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:

• 

  Finally Got the Kia Soul! - 2014 Kia Soul
  By jack2014 - September 24 - 2:40 pm

  It was worth the wait.

• 

  New Age Trooper - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By C. Jones - September 24 - 6:23 am

  I shopped around for a couple of months and this dealership ordered in the color an option combintation that I wanted. So far I am getting about 19 MPG with mixed driving.V6 has plenty of power,but the transmission holds 4th gear too long.The heated seats are great and it drives really well in the snow.I thought the stock tires would be worthless,but so far they do well in winter weather.The ride is a little firm,but softens some with more cargo.The built in trailer hitch and wiring is great and it tows really well.I think mine had been sitting for a while because there was some rust on the chrome lug nuts upon delivery.Overall a great vehicle for the money and a fairly gnarly 4 wheeler.

• 

  Wish it was stronger but a overall good - 2006 Kia Rio
  By OLDSCHOOLDEVIL - September 23 - 7:50 pm

  Ill tell you Im hard and neglectful on cars and this Rio has kept up. I didnt give it a oil change for 15000 miles and it started and drove like a champ. I have had small problems (eats through tires and brakes wear.) Not to confy. I drove from California to Texas and Ill say Im young and those seats i cant stand to sit in them for more than a hour. Decent on gas. Id recommend this car to young kids that are neglectful and need a good car to get them by. Nothing fancy. I do like the strong speaker system.

• 

  Rods KIA - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By RAY RUBY - September 23 - 10:16 am

  Overall vey satisfied. Fuel economy much better than expected. It is consistently 18.5 to 20 mpg with AC running and in and out of traffic. Road noise a little high and steering radius a bit short but neither problem comes close to off-setting the value of the purchase price. Seats are a bit heavy and bulky to remove but 7 adults can ride quite comfortably. Dual AC unit is outstanding and here in south Florida that counts for a lot of comfort. Tires are nosiy and I look forward to replacing them. havent had chance to check out dealer support as Ive had no problems . Im very satisfied especially "for the money." I wish I had gotten the optional "back-up warning system."

• 

  Cadillac Luxury - Kia Price - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By chrprkns - September 23 - 10:00 am

  I bought a cobalt blue Amanti with every available option. It is a gorgeous, classy car and I have all the toys that would have cost twice as much in any other luxury vehicle. I marvel at how Kia did this for the price I paid. I shopped a long time and drove a lot of vehicles before I picked the Amanti, and it is without doubt the best value for dollar on the market today. It drives like a dream and the payments dont cause nightmares.

• 

  Best van under 24000.00 - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By DAVID00 - September 23 - 10:00 am

  I drove every other van in the market, when got to the Sedona, big difference, comfort, power, style etc... In a 1200 miles trip, excellent... about 23 ml/gl , better tham my 97 g caravan.

• 

  KISS MY KIA - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By bayla - September 23 - 10:00 am

  its a bit too early to tell...but as of today i love my Sorento! ive looked at literally every car in its class and the kia was over all in every category...comfort, handling, style and price. The guys at Fairfield Kia worked really hard for me to get the lowest price with plenty of surprise extras. I chose the sand beige (gold) really, and I let my husband drive it to work and everyone came out to o-o-oo- h and a-a-h-h-h over it. They thought it was a Lexus or one of those other pricy suvs. Let them eat cake!

• 

  2011 Forte EX - 2011 Kia Forte
  By skinsfanjack - September 23 - 8:11 am

  I have now owned my new Forte for one month. Have driven it just over 1,000 miles in mostly city driving and have achieved an average of 30MPG. I am a BIG guy, 63" and 260#. I find more leg, head, shoulder and hip room in this Kia than others in its class. It is comfortable to drive - but maybe not so much on a long trip. Has many creature comforts not found without extra cost on the competition. If I have a complaint it is that it feels a little light and "squirelly" in Interstate driving, so one must pay attention. I was used to a big Oldsmobile before checking on most cars in this class, all of whom came up short except for the Hyundai Elantra. The Kia won the coin toss.

• 

  Solid ride - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Canadian Sorento - September 22 - 1:43 am

  Our choice was between the Ford Escape and the Sorento. Ford only had a 2 year 60,000km warranty vs the Kia at 100,000km and 5 years. The Sorento had more space for about the same money. Also had more airbags and side crash bars than the Escape.

• 

  Still Amazed! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Douglas Lower - September 22 - 12:30 am

  Update: I have had the vehicle for 2 weeks now and over 1000 miles. If you can handle a manual transmission, this is the model to get. The 4 cyl w/o the auto or awd bogging it down, performs flawlessly! I love the hill holder. You will not need awd, if you cannot get going with fwd and traction control, you will not be able to stop it either, in similar conditions, so why drive at that point! Mileage is still fantastic, same or better than my kia soul! My sorento is getting quieter and smoother with every mile as the tires and suspension break in. I drive it like an economy car and get the results. I love the safety features, and all the room.