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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  2012 Kia Sorento Looks Nice But Has Its Drawbacks. - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By bc59 - November 8 - 9:59 am

  About a month after purchasing my new 2012 Sorento Ex with the optional V6 engine I noticed a loud thud almost everytime I started up my suv. I brought the vehicle into the local Kia dealership and they did some updates to the Sorentos computer which did get rid the problem. Also, my Bluetooth doesnt work so I cannot use my samsung phone in the vehicle. Flash forward one year and now Im experiencing a noticeable lag in acceleration. I told the Kia service manager about the problem and he said to add a bottle of gas treatment. Did that and the problem still exists. Ill be trading in my Kia soon for a more reliable vehicle.

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  Loved It, Sorta Love It Still - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Jess - November 8 - 7:56 am

  Spent a PA winter driving circles around other ppl and going up hills passing everyone. FUN. Its cute, way more economical than my Jeep was and super reliable in terms of the engine. After a year, however, the left rear side is creaking like an old house & like another reviewer said, my back hinge is rusting off and I have to get another. The hinges were on back order so this is a common problem apparently. The interior is cheap, you cant go in there without scratching it. Great engine, love the look and simplicity of it, but the rest is not holding up to my expectations at the moment. I dont think a car should have ANY problems after a year, just saying. Overall I still love it.

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  Kia EX V-6 - 2008 Kia Optima
  By PatrickDT - November 5 - 8:33 pm

  This Year kia was a pretty good one. But if you are trying to find one of these models used, good luck there very hard to find.The only model I can find used right now is the LX Model with the 4 Cyl. Engine or the EX With the 4 Cyl. Engine.

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  The Princess and the Pea - 2004 Kia Rio
  By NewRioApr04 - November 4 - 10:00 am

  The suspension system is very poor, you feel every bump on the highway and every crack in the road. Otherwise, I am very happy with the car.

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  Korean fit - 2018 Kia Sorento
  By luis p - November 3 - 3:17 pm

  Being 6.2 and heavy, found out this vehicle is not for long trips, for unless size/weight is average person from Korea, it gets cumbersome on a long haul. As to the back being comfy, not really. Seats do not adjust properly, and passengers have complained about lack of comfort. Admittedly, these individuals are older, and previous to this vehicle, we had a Honda Odyssey Elite. Why did I buy it then? A blunder, in my case. Performance is good, and the adaptive cruise control works like clockwork. Storage spaces throughout the cabin is quite limited. Ours has under 3000 miles, and for those more on the average/petite size this SUV should be more pleasing. I must tilt my head a little when boarding the vehicle. Stereo is average, and CD player heats up rapidly, hate to play it too much during hot weather. 3.5 Stars.

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  Very Happy With Purchase - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By like_it! - November 3 - 12:36 am

  Weve been driving our new vehicle for over a month. I am very pleased with our new 08 Kia Sedona EX (has power doors/power gate). We got a good deal, I think, being a 2008 model (paid 18.7K). It has been working great, drives well, works perfectly. It gets decent highway gas mileage (23.5 or better hwy). The middle seats are so comfortable; much better than stow-n-go seats. I love that the middle windows roll down, but I guess most minivans have that feature these days. CON: The drivers seat arm rest is too low. I can tilt the arm rest up and use it, but I wish I could actually raise the whole arm rest. Same with the front passenger arm rest.

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  Love the Sorento SXL except for: - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Paul casassa - November 1 - 8:16 pm

  Everything is as advertised. Love the list of features. The problem I have is there is rattling coming from the passenger side of the sun roof. There were 2 areas rattling. Brought to the dealer and after 4 days the vehicle was returned. The say they adjusted the sunroof. It 90% repaired one rattle. Still appears when the sun is on the roof the other rattle coming from the area of the sunroof and passenger side. They did hear it. It happens when driving over rough roads (which in Massachusetts are easy to find) after confering with the "help desk of kia" they told me it is a carteristic of this vehicle for a 46k$ Vehicle it is unacceptable beware of this problem. If you are looking at the sorento test drive it first over rough roads.

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  Great Value for Good Car - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By Harry - November 1 - 7:30 pm

  I love the looks of the Amanti. Sound system is great and it is very comfortable to drive. Have driven 900 miles in one day and arrived feeling pretty good. Gas mileage OK on highway (around 24 at 70) but sucks gas around town (17). I saw review about chips in paint and have several on my white Amanti. Paint may be fragile but pearl white is gorgeous. Steering is a little numb and throttle could be a little more linear. Ride is comfortable but cheap tires are noisy and stiff. Ride motions need to be better damped without being harsher. Love the way the interior looks. One warranty claim to replace master brake cylinder at 2 days and that is it.

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  2012 Sorento SX AWD - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By wjozz5 - October 31 - 1:51 am

  Our current Sorento is our second SX AWD in 8 months. The first was a 2011 purchased in Nov. and exchanged under our states lemon law in June of 2011 for a 2012 SX AWD. Upon receipt of our new Sorento we noticed a few new features that were welcome improvements. The passenger side power seat, multiple temperature heated and cooled seats and seat/mirror memory are nice additions to a comfortably appointed interior. The cabin is quieter than our previous model. Overall performance and handling are unchanged from the previous year. In comparison to the Highlander and Edge, the Sorento is an exceptional performer. Fuel economy is great. We have high hopes this model will last more than 8 months.

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  2005 Kia Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Mike - October 30 - 1:10 am

  We gave up a DeVille for the Amanti and it has been a great luxury car. The gas mileage could be a lot better but everything so far, seems to been built very well.