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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  SPORTY LITTLE GROCERY GETTER - 2005 Kia Rio
  By TomC - February 10 - 2:56 pm

  I purchased my Rio Cinco in January 2005. It is a sporty little car for the price. The fuel economy is excellent. Styling is sporty. Overall it is a sporty little grocery getter.

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  First KIA purchase - 2016 Kia Soul
  By Phil Smith - February 9 - 2:55 pm

  over all this is a great car it may seam small on the outside but inside it feels roomy. The telescoping wheel is a great feature with my long legs I can sit comfortably with the wheel close to me so my arms are not stretched out straight. My friends have commented on the amount of leg room they have in the back seat as well. the acceleration is a tad slow but with a 1.6 liter engine that should be expected. I opted for the manual transmission by choice, I love shifting on long car rides to help keep me awake. With that being said the shift knob is less than uncomfortable imagine a cue ball mounted on top because thats basically what they give you. The palm of my hand will start to hurt wile Im stuck in traffic. I have purchased an aftermarket shift knob to replace it. The EPA rated gas mileage at 31 highway, but with good shifting and keeping with the 65mph speed limit Im getting 34.5 mpg commuting 100 miles round trip to work and back each day. I do very little city driving, the highway is about 2 miles from my house and my work is about 7 miles from the exit so most of the miles I put on the car are true highway miles.

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  Forte5 EX or SX is the way to go - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Bam - February 3 - 9:14 pm

  If you are interested in a Forte, get the hatchback. As far as looks, space,quickness in and out of traffic, and easy to work on, this is really the best hatch you can get. I thought I would never buy a Kia. Reminds me of Honda circa 1986. The only things I can nitpick on is handling is so so around curves, and stock speakers in the EX are horrible. Ride comfort is neither great or terrible. I drove out of the dealership under $20k for everything. Very satisfied.

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  2001 Kia Sportage Limited - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By dc5 - February 2 - 3:10 am

  Bought the vehicle new in 2001, and have been pleased. It has been a very reliable vehicle for us - only normal maintenance with exception of fan blower motor in 2004 (easy do it yourself job). Average 22mpg with mostly highway driving. Silly cupholder design, but I cant figure any where else they could have put it either.

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  Nice vehicle - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By Bob D. - February 1 - 6:10 pm

  You get a lot of bang for the buck with this vehicle. I drive gently on flat roads in southeast Michigan and get about 23.5 MPG with the four cylinder automatic. Most of my commute is on surface streets so Im very pleased with the mileage. Cargo capacity if very good for this size vehicle.

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  reliable, fun to drive transportation - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By slick - February 1 - 7:33 am

  I bought the Sephia brand new in 2000 with 6 miles on it. It now has 140,000 miles on it and still going strong. Ive abused this car beyond belief during the past six years and it has held up to the challenge. Ive had few problems with the engine, which happens to have a lot of potential for modification like its Civic rivals. Overall, its dependable, good on gas, and performs better than the day I bought it.

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  FUEL MILEAGE 20+ - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By harleydad87 - January 29 - 10:43 pm

  I just purchased an 04 Sorento EX w/ 105k on it. After reading about fuel mileage, we almost took our other vehicle on our day trip Saturday. 309 miles, mostly highway, cruise control at 75, w/ several stops, I still managed to get 20.5 mpgs. So, while 2 mpgs arent much, I am sure that I could have got 22-23 had I kept speed at 65-70. Way better then the 18 from review.

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  A great ride - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By maddad - January 29 - 11:43 am

  If you are looking for a car that will be mistaken for a Mercedes. a Lincoln, a Jaguar, or a Lexus, this is it.

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  Kia Sorento--Great 4+4 - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Joe N - January 28 - 10:00 am

  Sorento runs great and has a nice smooth ride. Problems so far are minor, some water leakes in to tray of the sunroof in the rear into a track. They say that is a drain track ??? am radio fades in and out. .Check your sunroors in the back ! overall this is a nice truck.

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  MPG Sticker Lies drastically - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By anubis2012 - January 23 - 5:35 am

  I liked this SUV but the window sticker MPG is way off! I am a conservitave driver. On paved roads getting 17-22 best, but mostly worse. This AWD is a mountain goat as far as the AWD goes. I only got stuck going up one mining road in NV and it was not able to continue climbing the gravel road without slipping backward and sideways. It was a scary drive backward down a narrow road with a canyon on one side and embankment on the other. It was great in the sandy soil of my NW NV property but didnt quite clear the middle of the pasture roads. I sold it with only 5K because of the MPG being so misrepresented. Sorry to see it go but too much difference in MPG way below sticker. Not nice!