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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  Initial Review - 2013 Kia Optima
  By whitfoc - November 10 - 11:39 pm

  Very impressive car for the money. Just bought a snow white/beige with premium and tech package. Took on a 500 mile trip over the weekend with two heavy suitcases, Two adults and averaged 33 mpg traveling at 70 mph. While the engine is extremely quiet, there is some tire noise but not excessive. Ride is compliant and comfortable. Could not justify the extra $5000 for an SX. Overall a good buy for the $30K and under price range.

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  Love it! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By celestine5 - November 9 - 9:26 pm

  This is an excellent vehicle. I receive more positive comments about this car than any other. It really is the best bang for your buck. Excellent warranty. Awesome steering radius. And of course, ya gotta love the seat warmers. I have done many road trips with this vehicle and have had an extremely comfortable ride. Most of all, I feel safe with myself and my family in this vehicle.

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  Great Value and fun with a few caveats - 2012 Kia Optima
  By willj69 - November 9 - 2:17 pm

  A really fun car to drive with great looks. Absolutely love the inside and every feature, especially the cooling seats and keyless entry/startup. Disappointed in the paint as I have at least a dozen chips. Any little thing causes a chip or scratch. If this car had AWD, blind spot info, and a hard drive, it would be THE PERFECT CAR. It is pretty damn good as is.

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  Comfort and Style - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Gnome - November 9 - 12:03 am

  The Amanti is a very comfortable car for the person valuing a smooth ride. It is a bit soft for the sports driver however it handles and holds the road fine. It does not "like" to be thrown around, however it keeps its grip and does what it is told. I think upgrading the tires would help, but it really needs to have the shocks and springs upgraded. Perhaps to progressive springs so the ride will not be comprimised. The interior is excellent both is fit and quality. The exterior style you will either like or dislike. Dont fall into the trap of compairing this section of the car to other cars and calling it a copycat, it should be judged on the overall look of the car which I like.

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  i love my kia rio - 2007 Kia Rio
  By racahellee97 - November 8 - 1:10 pm

  i never ever though i would drive a small car again after getting hit and hurt in a bad car accident a few years ago. i have a suburban but the high cost of gas prompted me to look into a new car. I bought a used 2007 kia rio in march and i could not be happier!!! i adore my car. the color, the gas mileage, the compliments i get, the glares when i fill my tank for less than $35. its very fun, very sporty and puts a huge smile on my face when i get to sit in it. i never though i would ever drive a small car again, but with all my air bags, i wont be looking back.

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  GORGEOUS! - 2013 Kia Optima
  By funruffian - November 7 - 5:44 pm

  I bought this car 7 months ago and I am so happy to drive and step into it every day. The looks are Drop dead Gorgeous. The comfort is similar to sitting in your living room. The interior is High-end and state of the art. The drive is smooth and luxurious and I feel as if Im driving a $40,000 car.

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  Excellent - 2001 Kia Optima
  By PDBurns - November 5 - 2:00 am

  The car is great to drive, very resoponsive gets up to Hwy speed very quickly. Very little problems and what there was was taken care of right away. I would recomend this car to anyone.

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  comfort, styling, safety - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Brie - November 5 - 2:00 am

  My Amanti is such a pleasure to drive. It handles excellently, and is so luxurious. I think also that it is a really safe car. I just love it.

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  Best van ever - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By david/susan - November 4 - 10:00 am

  I have owned several mini vans-all GMs.The Kia is way above these in quality and price. The van is exceptional in design in and out and I look forward to spending several years driving this vehicle. Handling and fit/finish are excellent. Gas mileage is so so. Probably because the van is so heavy and has earned 5 stars across the board for crash worthiness!

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  Luxury SUV for a great value - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Paula - November 4 - 2:33 am

  We are very pleased with this vehicle. It provides a very planted, quiet and smooth driving experience. All the bells and whistles are appreciated including the warnings which are very helpful to aging drivers. We researched this vehicle for over two months including Mazda CX-9 (handles great but less substantial and sub-par navi/entertainment), Honda CRV (smaller, intrusive lane keeping assist), Honda Pilot (top end 9 speed tranny has a bad rep and too high to enter/exit), Suburu Outback (entertainment system sub-par, noisier 4 cyl., 6 cyl harder to steer) and Highlander (runner-up, great vehicle but no Apple CarPlay and less luxury features). The Sorento has great acceleration for an SUV (V6), handles reasonably well considering its size and gets good gas mileage (typically 24-28 highway, 19-22 around town). We leave it in normal mode, seeing little/no difference with ECO mode in gas mileage. Beyond the basic character of the vehicle we like the adapted cruise control, heated steering wheel and seats, ventilated seats in hot weather, and the navi/entertainment system (easy to pair phones, Apple Carplay, Google search using phone hotspot and KIA navigation, and the appearance is very appealing).