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:

• 

  You will pay for that warranty - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By KILLE IN ACTION -KIA - April 9 - 9:40 pm

  Own a 2002 KIA Sedona EX. I complained about lights going dim while under warranty. Kia checked, said everything within parameters. Guess what, 3000 miles out of warranty alternator died. KIA says its on you now. 63,000 miles and they want $565.00 to repair; that includes alternator, belts and labor. Its not a repair you can do either, seems AC lines are in the way. Do you think KIA planned it? Ask them about changing spark plugs the rear 3, seems you need to remove the air intake manifold? That will require new gaskets? Not sure of that cost. I hope to dump this Sedona by then! Think twice before you buy, they will get you to pay for that supposedly free 5year/60000 bumper to bumper warranty. RIPOFF.

• 

  Also own a Aorento - 2007 Kia Optima
  By now have 2 - April 8 - 9:33 pm

  My wife fell in love with the looks of the ex v6. We drove the Optima, Ford Fusion and Honda Civic. The Optima has more to offer, a better warranty and we have 17,000 miles on our Sorento and it has never been in the shop.

• 

  trouble free miles - 2002 Kia Rio
  By nan25 - April 8 - 7:31 am

  Everytime I get asked about the car i have said this. Bought her new with zero dealer add ons. Starting at 40K and today Id say "got 207K trouble free miles" Check engine light has been working for 11 yrs. Gotta ignore it, it rearly goes off. I am lazy but do the oil changes religiously & read the review warning about timing belts. Got that at 149,000. At 200,000 got front wheel bearings & someother stuff there for $700. Hatch latch broke, using a bunge cord. If you dont like yours I will buy it :)

• 

  Great Value - 2010 Kia Soul
  By biznusav8r - April 8 - 4:33 am

  Just bought it tonight after looking for several weeks at xB, Fit, Element & Cube. All the included features and warranty just cant be beat. I wanted a manual transmission again to teach son how to drive and this will do just fine. Not sports car shifting/handling but not expecting that anyway. Our family of four is very comfortable around town which is 95% of drive time anyway. Very stable on road. 18" wheels slighty less give than 16" on the + model, but the rest of the ! features were worth it. So far so good!

• 

  Kia Sedona is worth looking at - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By mary2907 - April 7 - 10:00 am

  This is a great family van. We just recently purchased this van and we could not be happier. Luxury interior and lots of special features have surprised everyone we have shown this van to. Dont shy away from this van because of the reasonable price. It is just a great van at a great price. We now own 2 Kias (the other is a Sportage) and were very happy.

• 

  Why pay more? - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By George E. Edrington - April 7 - 10:00 am

  After extensive study I found I could buy more value with less dollars. Why buy a name like Honda and pay $5,000 more? I still get 10 yr 100,000 mile warranty and more features.

• 

  After Head On Crash -- bought 2nd Optima! - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Rachel - April 6 - 7:26 pm

  I bought my first Kia Optima early 2004 & was in a severe head on collision December of the same year. The other party was going about 60-65mph while I was at a complete stop. I sustained severe injuries to my ankle, & my car was totaled from the impact. I felt so confident w/the outcome of the collision, that I immediately went back to the dealership to negotiate my SECOND Kia Optima. The car rides smooth, & I get compliments on the "look" of the car with people asking me all the time..."What type of car is that?" When I tell them its a Kia, they look amazed. When I tell them my story--jaws drop! I WOULD recommend the OPTIMA to anyone looking for a classy, sharp car at reasonable cost!

• 

  We love ours! - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By Pastor Mike - April 6 - 7:56 am

  My wife and I were looking at cars to replace our Lincoln LS we gave our son for graduation. When my wife saw this new 2008 left over Amanti she said "lets drive this one". The sticker was $32,000 with every available option so I told salesman we didnt want to spend so much. He said "BIG discounts" so I said ok lets drive. My wife and I both loved what we saw and drove so we went home with it. We now have about 6,500 miles and am very happy with our purchase. We are getting 27.5 mpg on highway and are averaging 23.5 overall driving. We have had no problems with the car and plan to drive it till the wheels fall off.

• 

  safety in question - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Carl Berger - April 6 - 7:26 am

  The suspension is very bad, it sounds like an old car that needs new struts and shocks when you go over a rough road. I took it back to the dealer and they said thats the way it is. I question the safety because of the suspension. I wish i could something different because of the safety issue.

• 

  We Love Our Kia Rio - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Wing Family - April 3 - 2:00 am

  We bought our Kia Rio after doing a lot of reaserch, we wanted a car that had great fuel economy, was not very expensive, had 4 doors, and an alarm system. We found it all with the Kia Rio. We are very happy with the purchase. The warranty is excellent (100,000 to include everything but preventative maintnance.) We have roadside assistance that came with the car. The preventative maintnance is very good. We only have to change the oil every 6000 miles. Overall, we are very happy with our choice, it is a great first car for a family who is just starting out.