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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  Love it!! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Lindsay Gibson - July 19 - 9:06 pm

  This is our third Kia. Weve always been happy with the company, the customer service, the warranties, and most of all, the cars. We had a Sephia, then a Spectra. We decided to look into getting an SUV because we are both musicians, and have a lot of musical equipment that were constantly hauling here & there. I did a lot of research regarding this decision. Even though we loved Kia, I wanted to make sure we were getting an SUV that we could feel safe in, and that wed be happy in for a long time. The Sorento had every feature we couldve imagined!! Everything is so unnecessarily lavish - I feel so rich just sitting in it! The woodgrain detailing looks so nice, and it is SO roomy!

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Pleasantly Surprised - July 19 - 5:40 pm

  I was super impressed with this car. I always swore I would never drive a 4 cylinder. Well when gas prices began to rise I changed my mind. In the past couple of years Ive owned a 2004 Grand Prix GT, a 2005 Malibu,and a 2006 Amanti. I traded my Amanti for the Spectra due to gas mileage. It is so much fun to drive and it has a lot more pep than I would have thought. I also have to say something for Kia because neither my Amanti nor my spectra had or have been in for any warranty work.

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  Surprising - 2011 Kia Optima
  By redbruin - July 19 - 3:06 am

  I have had the SX Turbo for a week now and love it. Its a great ride and the power you get with its 4-cylinder engine will surprise you.

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  Never Again! Read before you buy! - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By B. Nichols - July 18 - 5:50 pm

  Like everyone else, I read the reviews before buying my 2005 Kia Sedona. Sure there were SOME bad reviews, but they were small compared to all the positive ones. Besides, it was a new vehicle year with a new design so we bought one. Here we are, just 47k short miles later. The A/C has gone out entirely (needs new $470 compressor), the engine almost dies (shudders) when you press the pedal to go. And now the check engine light has come on!! Its on its second front brake job. Whats next! I bought a 2002 GMC truck (w/13k miles) the same time and have not had a single problem with it. If you buy one, dont plan on keeping it long. Were trading this in on a new GMC!

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  Sedona Big on Comfort - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Sedona in AZ - July 18 - 8:20 am

  Performance when not in the shop this van drove and handled great but only gets 13/mpg. Serious problems with the quality of all interior materials: plastic (crumbles), carpet and cloth headliner (tear easily). I question quality of materials used on motor and other parts, within 4 years Ive replaced all the motor mounts, timing chain, transmission, CV boots and both power window motors and both sliding doors quit working. Van is really roomy inside. Front seats very comfortable, back are seats okay somewhat stiff. Seats are really heavy but easy to get in/out. Lots of headroom in this van. You do feel quite a bit of vibration through the floor from the road and it is a bit noisy inside

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  Love the Soul! - 2012 Kia Soul
  By cheat - July 17 - 1:39 am

  I bought my 2012 Kia Soul Base new in July 2012. I tried out Audis, VWs, Volvos, Chevrolets, and the Soul hands-down won me over. I LOVE the high stance (just wish they had an AWD option), quirky exterior, and modern interior. Even with the base model (auto, btw) its loaded with features - Bluetooth (which is awesome!), power everything except mirrors, cruise control, USB and AUX ports, you get the point. I have had no issues with my Soul, and have since put about 20,000 on it in less than a year, and love every mile Ive driven it. It really has some get-up-and-go for a 1.8 L 4 cyl. Ive added my own unique features to the car, such as a red carbon fiber interior/exterior kit.

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  2005 Kia Optima EX V6 - 2005 Kia Optima
  By H Gerike - July 16 - 9:16 pm

  Having bought this vehicle only 2 months ago, but in that time I have enjoyed driving it very much. Compared to my previous vehicle, a 1998 Olds Intrigue, my Kia Optima has as much interior room even though its exterior size is smaller. The ride is as comfortable, if not more so, than the Intrigue. The design is also quite striking. I look forward to a long tenure with the Kia Optima.

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  Kia Spectra LX 2006 - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Johnny Quest - July 16 - 6:16 pm

  The Kia Spectra is a nice car at an excellent price. I chose this car over a Civic because of the price difference and I have no regrets. The car is fun to drive and the transmission shifts smoothly. The engine has plenty of power and is remarkably quiet when idling.

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  Better Sportage - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Kendra - July 16 - 5:30 pm

  I feel that this new design of the Kia Sportages are very cool. It is a whold new look and now they really look like SUVs. I would tell lots of people to buy one because, they are not that expensive and yet they are stylish.

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  Great Car for Great Price - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By JamesJay - July 16 - 2:00 am

  This is a good car! We had a suburban and had to down size -- thats what we thought. Of course we gave up room, but this car made up for that in so many ways. I love the warranty. In the Suburban we were spending thousands a year to fix it -- it was a 1999 too. Now weve got a 2003 Sedona with a great warranty. After trading in the suburban, we only had to borrow a few thousand dollars for a new car. Its a great buy.