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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  Theres more than what meets the eye - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Guitar Man - July 15 - 6:56 am

  Just bought one of the "Molten Red" Sport models. Its got a real neat interior. Ive never seen anything like it. When driving at night I feel like Im in some sort of high-tech lounge or something. The front speakers light up in different ways and the sound system is great. Im an audiophile and a guitar player/sound engineer and know what sounds good so, rest assured.It does take some tweaking though. The car performs great and handles just the same. Im tickled pink with it. You gotta go easy on the accelerator. Its very sensitive at slow speeds.

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  Best deal on the Market! - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Jack D. Bell - July 12 - 10:36 am

  This van is fully loaded-plus, we added on a combo navigation/rear camera system, expensive, but worth it! Car has plenty of power, and transmission is smooth stock tires are adequate, but I will eventually replace them with ultimate quality tires. Its quiet at all speeds. A great plus is the headlights, which light up the road at night like monster floodlights. An important safety advance, in our opinion. We traded in an Odyssey ex- l, and we do not regret it, although, overall, the Kia is not quite as sumptuous as the Odyssey was. But, the price differential was too great to ignore (about $6000 less, comparably equipped). Ergonomics are first-rate; even the sun-roof works easily!

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  Great Car - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Gerald Sewell - July 10 - 5:30 pm

  It has been a great car for the price.

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  Love Kia - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By Donna Flynn - July 10 - 4:43 pm

  Absolutely love my Kia. Have had several comments about what a sharp vehicle it is. Recommend Kia to anyone. The warranty is fantastic. Drove it to Florida 10 days after buying it. For the first time in 4 years of going to Florida, our backs did not hurt from riding in a vehicle.

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  GT-R done - 2018 Kia Stinger
  By DJ - July 10 - 9:22 am

  The overall design of this car is thoughtful, yet stunning and atheletic at the same time. The vevicle performs well on all road surfaces. ( I will say that the GT2 has 19" tires that roughen the ride, but find acceptable in lieu of performance) The car handles well and provides amazing accelleration even if cruising speed has been acheived, steering is responsive and the car hold the roads well. The exterior lines are awesome with few flaws. (One noticeable is the wind dams that cool the breaks accumulate sand and small rocks due to winter snow maintenace. The interior is comfortable as the front seats provided 18 adjustments. The side bolsters hug your sides. The heated seats and steering wheel work well. The cabon layout is good and controls are placed logically , with the exception of the 8" touch screen (slightly out of arms reach) and the volume control is placed low and without looking I find myself operating the passenger vent. The interior materials seem of good quality with some hard plastics. (Which should be expected at this price point. I personally feel that KIA is going in the right direction, but probably should have created an up line badging due to badge bius of shoppers. Or perhaps the manufacturer is looking to take an I told you so approach, in order to dispel past negativity of their brand overall. This is my second KIA and hope that the reliability measures up to my first one which was 80k miles with no issues at all.

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  My Kia - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Ms. Amy - July 10 - 5:46 am

  I did not think this car would fit my needs but me and my son are having fun with it and it is very good on GAS. As we all know how expensive it is to fill up a tank now. This car is excellent for a college student, its roomy and has a nice size trunk. I am very happy with my Kia.

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  Eye catching SUV - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Heather - July 8 - 10:00 am

  I did alot of research on the Sorento, I had not seen that many on the road. Everything that I had read was positive, and for the price you can not beat this SUV. I test drove it and was very pleased with the ride and comfort, also plenty of room for the kids in the back seat. And I was very pleased with the warranty, if a company is willing to back the vechile with the kind of warranty, they know they have built a great car.

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  Happy Kia Owner :) - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Bryantvj - July 8 - 10:00 am

  I was looking to buy a Jeep Cherokee or a Durango, but when I saw the Kia, I completely forgot about the competition. The price is better, it looks very classy, and is just as roomy as the other SUVs. People give my vehicle double takes, they are so impressed. Ive introduced the Kia to several of my friends, and now they are looking to buy one.

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  My second Kia Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Corby - July 8 - 10:00 am

  I bought my first Kia Sorento in January. I was very close to buying a Highlander. So close that I had put a deposit on one, but cancelled the purchase because I thought the Highlander was not enough car for the money. It was $32,800. The next week I test drove the Sorento. The car gave a better ride, was better looking and best of all was $7,000 less expensive than the Highlander. We have enjoyed the Sorento so much that when we needed another car for my wife we went back to the dealer and bought another one. Now we have a black Sorento EX and a white Sorento EX.

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  MORE FOR YOU MONEY - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By JIMMY - July 8 - 10:00 am

  THIS VEHICLE IS NOT ONLY AFFORDABLE BUT THE FEATURES IS SUPERB NOT A WHOLE LOT OF PLASTIC PARTS TO BREAK. THE ONE THING THAT KIA SHOULD HAVE OFFERED WAS MORE HORSEPOWER AT 197 IT IS NOT AS QUICK AS MOST IN ITS CLASS BUT IT OUT WEIGHTS EVERYTHING ELSE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY! THAT YOU CANNOT BE A PRICE TAG ON AND WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY AND REALIABILITY IT OULD RATHER TAKE THAT THAN THE EXTRA HOSEPOWER. KIA HAS A WINNER ON THEIR HAND ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS GIVE IT MORE HOSEPOWER THEN ALL BUYER WILL SAY WOW!! WHAT A SUV