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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  No Soul Better Than An Old Soul - 2013 Kia Soul
  By soulman30 - April 7 - 5:52 am

  Best bang for the buck. The Soul was made for the young and the young at heart. Entry and Exit is great for us that are starting to show our age. The young drivers really take notice of my ride and always stop me and comment that they think it is super cool.

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  Works For Me - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By MegaSarge - April 6 - 7:00 pm

  Very nice highway and city driver. Just turned 70K, no major problems, but Ill need the major service, timing belt, etc and they hook you for that (who doesnt?). Hankook tires were replaced at 45K and I had it aligned and tires balanced. Luggage rack is actually useful. Easy entrance and exit, solid doors, solid, quiet car.

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  Dont buy a used one - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Moore - April 5 - 1:16 pm

  The warranty is not honored if you are NOT the original owner. They have have problems with steering due to winter salt but no recall. Also a problem with the cooling hoses to the rear and again no recall. They have been aware of these but will NOT cover the expense since we were not the first owner even though we bought it with 48,000 miles. We now have a car with 78,000 miles and NO warranty.

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  We walked away from a high speed crash - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Tina - April 4 - 9:43 pm

  I do not normally write reviews but I do read them all the time for any item that I consider buying. I thought it was time that I wrote one. Husband, 2 kids and I (3 months pregnant) were hit from behind in our Kia Sedona by an SUV. We were on a highway traveling about 65 mph and were hit by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel, had accelerator to the floor and hit us at 80 mph plus. Kids were in the middle row and not a scratch or bump on them. Third row was intact and untouched. If my kids had been in a regular car, they would have been seriously injured or killed. Keep your family safe and put them in a minivan or SUV. Thanks Kia. That 5 star safety rating saved our lives.

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  From Behemoth to Best - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By one "l" - April 4 - 7:46 pm

  I drove a Chevy conversion van and wanted to downsize so searched via internet. Unfortunately, my perfect minivan didnt mesh with my pocketbook. Put off decision until last July I drove by a Kia dealer and saw the Sedona, checked it out and fell in love. It had everything I wanted at an affordable price. We bought it the next day without knowing much about it, but at least I knew what I was comparing it to. After putting 10,000 miles on it to date, I still love it.

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  A nice car - 2011 Kia Forte
  By concordenerd - April 4 - 1:21 pm

  Had this last week as a rental and was very nice. I wanted a Optima or a Sonata, but they were out and said I would take a Prius. They were out of them too. Avis insisted that I try this as it was a nice car they said. Had 400 miles on it so it was new. A nice car with a lot of features standard. Useful features. Averaged over 180 miles 35 MPG.

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  this is a very nice - 2009 Kia Amanti
  By monica broussard - April 4 - 12:50 pm

  this is such a lovely car to drive, while it is a beautiful luxury car it is still sporty with with power like a mercedes benz E350 over all i love it.

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  V6 verses 4cyl AWD - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By trippingman - April 3 - 8:20 pm

  We previously owned a 2011 Sorrento EX V6 AWD. I thought moving to the 2012 EX AWD with a 4 cylinder would help with gas mileage. However, it didnt turn out that way. While we did get some improvement (apprx. 3mpg for both city and highway) it was not significant enough to give up the 6 cylinder. Fortunately for us we got such a good trade in value on the previous Kia, that we actually lowered our payment. The cars were both EX AWD models. The 2011 had a sunroof but no navigation system or premium sound. The 2012 does not have a sunroof but does have the premium sound and navigation system. Overall, we prefer the 2012. We think it rides smoother with a less jarring ride over road bumps.

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  Never again - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By kitcar04 - April 3 - 3:31 pm

  Bought brand new didnt matter the problems began at the very start with brake problems and went on from there...Problems made worst by the worst customer service Ive ever experienced. With thousands of dollars spent and car still stalling we were done. You want a reliable car get a Honda. Thats what we drive. Excellent customer service every time.

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  Love my Sorento - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By conazza - April 2 - 6:13 am

  Great SUV with lots of comfort and room. Got it for a low 19,000! Took it on a 400 mile trip and was thrilled to average 29.2 miles per gallon. Im getting about 25.5 in the city so Im very happy. I wanted a comfortable car for family trips that would get good gas mileage and Ive found it! I have the 4 cylinder and am fine with the amount of power it has.