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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  2006 KIA Sorento (4 x 4) - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By MDKarney - June 12 - 7:33 am

  My KIA Sorento drives like a luxury car, but offers me greater visibility and safety driving on roads filled with large trucks and SUVs. The only things I would like to change about this vehicle is for it to have a two additional rear seats and to increase the horsepower, as I like quick pickup if I need it. Although, starting off and maintaining a "normal" speed offers me greater gas mileage. I also find the warranty to be better than most vehicles out there! Hopefully with proper maintenance of this vehicle, I will not have to use it. While the KIA Sorento is not the most popular SUV out there, I highly recommend anyone to at least look into this SUV and give it serious consideration.

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  NEVER AGAIN - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Julie - June 12 - 5:33 am

  OK, It looks good, HOWEVER, I have only had this car since 86,000 miles (Now 102,000) and have replaced the alternator twice, all four power windows, have had fuel problems, and check engine light comes on and off sporadically. I hate this car and will never buy a Kia again.

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  A great choice - 2008 Kia Optima
  By Mike - June 11 - 5:53 pm

  After driving my used 2001 KIA Rio to 120,000 trouble-free miles, it was time to trade it in. The $3000 rebate and some research made the Optima an easy choice. Simply put I really love this car. Performance is excellent, the 5-speed manual is smooth as silk, the engine feels more powerful than the numbers would suggest. Handling is good and the interior is comfortable and quiet (a big change from my old Rio. It was a great little car, but lets face it, it was a go-cart with doors!). You could easily spend a lot more for a car with fewer features. The KIA brand may not have "status" but they do deliver a lot of value for the money.

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  2009 Black Beauty Amanti (Loaded) - 2009 Kia Amanti
  By Sonny - June 11 - 3:03 pm

  This is my 4th Kia and my fist Amanti. I have loved them since they first came out. I think I have the last 2009 brand new on the planet. Quiet, great comfortable ride, excellent power, love all the bell and whitles with a smaller price. Too bad this is the last year for Amanti.

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  Excellent First Impressions - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By flyboy80 - June 11 - 2:54 am

  Our first 1000 KMs have been a delight, with the 3.5 V6 giving outstanding performance - both in acceleration/smoothness/quietness and fuel economy. Fuel mileage appears as advertised - ie. city 27 and highway 37 MPG imperial. Being calibrated for Canada, our first tank showed 9.5 L/100 KM or 30 MPG, all around driving, mostly local with A/C on. A steady 90 KPH indicated 6.8 L/100 KM. We have yet to measure this in actual terms upon careful fill-ups, but indications are good. Brakes are just right, ride is smooth and quiet, but somewhat harsh on rough roads. Trade-off is great cornering. Fit and finish is excellent. Dealer treatment first class. Time will tell reliability.

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  Pleasantly surprised - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By ktown - June 9 - 1:26 pm

  I bought this car nearly 2 years ago. I traded my 2005 Amanti due to gas mileage. It was a bit of an adjustment at first but this has been a great car. I have performed all of the maintenance up to the 24,000 miles that are on it and I havent had any trouble out of it which is a shock compared to my previous 2005 Chevy Malibu and 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix which were both in the shop all the time. I will definitely continue to buy Kia.

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  Keep in Perspective - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By ericdunham - June 8 - 10:25 am

  I bought this car used for $800 with over 200k miles on the odometer, a wreck in the near past and work to be done in the near future. I knew it wasnt a great car, but I needed a car—I was broke. Well over a year later, this little thing is coming up on 250k miles and until today I had no major work done on it. I replaced an alternator belt a couple months ago and that was it. The bill today was $660—a price I would normally never consider on a car I bought for $800. But this car just takes a beating and keeps on going! Im awful about maintaining my vehicles and I hate to spend money on them, and yet this little car has never faltered. As long as you know its not a BMW, youll be happy!

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  Content - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Kevin - June 8 - 7:40 am

  I enjoy driving the Sedona. The sound and power of the engine is pleasing. The size is just right for my family. I saved money on a new sofa by avoiding the delivery charge and picking it up at the warehouse myself. It fit perfectly in the Kia. We get 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. Good amount of standard features for a base model. Paint looks good and is holding up well. Steering wheel was crooked from factory, interior grab handle came loose, fuel line adjusted, a/c compressor noise fixed, rubber windshield seal came lose, driver side window seal folded under. All problems fixed for free by dealer. I did expect fewer problems from a new vehicle. We have 22,000 miles on our van.

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  KIA is getting better - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Kia getting better - June 8 - 6:30 am

  We chose this car over Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, because this car felt very smooth, comfortable, lots of room and it sits high, so easy to drive.

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  Better than a Mazda! - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Andrew - June 8 - 12:43 am

  I owned a 2003 Mazda 6; that car sure looks good but the cheapness of Ford came through. I traded it in for the more economical Spectra5. I immediately loved the car. It gave me great gas mileage, about 30 mpg. It is also way cheaper to maintain and my insurance dropped a whole lot. Overall the car is a lot better of a deal then the Mazda 6 I would even go as far as saying as it being better quality.