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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  Just 2 weeks - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By June Sheehan - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I went in to decide between a Kia Sorento and the Hyundai Santa FE. I had owned each one so I assumed it would not be hard. Recently owning a C-class Benz an suffering from premium gas and mileage. I had wanted to see what Kia had to offer on the 2011 Sorento and was immediately sold after test drive. The gas and the design in and out satisfied my need. It has been two weeks and heads are still turning. I have never had a 4 cyl and was surprised at the pick up. I am on the highway everyday averaging 55 miles round trip and DC has the worst roads. Will keep consumers updated. So far I am very pleased.

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  Hot wheels for a 77 yr. old man---!!! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Robert Conner - April 22 - 7:00 pm

  My wife and I just love the SUV. Would not be without the all wheel drive. Ive driven a lot of vehicles and this is my first foreign one and we just love it. Its better than my daughters Lexus, at a lot less money. I bought it with every listed option, including trailer hitch and autoload leveling,leather,moon roof, 6 cd player etc. for less than 26k new. Wish gas mileage was better, but I get about 15mpg around town and 18mpg+ on trips to Vt. and the Cape. I always was a llwheel drive van man,but we had 2 vehicles then. Now down to one the Sorento fills both my wifes and my needs with plenty of hauling and towing capacity. This SUV is a eye turner.Will buy again.

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  Awesome SUV, Wagon, Minivan??? - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Patrick Jaquin - April 21 - 1:33 pm

  Awesome power off the line for a 4 banger. Quite smooth ride. Just got out of a Saturn ION, so Im spoiled by gas mileage but at 53 yrs old Im tired of falling into and dragging myself up and out of a compact car. The Rondo is a perfect in and out. Im sure the mileage will get better as I only have less than 700 miles on it so far. Im a semi retired rock musician so if I need the space for my gear I have it. My wife drives an 07 Sportage and is less than satisfied with the mileage, but she wanted an SUV so I told her not to expect great mileage. She had an 03 Optima but decided she wanted an SUV. All in all Im in love with my Rondo and this is our third new KIA. Very reliable vehicles.

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  Sorento, trade your old Sportage in . - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By HD Harris - April 20 - 5:26 pm

  It has been an excellent upgrade from my 1998 Sportage. It has adequate room for five. It has been excellent for my two young boys. The 3.5l v6 has plenty of power and the with the auto-stick option, it can be definitely fun going stoplight to stoplight. The styling is more upscale than you would expect from Kia. I feel its more along the lines of the ML series or Lexus and Acura. I always have people asking me about it and complimenting it.

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  Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Cornelia - April 19 - 2:00 am

  I drive my Kia to and from work. I drive about 100 miles per day. I like the fuel economy in the Kia. It consumes less gas than most SUVs. The engine is not as quiet as my Ford Taurus was (not that it is overtly noisy). The ride is smoother than riding in a car. I like the Sorentos design and overall performance. The nexr vehicle I purchase will be a Kia.

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  csm sorento lx 2004 - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By junioreinstein - April 19 - 2:00 am

  we find it to be a very stable and solid vehicle. when compared to other suvs it far superior for the price. after buying the vehicle we discovered unique consumer friendly conveinces and overall engineering quality. great car!!!!!!!!!

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  The SUV Comeback - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Brian Engel - April 17 - 12:00 pm

  My experience was that when I first test drove the Sportage, it was a lot whole lot different than the 2002 predecessor. The exterior was a little bit more taller than the 2002 version. The interior was even nicer than the old one too! Below the front passenger airbag was some kind of handle bar just to hold on to.

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  I Love my Kia Optima - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Adriana - April 17 - 2:00 am

  My Kia meets and exceeds all my expectations. For the last 14 years I have been a Toyota Camry Customer and I didnt think I would EVER like anything else until I drove my Kia, this car has all the bells, whistles and performance I need at a great price.

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  Go buy it, well worth it $$$ - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Oscar - April 16 - 5:40 pm

  I bought this car for my wife, but I must say I love it just as much. I drive it to work for 50 miles on the highway and it is very quite and handles quite well. I have not noticed any blind spots and everything is at your finger tips. Night time driving is also very good as the Driving lights and Fog lights are very bright. Also braking and acceleration are just as good and it comes with great Michelin tires. Interior Lighting is also good and lots of interior connectors for those portable CD players - 1 front, 1 mid, and 1 in the rear as well.

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  Sweet Chariot - 2009 Kia Optima
  By bargain hunter - April 16 - 10:13 am

  Nabbed this Midnight Blue MT baby 10 days ago and am in love with it! Researched for months to narrow my search; thought Id opt for a Honda Fit or a Scion XB as I wanted utility, cargo room and decent mileage. But when I realized this was the only car under $20k with standard stability control, traction control and disc brakes on all wheels I was sold. The 10 year warranty and $2k rebate were icing on the cake. Amazing what comes standard on this base model! Almost bought the smaller Elantra but figured the Optimas extra HP and larger engine with only a 1 to 2 mpg penalty was well worth the minor price difference. Excellent gearing + short throw 5 speed = FUN RIDE!!!