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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  Pretty Good SUV - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Walkers - January 29 - 10:00 am

  Like the veh except the ride. First off the suspension is too stiff. Second there is a high frequency viabration over 60 that drives me nuts. you can feel it in the seats, steering wheel and see it in the mirror. Also there is a roaring sound along with the vibration. I have had the tires balanced and checked for round. No luck. I took it to Kia. They changed the drive shaft. No luck. The factory rep, Great guy, had a engineer come from the factory. The drive shaft was changed again. No luck. The alignment was checked and was ok. They are now going to replace the gear box. If that dont work I get a new vehicle.

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  Kia doesnt honor warranty - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By mikes - January 24 - 5:50 pm

  Had a 2003 Kia Sorento for 5 years. Initially had an issue with a leaking gasket that was fixed under warranty. 5 years later, the catalytic converter has failed and Kia wont cover even though it is within the warranty window. Kia immediately looks for fine print excuses to not honor the warranty. We are stuck with about $5000 in repairs to transfer case, catalytic converter, spark plugs, belts etc. Basically, left with a cheap throw away car.

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  Worst mistake ever made! - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Unhappy - January 15 - 10:00 am

  Purchased the Kia Rio from a local Kia dealer and have regretted it ever since. Bought it for $8k, got $2k off for a trade in. It was the most adorable car Id ever driven, but I shouldnt have let it blind me. The salesman took me on a predetermined route and wouldnt let me go on the highway or let my mechanic peek at it first. It was at about 55,600 miles when I bought it and about three months after I bought the car the engine died at about 56,500 miles. This is apparently a known issue but Kia has done nothing about it. Total estimated cost of repairs for that was quoted at $2600 and I decided it wasnt worth it.

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  Its just ok - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By LoreB - January 10 - 1:00 pm

  I fell in love with the exterior look of the Kia Sorento, which clouded my ability to like any other SUV in its class. I like my Kia, but wish I had been more selective, and taken more time looking. It drives nice enough, has enough power, but, the back seat is cramped. I wish I could mention the dealership where I bought this SUV. I would not recommend it! Test drive the Mazda Tribute or the Hyundai Santa Fe. I should have considered one of these two.

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  Never Ever again - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Upsidedown - January 5 - 2:00 am

  The car is roomy, great gas mileage with the five speed, and the base 4 cyl is not bad at all. However I have had nothing but problems with this car. Everything from the center console falling apart to the infamous power window problems. Premature clutch failure, electrical dash problems, engine problems and on and on. Yes there is a bumper to bumper warranty, but it does not pay for car rental if you have to leave the vehicle in the shop (which you certainly will). When you factor in the horrendous resale and/or trade-in value I would say that this is one of the worst automobile purchases you could ever make

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  Poor fuel Consumption - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Mike - December 24 - 1:56 pm

  Overall I like the car but Im very disappointed with the poor fuel consumption. After doing lots of research I was under the impression that I should get about 30 mpg on the hwy, which is were I do most of my driving, even the dealer told me 30+ mpg. Im lucky if I get 25 mpg, I would have never bought this car knowing this because I was looking for something with good fuel economy. Kia needs to step up and do something about the poor fuel economy on this car..

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  Poor Gas Mileage Weak Performance - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By leladees - December 20 - 9:06 am

  We bought this car June 21st, 08 July 2nd we left from FL. to CA. for a month long trip.We averaged 19 MPG on the highway and had to turn the AC off for more than half the trip as it was so week to pull the hills. WE traveled I-10 going to CA. and I-40 coming back as we went to the Grand canyon and all. Before we even left for our vacation the seats started coming apart and by the end of our trip we had several issues. We feel Kia had a great idea but this model needs some work. It would be a great car "IF" they could improve the gas mileage, performance & quality of workmanship.

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  Extreme Disappointment - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By R. Effingham - December 4 - 10:00 am

  Reading these reviews is like listening to myself complain about this car. I have paint peeling off the roof & mirros, my sunroof wont close properly, I have rust on the trunk, Ive replaced two back lights & one front, currently have coolant leaking so heater wont work, have had a/c recharged & again its not working, light on radio and clock go out, bent steering shaft, and many other little items. Very disappointed, and if I thought I could get what I owed Id walk away. But cant imagine anyone would pay what I owe for whats left of the car. After replacing the coolant reservoir my next expense will be to have the rust spots repaired. Fun. fun.

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  2012 Optima EX purchased new - 2012 Kia Optima
  By Michiganrunner - November 23 - 11:01 am

  I love my car....except...from the time I bought it just over 3 yrs ago, Ive had battery issues. Now Im thinking its an electronic issue. I can sit in my car not running, and listen to the radio for 15 mins and the battery will die. Cant count the number of times Ive had it jumped. KIA replaced the battery last year...and the problem continues. I only have 32,300 miles on my car in over 3 yrs- with a newer battery, and its died twice within 3 weeks. Thankfully my local Kia dealer is going to pick it up from my work tomorrow morning, evaluate it, and bring it back to me before I leave work. My electronics freaked out today when I attempted to restart. I prepared to call Kias free roadside assistance again and needed my VIN# to do so. Id waited approx an hr and a half before calling. I went to my car to get the VIN...and it magically started! Wth? All electronic features had to be reset, but it actually started right up. Hence I do not believe it to be a battery issue, but an electronic one

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  Not highly recommended!!!! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Ronsmom - November 23 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Kia Sephia new 4 years ago. Not even a year after I had it the computer went bad in it and just shut down in the middle of the road. The customer service is horrible!! Nothing is "covered" under the warranty. It dents easily, the sealant on the windshield comes off, the seatbelts only latch when they want to, and the gear shift gets stuck. I do not recommend these cars at all.