks ago and other than the horrible gas mileage Im getting, I am very happy. The sticker on the car said 21-30 MPG but no matter how perfect I drive, the MPG do not go above 20.4 MPG. I traded in a VW Jetta TDI which gave me anywhere from 35-52 MPG, so this car is a big drop. The only reason I traded in my Jetta was because it had been falling apart ever since I bought it but the gas was great. Other than the gas issues of the Kia, the car is wonderful and very comfortable. It is spacious and well designed, everyone tells me "Thats a Kia?" The huge double sunroof is the reason I bought it! If gas isnt a problem, this is a beautiful car.

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  A treat to drive - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Paul - January 30 - 9:53 pm

  Excellent car! I have owned many four-wheel or all-wheel drive cars including an Audi A6. This is by far the best car I have owned. Reasonably priced and so much for the money. This vehicle is built on a medium duty truck chassis that the sell in Korea. Great off-road as well. Solid!

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  Some good, some bad - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By Beth - January 30 - 9:13 am

  Traded sedan in, wanting to sit higher due to blind spots. My mpg averages 21, esp if I keep my husband, teenage son out of it. Not at all pleased with passenger seat sensor explanations . Most recent trip in was told that I do not weigh enough. Hello! At 140? I do not feel comfortable in trusting the air bag system at all because of the sensor issue. Transmission has had to be serviced already. Bulbs already have had to be replaced (both low beams -- 1 year old vehicle -- and bulbs not released to be sold outside of dealership at this time). Major inconvenience. Horrid sound system. Will trade as soon as I can w/out loosing a fortune.