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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  donnas suv ;) - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By dcdavis - September 20 - 2:00 am

  Its a GREAT Mid size SUV.. and you dont have to pay the price of a ford Explorer and it looks lik the Lexus SUV for a fraction of the cost!! My sister in law has the Lexus SUVa nd my Kia Sorento has all the same features. give a a Kia any day. When my daughter turns 16 in about 2 years I will give her the sorento and get another one...The very best deal for the $$$$

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  LOVE my Kia! - 2015 Kia Sorento
  By sab3mmom - September 18 - 5:58 pm

  This is my third actually. I had my 2004 Sorento LX for 10.5 years and it was more reliable than ANY vehicle I have ever owned. So I traded for a 2015. Ive only had it for 2 months and 850 miles but its great! Average mileage running mostly city and in eco setting is 21. Still getting used to the back-up camera and some of the options Ive never had before but those heated seats are wonderful!

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  Simply Amazing! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Davester - September 17 - 8:00 am

  This is the third car that I have ever had and all I can say is, wow! This has to be the single most economic car that I have ever owned. I have put 20,000+ miles and not one single problem. Have driven it New Jersey to Florida with no worries. This little speed demon has the right handling, acceleration and packs a mean punch. I do have one complaint about the car though, I cant stop driving it! Highly recommend this car to anyone who wants a fun, reliable, safe, and down right incredible vehicle to own!

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  Disappointed - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By brianandr - September 17 - 4:23 am

  One of the big selling points for me was the HWY MPG. It has been a BIG disappointment so far. I have put 6000 miles on it and have yet to get better than 24MPG. KIA states 32...HOW?! My last 3 Nissans(Rogue, Versa, 350Z) all got at or above what the factory claimed, including the Rogue(which I should have gone with again). I love that it has plenty of room and comes at a great value but if I had known I wasnt even going to get in the ballpark of their HWY MPG, I would have gone a different route.

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  Nice, a no frills but great on gas car. - 2008 Kia Rio
  By rkkeller - September 16 - 6:13 pm

  I bought my Rio as I needed an inexpensive but good on gas car. I was not expecting a lot but I really like it and glad I bought it. It is fun to drive and handles well but it can be slowish at times. The interior is really roomy for a small car and its way bigger on the inside than you might think. I have a Jeep Cherokee and the Rio has way more front seat room and better seats too. The radio with single CD and 4 speaker setup sounds nice and is just loud enough if you want to turn it up. It might not be loud enough for some though but for me its fine.

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  Best Car I have ever owned - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By andrewm1 - September 16 - 3:28 pm

  I have owned and driven many cars in my 26 years of driving and can honestly say that the Kia Sorento is the best car I have ever driven.I am a big 6 foot 3 300lb+ guy and the front seat driving position has the most room I have ever had in any car/suv.I am very comfortable and never feel cramped or strained in the seat.The 4Cyl 6 speed automatic is fine for me.The car is incredibly quiet on the road and often sounds like it is not on.The suspension is very smooth and there is no body lean whatsoever with this car.The turning radius is incredible.The interior design is high end and the exterior is more masculine than other "girly cars".I love this CUV and am glad I bought it.

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  2nd Kia - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By korensoul - September 16 - 3:22 pm

  Traded in my 10 Soul for the 11 Sportage. I wanted something with AWD and the reliability of the Soul was awesome. Nothing besides oil changes at 78,000 on the Soul! The sportage has be extremely reliable as well. at almost 30,000, it has needed nothing except a switch replaced (covered under warranty). I am short at 5, and it was hard finding a car I fit in comfortably, I drive 70+ miles a day for work, and my butt never goes numb like on past cars.

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  POOR gas mileage - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By horse8 - September 15 - 10:02 pm

  Excuses by Bairl Kia in Pgh for poor gas mileage: the snow, the hills, and the government sets those gas mileage ranges! I cannot get over 20mpg on the highway going 70mph. I bought this vehicle for the listed gas mileage. Not even close! The ride is hard. It has the bells and whistles but I would have liked what was advertised by Kia. I am disappointed.

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  The Rio has it where it counts! - 2005 Kia Rio
  By VonSpyder - September 13 - 5:36 am

  I can honestly say Kia built a tough little car with everything one would need a car to do. The 5 door wagon has more than ample cargo space and the front seats offer A LOT of leg room (Im 65" and comfortable!) the handling is great, the acceleration is adequate but nothing to write home about and at 4.00 a gallon I fill up on about 40 bucks (due to the 11 gallon tank) I was in a wreck on I-285 in this car and while extensively damaged the car held together and even made it home and to the collision center and will be road worthy again in a week! This car saved my life! She can take a beating! Stereo system is great, view of the road is excellent! Lots of cargo space for a tiny wagon!

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  Do Not Get a Kia - 2008 Kia Optima
  By barbararoberts - September 13 - 3:44 am

  I bought my car brand new in June 08. The main reason I bought an Optima is because all the safety airbags on it. it really did seem to be a safe car on the market at that time. Since then I have seen a main complaint that the airbags DO NOT deploy when there is an impact. That gave me a really big concern. Well, now my car is cutting off with me as I start down the road and I have been told it is because I have used aftermarket oil filters. BULL!!!!! They put Kia oil filter on and guess what? It is still cutting off with me. I came to a T-intersection one day and it desided to cut off. When it did NO BRAKES, No Power Steering and I had to pull out IN FRONT of another vehicle that was coming and just luckily there was noone coming in other lane so that vehicle could go around me. And I guess that I forgot to mention that my 10 yr old SON was in the car with me. I have taken my car down to the Kia shop in Myrtle Beach, SC every Tuesday for the last 2 months and it also stayed there for 1 full week during that time. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE EXCEPT A KIA OIL FILTER PUT ON... I"m considering this car to be a LEMON and I have told Kia that it will be on them if this car kills me and my son until it is fixed or replaced. I have been dealing with Wes and Bob at the Kia Service area in Myrtle beach, SC which has been very nice to me but something has to give. I am fixing to list this car under the Lemon Law with my lawyer. The safety of this car SUCKS!! I need help with this. Someone else higher up the ladder needs to step in on this case. Wes has a case number already out with the Technical staff but something has got to be done. I can not have mine and my sons life in jeoperdy like this. THIS CAR IS DANGEROUS. I have dropped it off AGAIN at the Kia Service area this evening (09/03/12) for the ump-teenth time so it can be checked out again tomorrow. I will travel ANOTHER 45 min to check on it tomorrow. My days off from work should NOT be spent at the Kia Service area.