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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  Inexpensive Civic Substitute - 2010 Kia Forte
  By KS Flyboy - September 27 - 10:53 pm

  After the wife got one, I decided to move to a car too. I had planned on a Civic, but too expensive and dealer did not want to offer book on trade (Escape). Originally planned to get EX with sunroof, but wanted dark interior (coffee on EX not to my liking). Dealer had a Copperhead SX on the lot with sunroof and cloth interior. The red stitching on the seats has grown on me, but I love everything else on the car. Engine has great power and currently getting 31 mpg with only 650 miles on it so far. Backseat has way more room than anything else in this size. Bluetooth is so cool and easy to use. Got the car for invoice, $1500 in rebates, and 0% financing for 36 months.

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  Bad Experience. Unsafe .. and others think so too - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By nickelrider - September 27 - 2:18 pm

  Warning- XXX -Warning Fair Warning to anyone considering this car. It is totally unsafe as it will just turn off in the middle of driving- anywhere. Not good for what most buy as a family car. Left my wife and kids stranded 3 times and me several times as well. Could be fuel pump/filter, air mass sensor, TPS, IPM Module, Junction Box, cold air sensor, or the key cylinder. My mechanic is stumped. Rust Bucket too. The sliding door handle fell off and there are other small hardware issues. At least I get $ 250.00 to haul her away. I cannot in good conscience sell this to another party based on what I know. Bottom line- KIAs reliability just plain sucks!! Enough said.

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  Outstanding Value - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By BlackBear - September 27 - 10:00 am

  One of the best vehicles I have ever purchased. Loads of standard equipment for thousands less. The envy of all the Dodge Van owners on my street. Look no further than this van for price, quality and reliability. If you were in the hunt for a van choose the Sedona. 5 star crash rating and 10 year warranty. What else can I say?

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  Awesome for the money! - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Big Doug A - September 27 - 7:10 am

  Absolutely a joy to drive! Nimble and quick, it is the perfect commuter car. Great for parking in parking decks around the college campus, the automatic tranny is a pleasant feature of the car. It shifts well and the pick up is outstanding for a vehicle its size. There is plenty of room (I removed the rear seat because I had no need for it) and plenty of power.

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  The Best Car for the Price - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Elisa - September 27 - 2:36 am

  The car is worth more than you pay for. It makes Honda and Toyota look like a joke! It has beautiful lines and drives better than its competition. I test drove it against the Corolla and the Civic and came back to buy the Optima. If youre looking for a car with quality this is the car to buy. Competitors better look out. Theres a new kid in town.

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  Very Impressive - 2012 Kia Optima
  By bambino3 - September 26 - 6:28 pm

  Ive had this car for just over 3 months. After owning many VWs and Audis, I was in the market for a new Audi when I read reviews on the Optima and decided to at least have a close look and test drive. To be honest, I felt this car looked better overall than the Audi A4. Sleeker lines end to end. I know thats a personal judgment, but that was how I saw it. Next, I looked closely at the interior and features offered in the SX (to me, a turbo charged engine is a necessary performance feature). The interior, while not quite as plush as an Audi A4, was extremely nice. Leather, very stylish dash and trim. Finally, I drove the car and was very impressed with the ride and performance.

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  Great for the $ - you will love it - 2010 Kia Soul
  By pizzapie - September 26 - 10:06 am

  I was going to wait til I had at least 1000 miles on the odometer, but couldnt wait. As a 53 yr old woman, this is my first non-American made auto...better warranty, price and style than anything else around for the money! I should have bought two!! I was hooked on the Alien, was able to get a great price, including the sunroof/fog lamps. Its my "little mean green machine" So far, after 7 days, its great for what it is. Fits the very tall to the overwide comfortably. This may be for the younger crowd, but there were more people my age buying the Soul!!

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  Read and Research Before you Purchase - 2016 Kia Sportage
  By Sharon - September 26 - 5:32 am

  This was our first Kia and all is not what is said about this little car. We have the SX with a turbo engine. The gas mileage is terrible. Our Hummer H3 did better than this Kia. The front and rear seats are the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in. Very hard and uncomfortable. The navigational buttons are all over the place. Some on the left, some on the right but no rhyme or rhythm on any of them. The turbo will automatically kick in at a high speed and the car takes out from under you. The turbo engine is very very fast and takes off out from under you. The biggest problem is that i am 53" and I hit my head on the door entry every time I get in the car. The door/head clearance is deplorable. The sunroof position because i have to have the seat forward is behind me so it does me no good to have the sunroof open because it is behind me so to see out I have to look up and behind me. When they [pn they positioned the sunroof they set it back way too far. We tried to call the dealer after the first week to tell them this car would not work but after six weeks and 51 calls the dealer would never call me back. I even tried to call the owner of the dealership to tell him this car was not working out for us but he also refused to call. The very worst thing about this car is the back sunroof is cosmetic only. It will not open but there is a sunshade that you have to open with your hand which means you literally have to pull the car off the road and climb into the back seat and open the sunshade to see out the back sunroof and the same with closing it. This I find to be cheap and "cheesy" for such an expensive car of this class. From the outside this car is a beauty and very sporty and and eye catcher but that is where this car stops. I find it to be unsatisfactory in all fields except it is a joy to drive. You have to try to ignore the blind spots, which are there, the extremely small back storage with zero to no light. The only thing good about this car is driving it. Other than that just go out and buy a Hyundai Santa Fe because for the price that is a better car but not as sporty and as flashy as the Kia SX. Other than that if you want to drive fast this is the car to have because this is a car that goes fast in a few short seconds. We made a mistake in purchasing this car and the trade in value of this car is zero to nothing. For the best Kia in this class the products used are how it was made was cheap and cheesy. Then make sure you deal with a dealer who will let you return the car for another if you decide to buy. Our Kia dealer would not even return one out of 51 calls over a period of six weeks. We are now paying for a car we hate and a dealer who refuses to make good on what they promised which was if you do not like it we will get you into something that suits you. A better choice would have been a Kia Sorento.

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  Problem Child - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By hyundai_91 - September 25 - 9:26 am

  Purchased a Sportage new, 10 Service calls in the first 6 months of ownership

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  KIA HAS WHAT YOU WANT FOR LESS $$ - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Fac9502 - September 25 - 8:26 am

  If you are looking for a great car at a great price the KIA Amanti might fit your criteria. For about what you can spend on a base bottom of the line Jaguar X-Type you can get a fully loaded Kia Amanti with sunroof,vehicle stability program ,traction control, leather, heated seats, an Infinity sound system, dual climate control, rear A/C, heated seats, eight standard airbags, five years of roadside assistance, and a lot more that I cant fit on this review. If you are looking for a luxury sedan that is not going to break the bank and you are looking to keep it for a long or a little while this is the car for you or should I say it is definitely worth more than just a look - you need to drive it.