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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  Family Transportation Done Right - 2015 Kia Sedona
  By M F Roe - June 4 - 10:26 am

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  2013 SX - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By CD - June 1 - 11:59 am

  SX model. Nice car, comfortable front seats. tight second and third row leather seating. Road noise is more than other comparably equipped SUVs thru windows and doors. Ride is a little stiff, but very nice overall. nice handling, turns tight One iratating flaw, backup camer is offset 4 inches to left of center, makes parking or hooking up to a trailer is difficult. I traded the car in sept after 5 years owning it for a new Jeep that could tow more. somebody got a great family car.

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  Satisfied - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By kat - June 1 - 3:46 am

  We purchased this vehicle to replace one that was getting old and was starting to need a lot of maintenance. We werent necessarily looking for a minivan but found one we thought wed like to test drive. The dealer let us have it over night and we were very impressed with the Sedona. The warranty package was very important and we also liked what we were getting in the vechicle for the price. I think we made a good choice in the Sedona. I would have liked the anti-lock brakes to come on the base model and for the take off from a stop to not be so sluggish but other than that I really enjoy owning my Sedona.

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  Bad Customer Service and Bad Manual Transmission - 2013 Kia Rio
  By willhix - May 31 - 3:30 am

  BUYER BEWARE !!! The six speed has transmission issues. Vibration at highway speeds in sixth gear. I bought one. And Im not only disapointed....Im mad!!! Customer service is horrendous. Car still isnt fixed. Would never buy another KIA based on how Ive been treated. NEVER !!!!

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  Nice vehicle, but! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Windjam - May 30 - 9:43 am

  Excellent purchase price, as well as cooperative dealership. This vehicle is a real head turner. Purchased on 2/22/10 and have had many positive comments. Lives up to its hype re: high seating w/good view of road etc. and fuel mileage is OK, not great, but ok. Ride is a bit hard as are the seats. I went w/heated leather. Not real quiet on road and mine sounds like I may have a loose shock up front. (Will be checked by dealer) Front doors need to be a bit larger, for access. Im 6 and must be careful not to bump my head when getting in. Have all the options, Nav, Satellite Infinity radio, bluetooth, homelink, 18" chrome wheels. So far, am happy w/the vehicle.

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  great value for your money and needs - 2013 Kia Rio
  By Raj - May 27 - 6:45 am

  great car for regular commuters (work, school, etc). We needed a car for daily job commute. Hence fuel economy, safety, warranty, powerful engine and few tech features were on our list. My car is mostly on highways; even in downtown Chicago this is fun to ride. We didnt emphasize on interiors that much bcoz this is a commuting car! Our car is almost 100k miles now, and we are glad for the decision we made. We had compared to Elantra, Civic, Camry, Corolla, Sonic, Cruize and Focus; but selected this for its price, safety ratings, fuel and warranty.

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  Decent car overall - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Clya - May 26 - 11:33 am

  This SUV has great features but there were a few significant issues for me. The windshield seemed very small and the A pillars very wide reducing visibility and causing a claustrophobic effect. Also, the back up camera image being in the rear view mirror was extremely distracting and made it more difficult to have full visibility to safely back up. Additionally, the steering was so tight it almost felt as if there was no power steering. I thought at first it was just a problem with the first Sorento I drove, but after driving several, it seems to be normal for that vehicle. Its generally a nice car, spacious, I just didnt feel safe driving it.

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  matts rio - 2003 Kia Rio
  By matthew vance - May 24 - 10:00 am

  im 20 male and my 1st car was a 69 corvette so i decided to go practical probablly cause i dont wanna get 6 gallons to the mile. plus i wanted to buy a brand new car. so with a hefty down payment,there were some difficulties with the initial offer my payment did drop. but DONT BE SCARED BY THE 104 HORSE POWER IT DOES HAVE SO MUCH POWER. I MEAN I CAN PULL UP SOME BILLOWING WHITE SMOKE WITH MY TIRES ITO 2ND GEAR.I HAVE A 5 SPEED MANUAL. ALSO THE ACCELERATION IS AWESOME, THE CAR IS LIGHT SO U ARE COOL BT STOCK BASICALLY I CAN TAKE ANY 6 CYLINDER CAMARO OR NE HONDA. ITS A GREAT 1ST CAR AND HAS AWESOME POWER AND SO SO FUN TO DRIVE I HAVE A BLAST

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  Soul Lover but Blue Tooth Problems - 2010 Kia Soul
  By dianimal - May 21 - 11:50 pm

  Got in some very hard rain/wind & car handled better than any car I have ever owned. Exterior is cute, inside fits my 5" 7" size & my husbands 6" 1". The car handles very well, very responsive to stops and turns. No problems getting up to speed or merging on highways. Fun to drive for this 54 year old. Head rest pushes head forward. To much engine noise at higher speeds/rougher highways. Bluetooth-I can hear people perfect unless driving at faster speed or on rougher paved highway-then the engine noise takes over-the volume wont go loud enough. People on other end of blue tooth often say my voice to soft/not loud enough or they hear static/ or their voice echos back to them.

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  Bargain Small Car - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Rob - May 19 - 6:30 pm

  This is a fine small car that has all of the features you need at a price considerably less than the Japanese makes. Quality of the major Korean brands has improved markedly over the last 15 to 20 years and they are almost on par with the major Japanese brands. The ride is surprisingly smooth and quiet. Engine power is adequate but no "ball of fire". Handling is ok but this is no sports car. This is a great first car for a teen or a second car for getting around town. With rebates the selling price of this car was $14,200 + TTL vs. a list price of $16,700. That is a strong price vs. what late model used cars are selling for without the strong factory warranty.