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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  KIA sorrento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By slider - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Kia is not a good vehicle. I have had many unresolved complaints with the Sorrento we currently own. i will never own any vehicle like this again.

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  KIA Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Prosecutor - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Great ride. A thinking mans Lexus.

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  Kia Optima - 2004 Kia Optima
  By jamesgw - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Have had no problems..only service has been oil changes

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  My 6 Months with an 05 Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By MagMax - April 16 - 8:13 am

  This is the most comfortable riding car Ive ever owned. Its extremely quiet, has every possible convenience feature, is easy to see out of, has a tight turning circle, has excellent workmanship and comes in at an amazingly good price. Frankly, I dont see any reason to spend more for a Camry or the same for an Accord both of which have fewer features and less comfort. The Amanti is a wonderful highway car and is ideal for smoothing out rough city streets as well. The interior is amazingly roomy and the heated rear seats, left and right temperature controls and rear A/C and heat are welcome to all passengers. Mine has been trouble free for over 5000 km and I love it.

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  You get what you pay for.... - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By metsajc89 - April 16 - 7:40 am

  I purchased my kia sorento in march of 2010. I live in New York and during the summer, the car is good. Drives well, with the 4 cyl, it is a little weak but can get up to highway driving with no problem. During the winter, the car is a piece of garbage. Not sure if the AWD is better but I feel like there is a lot of problems with the weight and durability of the car. It is very light and slips and slides all over the road. I leased the car and glad I give it back in a year. Overall, if you are not looking to spend a ton of money on a car every month, great car and I would recommend, just look at the pros and cons of the car.

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  Safety defect in manual transmission - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Rick - April 15 - 11:00 am

  We have a highly intermittent problem with manual tranny. From time to time we cant shift gears or get the car to move which puts us in a dangerous situation (has happened downshifting in intersections, upshifting pulling out into traffic, etc.)/ As this is a safety defect we are seriously concerned & have reported the problem to KIA & NHTSA. Due to it being an intermittent one, unfortunately when KIA has test driven it they cannot duplicate the problem and refuse to take further action to diagnose the transmission and related components. We are concerned if we trade/sell we are passing an unsafe car to another unsuspecting consumer but we may have no other choice due to KIAs indifference.

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  Very Happy With My KIA - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Amy - April 14 - 10:20 am

  Ive had my optima for a month. I was very pleased with it when I bought it and I still am. I love the warranty. It feels like a luxury car without the hefty price tag.

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  dont drive it as you would drive Prius - 2011 Kia Optima
  By doryhan - April 14 - 10:14 am

  My other (or previous) cars: Ford Taurus V6 Chrysler PT-CRUISER I4 Cadillac DHS V8 I have owned and been driving Optima Hybrid (OH) for a month, filling up the tank twice. MPG: first tank 34.5MPG second tank 35.5MPG (99% city: the car computer indicates the average speed 22.2MPH) At the beginning, I tried to drive the optima the way I would drive a Prius - slow acceleration, no sudden stops, obsessively use EV mode (or try to use). But that does not help you with MPG. (more talks continued in "Suggested improvements")

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  Objective review of my 07 Sedona - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Excellent vehicle - April 14 - 10:00 am

  We purchased this van used with 10,000 miles on it. We got it for a great price because the resale value of the Kia Sedona is comparatively one of the lowest of any vehicle. It is very roomy and comfortable, and drives and handles extremely well. It is perfect for long trips, and I average between 24-25 mpg on the highway. There are no mechanical issues. On the bad side, our main complaint is that the suspension sounds like creaky old bed springs when you go over a slight bump, and this is not a warranty item. The materials quality both inside and out is not on par with Japanese rivals. The dashboard is fading in some spots and the leather is showing wear spots on the passenger seat.

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  Kia Koup is the way to go - 2010 Kia Forte
  By morganturskey - April 14 - 10:00 am

  When I first started looking at cars i looked at used cars like Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. All great choices until you look at the warranties and cost of ownership. I then turned to the Kia Forte Koup SX and fell in love immediately. It is just as fast to 60 and handles better than you would think. It easily takes on-ramps at 55 mph with no tire squeal. So much more room than other coupes in the market. It even beat my roommates 2010 Ford Mustang V6 in a race. Limiter is set to 132 mph compared to the mustangs 116 mph. For those of you who like music, the stock radio is great but if you love more bass i suggest putting two 12 inch subs and 1000 watt amp. It makes it sound so much better.