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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  owner review-updated - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By herb45 - July 11 - 5:40 pm

  since i bought car in december,and wrote 1st review,i have many things to say.first,have had car in dealership many times for interior rattles,both in the dash,and where the rear subwoofer sits,the front rotors have since been repaired,but the shake when applying the brakes between 45-50mph has returned.also,the ride has really deteriorated a great deal,and mine has the 16-inch wheels !.the gas mileage has still been much better than expected.i had to wait over a month for the dealership to let me know their loaner car has arrived,and will be taking my car thursday of this week.i hope they fix this right this time...would like to know if anyone else has the same issues.

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  Vermonters review - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Jay H Karpin - July 11 - 3:13 pm

  The vehicle is excellent in deep snow but I have had the 4WD fail once at about 40,000 miles and now the cruise has failed at 51,000. It is better on stability than any other 4WD that I have had and I do drive a lot of interstate at 65 mpg. The one other problem I find is the rear tailgate door is difficult to close with the pull down handle on the inside.

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  Happy So Far - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By esmith1172 - July 6 - 8:51 am

  Ive had my Sorento LX V6 AWD since 10/2010, aside from 2 minor recalls (which is not a bad thing), things have been good. Had a jerking/banging issue when truck started which was due to a transmission update which the dealer mechanic reset to factory specs, now everythign is fine. Kuhmo tires are ok. A little scared hearing the horror stories since I only have 10K miles on it, but, only time will tell.

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  Very competitive value - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By 3Bricks - July 6 - 2:03 am

  Buying decision came down to 2016 Ford Edge Titanium or 2016 Kia Sorento EX Premium. Actually preferred the Edge, but not to the tune of a $5500+ price difference. Driving feel is very good with ample storage and easy to use controls. Put 1100 miles on in the first 10 days without any issues. Hard to beat the warranty.

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  Nice SUV - 2014 Kia Sorento
  By JVT - July 4 - 2:38 pm

  Only real gripe I have about the Sorento as equipped (LX FWD) are the low grip eco tires they put on it. Being in the snowbelt, I should have gotten AWD, but the Eco tires are horrible in even light snow. Id expect an all season tire to at least get you moving when theres an inch and a half of snow on the ground. Not so much. I put some winter tires on and all is well again however. The Sorento is roomy and has great cargo room and some hidden under floor cubbies in the cargo area as well. Very handy when camping / moving and etc. Im averaging around 26mpg which Im happy with given the Sorentos size. The ride is smooth and comfortable, interior materials have solid fit and finish and are soft touch for the most part. IP and center stack are very legible and usable. Heated seats work well. Overall Id say this is a solid soft roader SUV that has lots of cargo room and would recommend it.

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  Pleasant surprise - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By the v - July 3 - 7:33 pm

  I had very few expectations of this car, but it has really grown on me. It is excellent in every way. Reliable, fun to drive, very zippy (except when driving over 80 mph. It gets a little scary at that point, but what do you want for the money?). I would definitely buy a Kia again. But, this car has over 85000K miles on it and shows no signs of stopping, so I will keep it until the wheels fall off!

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  Love it! - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By suzq328 - June 30 - 5:50 pm

  Ive had my new 2011 Kia Sportage for just 10 days now and Im liking it more every day. I was previously driving a 03 Jeep Liberty Limited that I absolutely loved but after 133,500 miles the maintenance costs were going up while the dependability was going down. Cant really compare the Jeep with the Sportage but I am very pleased with my choice. There is plenty of oomph when I need it and the 30 mpg is awesome.

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  My 2012 Kia Optima - 2012 Kia Optima
  By kirk700 - June 30 - 7:20 am

  Ive put 4000 miles my Optima, there are a few minor irritations and one let down. 1st the car comes with one smart key. All new cars come with a 2 keys. An additional key is $200.00. 2nd, getting out of the car while its running the car beeps at you like you are doing something morally wrong. 3rd and not so minor, the Nav system is terrible. My 4 year old TomTom that has never been upgraded is much better. Last minor irritation: Cant turn the radio off when the car is in reverse. Now for the let down: the MPG comes no where close to the advertized MPG. Best Ive recorded is 28 MPG and that was all Highway. The on-board MPG readout of ave. MPG is 2 to 4 mpg optimistic.

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  Worth the money - 2011 Kia Forte
  By skaterer - June 29 - 9:51 pm

  Purchased an SX model with all the options including NAV. Just been a few weeks. So far so good. A few rattles, but nothing major.

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  Save 8 grand and love it. - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Packer - June 29 - 2:00 am

  Transmission: Nissan, Brakes: Bosch, Liomited slip Diffrential; Eaton/Carbon..etc..etc They put together a really nice package..dosent compare to Mazda Tribute..closer to Honda Pilot for a whole lot less. Dont be concerned about the gas mileage..if you do the math you will NEVER eat up the 8 grand you saved plus add the warranty and you cant go wrong.