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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  2004 sorento ex - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By jfiore - January 29 - 2:00 am

  We are very happy with our sorento. It is way comfortable and sporty. We researched most suvs in the class and the sorento kicks all other manufacturers butt. The warranty is awesome.

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  WATCH OUT TOYOTA! - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By FASV - January 27 - 3:40 pm

  I got mine in 2004. So far I have convinced a neighbor and a friend to buy this car after they drove mine in a test drive. Minor problems with closing the trunk (it had to be slammed really hard). Gas door got stuck and front wheels were misaligned; all fixed by dealer under the 12000 miles adjustment period. So far all O.K. after a year of use.The ride is very quiet at freeway speeds but the engine is noisy under hard acceleration. A/C OK but should be more powerful for sunny Florida blazing and suffocating summers. If this car lasts me at least 5 years without major problems I think I will become a Kia loyal!

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  Our 1st Minivan - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By KIKO - January 27 - 10:00 am

  After extensive research the Kia Sedona was the obviuos choice for my family. The look and ride are excellent. We got a fully loaded van for $23,600. The dealer, at no charge, also threw in the cargo net, sunroof deflector and pin striped the van to match the two tone. Only have 600 miles on it but we love it anyways. Time will tell if its reliable. But the 60,000 bumper to bumper and the 100,000 mile powertrain warranties will help.

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  Got a Sedona 1 - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By SDutton - January 27 - 10:00 am

  I just picked up our new blue/beige Sedona EX today with 24 mile on the ticker. I was worried about getting a Kia because of their past history of building unremarkable cars. I bought the Sedona because I was impressed by the content per dollar vs the other vans we were considering and my positive first impression. We looked at vans from Honda, Mazda, Chrysler, Toyota. Everybody wanted too much money for a van with any kind of options. Even with some rebates on the others the Kia still won out. Now the big question is, will we have to USE that fantastic warranty Kia has or will the van be reasonably trouble free. I will keep you posted.

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  We love it - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By al roberts - January 25 - 4:56 am

  The ride is rock solid, fun to drive and plenty of power, seems too tight and tough, enjoying it a lot looking froward to taking a nice long trip .

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  New owner of a Kia Sedona - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By day - January 22 - 2:00 am

  Reading owners manual helped us figure out the various bells and whistles. It was worth the time.

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  My 07 Kia - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Asborjn - January 21 - 7:26 pm

  Only about 250 miles on my 07 but so far enjoying it, have the 4 cyl with 4 speed and for at least the Sacramento Valley its all I could want or need. Had the windows tinted though, with all that glass would not like to slide into one in the middle of summer without some shade! Overall impression: If youre just starting a family or just want a nice vehicle to drive around in it would be hard to find a better deal than the Kia Rondo!

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  Too good to be true - 2002 Kia Optima
  By BaseballNut - January 21 - 10:00 am

  I chose the Optima over about 20 other models I looked at. The value is incredible. I paid 20 percent less than a comparable Japanese car and 10% less than American. I liked the car when we bought it. I like it more after 10,000 miles - I cant say that about many cars Ive bought. I am extremely impressed with this car. Other than its sibling the Sonata, nothing else comes close.

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  BEWARE!!! Engine dies - Steering wheel locks! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By C.B. Dunlevy - January 19 - 6:07 pm

  ■ 2016 April 23 I brought my car in for the regular “The Works” package maintenance to Kia of Dayton. Thereafter, my car ran a little rough. I did not think much of it until my car began “pausing/hesitating” as I drove it. ■ 2016 May 25 I was driving to an interview and thought the car was going to die on the highway. My car has never behaved like this; and, again, this was after the most recent routine maintenance on April 23, 2016. In addition, sometimes when I put on the brakes, the car stops and then lunges forward. This does not happen all the time; it happens intermittently. ■ 2016 June 10 I had my two twin granddaughters in the car. We met my husband for lunch and then went to Kettering Hospital to visit a relative. While driving in city traffic (going approximately 35 MPH), I gradually applied the brakes to stop at a stop light. When the light turned green, I realized that the engine had died. This concerned me as this has never happened. ■ 2016 June 13 I brought my car in to the dealership and described what was occurring. A diagnostics was performed and the car was driven. The Tech advised that nothing showed on the diagnostics and that when the car was driven, no issues occurred. ■ 2016 June 18 I drove from my house to the local grocery and back to my home. As I went to make a right-hand turn from, I gradually braked, made the turn and then realized the engine had died because my steering wheel locked! I had the air conditioner on, the radio on and was singing to it, so I did not hear the engine die. Further, because I could not steer, I went into the other lane and thankfully, no one was in the lane or I would have hit them. In addition, if someone would have been behind me, they would have hit me as they would not have expected me to turn and suddenly stop—especially since I did not have my foot on the brake after I turned. ■ 2016 June 20 I took my car back in to Kia of Dayton and reported the June 18, 2016 incident. I told the tech that I was very concerned about these incidents and relayed that I considered these to be very dangerous and life-threatening. I also called the Fixed Operations Director, and relayed that my car has been running rough since I got it back on 4/23/2016, feels like it is pausing/hesitating when I drive it; died while I was driving it without warning on 6/10/2016. (I had put on the brake for a stop light and did not know it had died until I tried to accelerate.) I advised that the diagnostics done on 6/13/2016 did not produce anything and that I thought maybe all of this was just an odd happening, so I continued to drive the car. On 6/18/2016, when I was right turning, the car died and the steering wheel locked and that I considered these incidents to be extremely dangerous and life threatening. I called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and provided information regarding this issue. I wrote the Fixed Operations Director a letter documenting the incidents and my concerns and noted that I had copied the NHTSA. 2016 June 22 the tech called and said that they ran another electronic diagnostic and have driven the car over 50 miles and nothing shows up on the diagnostic and they cannot reproduce the incidents. I reiterated that I do not feel safe driving the car. I asked if any of the incidents were recorded in the car’s memory. No. I asked if the sensors in the car were able to record things like this. No. So, the sensors are not sensitive enough to record such incidents. I asked him what might cause the car to pause/hesitate while I am driving and he said that it might be the spark plugs. I asked if he checked these and he said no as that would mean that they need to tear apart the car to check these. I also asked about the fuel filter and the same thing applies. He said that tearing apart the car and looking at it will cost me. 2016 June 23 I called and left a message with the Fixed Opertions Director around 12:30 pm advising that I would like to speak to him regarding my car. Since I did not hear back from him, I called Kia of Dayton and asked for the corporate office # and was given 1.270.783.8080. I called and spoke with a woman named Tricia. I explained to her what was going on with my vehicle and she suggested that I call and speak with the General Manager of Kia of Dayton. I called Kia of Dayton and spoke with the General Manager and conveyed my concerns about how serious these incidents are. He offered to do a trade in with me. Unbelievable. I advised that I am the only owner of this vehicle, that she has run fine until 4/23/2016. I am currently waiting for Kia Corporate to look into all of this as an internet search documents that the issue of Kias suddenly dying while being driven goes back to at least the 2001 models. Query as to how many "accidents" have occurred that were attributed to a driver when it was a product failure! BEWARE!!! And, I love my car.... :-(

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  Comfortable car - 2006 Kia Optima
  By 49jeepster - January 18 - 4:45 am

  I bought this car new loaded for wife in early 07 and were the original owners with only 37K miles in 4 years. It is not as refined as the Camry or Accord but much more comfortable. We bought it for the 10 year warranty and rear legroom since we often carry 4 tall adults. I usually dont fit in cars with a sunroof because of my height but this one fits. V6, auto and 24MPG. Major complaint is recent check engine lite for the fuel vapor system with multiple dealer visits but all under warranty so far.