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:

• 

  Love this car, my 2nd one - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Ingrid - July 25 - 3:20 pm

  I love the Kia Sedona; great price, nice looking, lots of room for kids and big shopping trips. Great if you regularly have out of town guests with lots of luggage. Lots of bells and whistles without a high price. Very safe; unfortunately mine was involved in two accidents, neither my fault, and although 1 was a fatality accident I came through without a scratch. Some bumps and bruises but no major injuries. Even at 3 years old my first Sedona was worth more than we owed on the loan when the last accident totaled it. Love the safety feature of not being able to open the sliding door when the gas lid is open.

• 

  Kia Optima - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Kathy Worley - July 25 - 1:20 pm

  This is without a doubt the best and easiest car I have ever driven. The ride is smooth, the car is easy to maneuver. We love everything about the car. The warranty was great, the dealership was kind and very informative.

• 

  kia has got a gem in this one - 2015 Kia Sedona
  By Todd Mates - July 25 - 7:34 am

  this is the best minivan out there I test drove them all ive owned 5 vans and this is by far the best one yet

• 

  Fun to drive, Sportage SX 2.0 Turbpo - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By SportyOne - July 24 - 8:27 pm

  The Sportage has everything you need. Its fast, with unbelievable take off and passing power especially in sports mode. Its quiet, comfortable, stylish and has an excellent sounding harman kardon stereo system. And for a small SUV, it feels roomier than the Rav4 and much more fun to drive. Love the two tone canyon and beige interior. We tried the Rav4, CRV, Escape and Rogue before deciding on the Sportage. Not as fuel efficient as other Suvs and we are at the pumps often but then again it doesnt help that we always want to be driving it. We average about 28 imperial miles per gallon(from Canada)

• 

  Hazard switch location - 2006 Kia Rio
  By hjshaffer673 - July 24 - 2:17 pm

  Just bought this vehicle with 71,000 miles. So far I really like it. Just one complaint. Hopefully its been moved since. I seriously dislike that each time I reach to change the volume of the stereo, may hand hits that emergency flasher button making me check that I didnt accidently turn them on.

• 

  Beliver in Kia safety - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By TKA - July 24 - 3:36 am

  We purchased a 2004 Kia Sedona largely on price and figured with a 100K warranty if it was junk KIA would have to fix it. We found it to be a very reliable, stable and flexable vehicle that could do about anything we ask. On July 2, 2007 we were hit in the passenger side and pushed into a pole. The van was totalled but my wife and I walked away with only a broken nose and bruises. The fire and ambulance crew were afraid we would be dead when they saw the van. We believe in Kia safety and purchased a brand new one immediately. We love and trust our Kia minivan. I would recommend it to anyone.

• 

  2009 Kia Sedona - 2009 Kia Sedona
  By 09_kia_sedona - July 22 - 3:37 pm

  We bought our 2009 Sedona in 2011 - it had 30K on it. I LOVED that van. It was roomy, reliable, and had very few problems (the rubber on the sliding door came loose but that was covered by the warranty). The ONLY reasons we got rid of it were because of the high miles (115K) and its not the best with gas mileage. I would bet that van couldve easily lasted another 100K but I didnt want to deal with any age-related issues.

• 

  1st time KIA owner - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Richard Griffin - July 22 - 7:30 am

  I bought this 1 year ago with a little concern because I had never heard anything about the KIA Sorento. But loved the look and feel of it when I drove it. We have had some major snow storms in Reno this year and it handles very well in the snow. I have to tell you, I have had no problems with it and taking it back to the dealer for it services has been a positive experience. I can not say that about some other dealers that I have purchased vehicles from. Im very impressed and would recommend to anyone.

• 

  How could I - 2011 Kia Optima
  By slownomore - July 21 - 6:25 pm

  I never thought I would leave the US market but when kia came out with the new design on the optima I said I want that car.So far I have no regrets on buying my 2011 optima even though I have the LX with automatic and conv.package upgrades I love this car.With my bad driving habits I still get 30mpg.The 2.4 liter has plenty of power for me.The ride is nice and fairly quiet.I like the new design inside and out

• 

  2014 Kia Soul, my third Soul! - 2014 Kia Soul
  By fhgardner - July 21 - 6:23 pm

  This is my third Soul, having purchased 2011 and 2013 Exclaim models (I still own the 2013 Exclaim model), and they keep getting better and better! Budgetary limitations forced me to purchase the Base A/T model this time. Have had it for 10 days and 400 miles and it is a dream! The redesign of the chassis/frame and the suspension system has resulted in a much quieter soother riding car with a stiffness that is screaming "quality!". Time will tell if my impressions will last, but if the 2013 and 2011 models are any guide, Im in for another pleasurable ownership period!!!