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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  "Looks like a Lexus; its Affordable" - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By TahitiOnline - February 23 - 2:00 am

  Being the proud owner of another Kia, with well over 100,000 trouble-free miles on it, we knew this was our next SUV. It is a beautiful vehicle and has received rave reviews from our "jealous" friends who love the style and color. During the recent 6 day "Storm Watch" with terrible driving conditions in the Pacific NW USA, our Kia handled the road like a "Hummer"! Nothing stopped it and we felt very safe inside. Of course, driving with some good old common sense helped also!

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  Great Van for the Money - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Mdunk - February 23 - 2:00 am

  Only have driven a couple hundred miles in it, but I love it. The ride is awesome, features are great, and the family loves it. We traded our Ford expedition due to gas mileage and for the ease of getting kids in and out. We love it so far!!!

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  A neat machine - 2014 Kia Soul
  By Thomas - February 21 - 8:42 pm

  I traded a Lincoln Town car for a 2010 Soul! I was tired of a large, bulky vehicle and decided it was time to "downsize" into something simple, clean and easy to maneuver. I drove it until the 2014 models came out and found many changes had been added since 2010. The navigation system is the best I have ever seen in a car. The radio audio quality is super and the handling is fine. Plenty of room in the rear for whatever you are hauling and, I will never own another car without the backup camera. It has saved me a few times from "bumping" into things that do not need to be bumped. I will buy a 2018 when they come out. It is an amazing car for the value and my dealership (Sunset KIA in Venice, FL) is beyond all in customer satisfaction.

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  Very reliable car - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By CaliJoe - February 18 - 1:13 pm

  Ive had my Amanti 2006 model for 6 months now and I love it. The price is great also with great warranty. I had it serviced once with kia dealership and they took care of my issue promptly. I also get it confused very often for expensive rides. I have a jaguar parking ticket to prove it. Some of my friends make fun because it lookd like a mutt between a jaguar and a lexus.

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  Whatta Car! - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By dallas - February 17 - 2:00 am

  I cant believe I got this much car for the price paid. The styling is superior and it drives like a dream. I enjoy watching people walk around it, looking and admiring.

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  Just Plain Smart! - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By jm9736 - February 17 - 2:00 am

  With this car its a "win Win Situation" Great price for LUXURY! You get all the bells whistles and luxury for SEVERAL Thousand less than LEXUS, BMW and Jaguar plus you get a 10 year Warranty! The leather is SUPERB and the Styling Elegant! Can you hear me now! Buy one its worth every penny!

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  New Kia Owner - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Leslie W - February 17 - 2:00 am

  We got a great price and a fully loaded van. The kids love it and we are so happy to have them out of a cramped SUV where they touched each other and fought over everything. Now they have their own space and everything is much quieter in the car!

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  Sorrento SX is the best value - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By darfer19 - February 14 - 3:45 pm

  We were looking for a replacement for our Chrysler town and country and the Sorrento is perfect. It has the 3rd row seating which is good for kids, and all of the features are better than expected. We looked at the Traverse, Hyundas, Honda Pilot, and Ford Edge. The Traverse was nice but still had a lot of generic plastic interior parts and the price was high.. with features mid to high 30s .. With teh Sorrento we bought an SX which has everything GPS , Sirius., Bluetooth, Voice recognition commands, heated seats , and safety 5 stars... best deal by far

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  Heating/air conditioning - 2004 Kia Optima
  By lvargo - February 11 - 10:00 am

  Disappointed at the heating/ac system. The auto temp control works well, however, you cannot utilize the lower and upper temp feature together with air or heat. If the a/c is on in the dual mode, the lower vent will blow the temp of the hot air outside and not cool air. Conversely, if heat is on, the top vents will blow the temp of the outside air while the bottom is heat. Sad part is no one can fix it and main hq of Kia has not responded to my inquiries since the problem started in Dec 04! Dealership acknowledges the problem but cant get an answer from Kia on how to fix it either!

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  We LOVE our new Sedona EX minivan!!! - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Hartmans - February 11 - 10:00 am

  I am disappointed that our van did not make the Consumer Report top 5 list. We shopped HARD at all the available minivans on the market. This van won us over hands down in affordability (we wanted ALL the options incl. the DVD), looks, comfort (short mom LOVES the power seat options), and driveability. It isnt any more expensive gas-wise than the Ford Explorer we drove for 10 years. The crash tests impressed us as we wanted a very safe vehicle for our new baby. The seats arrange in so many ways! Who cares if you cant hide them in the floor?! Our only complaint - knobs/handles feel lightweight.