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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  Great Car Great Price - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Sara - September 4 - 8:23 am

  We bought this car after looking at the Odyossey and Sienna. For $6000 less than the other two cars and a 5 yr bumper to bumper compared to the 3 yr, it was a no brainer. We were able to afford the power package and are very happy with the purchase.

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  GREAT WORK KIA - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By JERSEY TONY - September 3 - 1:30 pm

  Just purchased this truck after extensive research and review reading. Truck is great. Visibility is outstanding. Styling is sharp. Vehicle handles like a car. Only down side is the transmission is definitely gear wrong. Shifts to quick, but what I have found is kia has done this on purpose to help stop people like me from flooring it and wasting all that gas. When truck gets going it has balls. Features that come standard are extensive. Kia good job! I would buy this in a heart beat if I had to do it all over. Such a fun car to drive.

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  BMW, Lexus, Lincoln or Kia? - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Kevster - September 1 - 10:00 am

  I needed a new SUV and started the old search/compare deal. I test drove all the brands, and then finally Kia. For me, luxury and price were the issues. Dont get me wrong, the BMW is nice and Lexus is smooth as silk, but when I compared the features in my EX luxury model with those of the others, I just couldnt see spending the extra 10 to 30K. Research aside, I have to say that my Sorento purchase is the smartest thing Ive done in years. I just love this car, its comfortable, drives well, has OK gas mileage and I didnt spend a mint to have the status of a certain logo, cause honestly, thats the only differnce in the Kia and BMW X-5. Really.

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  Love my Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By dkvia - September 1 - 6:04 am

  I purchased my Amanti new in 2004. It now has 169,000 miles on it. It has been a great car. Regular maintance has kept it running perfectly. Putting it in the shop tomorrow for a oil leak & power steering exchange, $600, cheaper than a new car. I WISH Kia was still making this car! Been looking for used Amanti with low mileage to run for another 10 years.

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  2013 Kia Rio5 EX - 2013 Kia Rio
  By wjaamod - September 1 - 5:39 am

  I bought my Rio with 73 miles on it. Ive only had it for about 2 weeks, but so far Im loving it. The Eco feature is hard to get used to, but its a really neat thing once youre accustomed to it. Its got a good amount of pep to it, actually. I love how spacious it is inside. Im over 6 feet tall, and I can sit in the backseat (and front) very comfortably. The little features like the folding side mirrors are great. The inside and outside dont feel cheaply made at all. I am thoroughly impressed with Kias work on this one.

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  I Love My Kia - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Joyce - August 31 - 6:40 pm

  We bought this van used with 49,000 mi. All we have done is oil changes, tires, and brake pads. and also a front wheel bearing. It has about 74,000 mi now and I cant complain one bit about the maintenance . It all comes under wear and tear. I love it but it is to big for us now so I would go to something smaller. At least when you step on the brakes you stop.

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  Seriously its a KIA! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By JordansKoup - August 31 - 3:00 am

  Look I am a die hard Nissa/Infiniti lover, but I was tired of my 07 Versa. This time around I researched forever and narrowed down to the Nissan Sentra SR and the Kia Forte Koup. I bought the EX koup. I love 2 door cars and ultimately that was the deciding factor in the purchase, well that and the warranty. I drive quite a bit and wanted something that I would be happy driving all the time. So far not one disappointment with this car. Now I know its a KIA and that may be hard to stomach, but please give it a try. You will not be disappointed. And really if your buying it for a race car, dont its not and neither are any cars in a compact class. These class of cars are not Ferraris!!!!

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  Not impressed in Nashville - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By chicks in nashville - August 30 - 6:20 pm

  After an hour and half of us signing on the dotted line, we had a check engine light come on. When you read the manual it says its related to the omission sensor. After 3 months and many visits to the dealer, we (dealer/manufacturer) think the problem has been resolved. Kia sent a field engineer to the dealer who spent, in total, 3 days trying different things and replacing several parts. Also, over the course of these three months we had other issues arise. The backup camera picture was distorted at times. The DVD player didnt work. The Auto climate control function went out and makes a rattling noise. And the list goes on and on. First time buying a Kia and not impressed.

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  Lousy car - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By mg - August 30 - 10:00 am

  Car has leak from the top rail. Kia never fixed. Always vibrates when you brake.

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  Wife loves the KIA - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By jack Johnson - August 30 - 10:00 am

  We love the KIA, the look and warranty is what got me interested.I had looked at the HIGHLANDER and ARCADIA.The wife (since she drives it more) feels more comfortable in the KIA compared to the ARCADIA and we like the body style and looks better than the HIGHLANDER along the warranty and price the KIA won. PROBLEM, within 2 months bad shock and rear tire was faulty, I had to pay for the tire since the manufacturer has no warranty. nether were on the dealer shelf so that meant extra trip to the dealer and vehicle downtime. We were told that the spare tire was full size, wrong it is a donut, 55 mile per hour made the trips to the dealer longer.had to order the cargo cover, not what the salesman said