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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  Head Turner - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Bmcbd - December 12 - 2:00 am

  Bought base LE 4 x4 in January for $1,300 under sticker. I Did a lot of research and after test drives the decision was easy. Would buy again in a heartbeat. Local Boston just named it the best mid size SUV for N.E. weather.

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  What a great SUV ! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Fisherman - December 12 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. I was debating whether to purchase this SUV or Acura MDX. And I decided to get Sorento not only for the value but for the performance too ! A well-built car- sturdy construction, good looking vehicle. It handles very well on the snow. I cant wait to take this baby for a ride on the beach when fishing season starts !

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  Kia changed my mind - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Laura - December 11 - 4:10 am

  I owned a Kia years ago and swore I would never buy one again. We were looking for an inexpensive car and decided to try Kia again. This time I was very pleased at the value for the money. I havent had any problems in the year and a half I have owned the car. Kia has come a long way in my book. I enjoy my Kia and would recommend one to all of my friends and family.

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  Kia is my buddy - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Aaron - December 10 - 8:23 pm

  I bought my Kia as a used car. It had roughly 45000 miles on it. I was weary about Kia, but the test drive kicked the doubt to the curb. I absolutely love my Kia and would not trade for anything. It drives great, has power, and has a GREAT WARRANTY. I had an issue with an idle noise, took it to the dealer, got it back 2 hours later with no charge. Man thats sweet. I will eventually trade in my 2000 Mustang for another Kia or keep the Stang and add another car.

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  I really like both of my 2000 Kias - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Ed - December 10 - 1:30 pm

  Maybe Ive been lucky, but have over 50K on both of them. Only real problems were an initial coolant leak on thermostat housing (both of them) because of a poor gasket. And one had a bad plug wire. Very happy with the overall reliability and quality for the money spent - $8K and $10K (w/air, side moldings, spoiler) and these were out-the-door prices. I am actually considering buying another, hope its not a mistake and I was just lucky the first time. From reading all the other comments, I think some people expected Honda quality at Yugo prices.

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  Love it! - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Maui - December 7 - 8:13 pm

  I absolutely love my Sorento. I am a return buyer. I originally had the Spectra (which was too small and slugginsh for our family). I have found the Sorento to be very stylish and very well equiped. The only problem I have experienced would be that the paint is chipping off on the skirting underneath the doors. I addressed that with my local dealer and the problem was corrected and the skirting was repainted. Id love better gas mileage (who wouldnt?) but think the powerful V6 is a fair trade. The secret compartments come in very handy and the cargo area is more than sufficient. Id recommend this SUV to anyone looking for a midsize SUV.

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  Dont buy it. - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Dave - December 7 - 12:40 pm

  Purchased used last year, with only 54K miles on it, so it still had some factory warranty left. The air conditioner failed within a week of purchase. It took 7 visits to the dealership over the summer because their air conditioner "fix" usually only last 1-2 days. Since then, the rear brake cylinders leaked (no brakes), the radiator has leaked badly, the power steering is stiff on cold mornings (bad power steering pump). Recently had the timing belt changed, and in the process they also changed a leaking hydrolic tensioner (extra $200) and then the air conditioner stopped working again the next day. Dealership claims they didnt brake it wants $1200 to replace the compressor.

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  Best $ for $ car in the WORLD! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By boconn03 - December 7 - 10:00 am

  I just rolled 8000 miles on my Sorento and absolutely love it. Im happy to report after 3 major road trips and daily driving ZERO problems. Fuel mileage could be better but has improved since broken in. If youre looking for an SUV look no further.

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  kia review - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By pete tynning - December 7 - 10:00 am

  Although milage is not great, the tade off is the heavy latter frame construction for safety. easy to drive, with a tight turning radious. I like the large size tires for this mid size suv which has good off road capibility.

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  Press missed the boat on this one - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By John K - December 6 - 3:53 pm

  I believe in best for the money. I had a 2002 Passat before this car and love everyday in my Spectra 5. The car handles great, almost as well as my Miata. The interior is excellent, the seats are supportive and the room is amazing. It feels better built than a Corolla, is faster than a Matrix and has almost as much interior room as my Passat. In crash tests it gets two excellent and two good scores, so Edmunds is wrong in that department. The engine has guts and gets great mileage. I loaded it to where I could not see out the rear window and drove it half way across the country and averaged 37 mpg. Take into account the cost, equipment and warranty and I had no problem deciding to get it