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:

• 

  Plenty of room - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By bigbootiejudy - May 21 - 2:46 pm

  My husband told me I could NOT have a KIA, I went ahead and test drove it and took it to his work. I showed it to him and he was surprised that it was a KIA. We bought it and love it. I traded in a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan for this Sedona (more room). The only thing Ive had issues with is the side doors, sometimes they wont open all the way, but Ill get that fixed and itll be all good. I love this van and all my friends do too. Its great if you have children and like to travel, the rear seats fold ALL the way down. I personally think its better than my moms Montana. Check ya later, soccer moms.

• 

  long drive & snow it still gets me there - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By i love my kia - May 20 - 3:00 am

  I got my kia sorento just this November. It had 70,000 miles on it but with good history. It was well maintained. I drove it from Indiana to upstate NY. With all 6 luggage I cant say anything bad against this car. Now am testing it on snow so far so good. What I have to agree on kia said they will void my warranty because, Im the second owner. What a reason! 100,000 miles of warranty is still 100,000 miles of warranty.

• 

  great car! - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By marco - May 19 - 10:06 am

  This is the best small SUV in terms of quality/price rapport. Its very silent and offers a smooth ride. Its also stylish. Its not a sport car and it is perfect for a small family. My biggest complain is about fuel economy. I measure gas consumption many times and in the city the car gives 16 mpg, although in the highway it is just fine: 27 mpg.

• 

  Kia did this one right - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By jasonc - May 18 - 10:00 am

  Drive one of these before you buy another SUV. I researched cars (including this one) for 5 months before buying, and I fell in love with this one as soon as I drove it. Its affordable price and warranty makes it even more attractive. Jeep Liberty and Ford Escape dont even come close to this vehicle. It has good power but Id like to see future versions add some h/p and improve the fuel economy. The bumps in the road are more noticable in this car but its really not that bad. Great SUV for a great price.

• 

  What A Great Deal - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Noru - May 18 - 2:40 am

  I bought this car for my daughter for school, only to find out that I really like this car for myself, too bad its her car and I’m out of luck. I paid $3700 plus tax, tags, title. The price was right because the first owner fails to change the timing belt at 60K miles, and timing belt broke and ruined the original engine. Kia dealer replaced engine and now the car runs like brand new. So don’t forget to change timing belt ever 60k miles. The gas mileage is great, am getting between 36-40 on the highway and 27-29 in town. I drive this car like an old man going nowhere in a hurry. I will check out a used 2006 Kia Rio for myself next time I need a car.

• 

  Great car - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Robert Huffman - May 17 - 7:26 pm

  Best car have owned, first and only repair one coil burn out, 700 dollar repair, but this is first spent on car ever, other than regular maintenance

• 

  Love it - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By hawaii_bubba - May 17 - 2:33 pm

  I looked at several different Mid Size SUVs including Ford, Mazda and Nissan. Of all the models I looked at the Sorento was the only one that had all the features I was looking for.

• 

  Vehicle is Passable, Service Stinks on Ice - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By wschlagel - May 14 - 5:14 pm

  Vehicle had defect issues with respect to door handles. Within one week, three of the four door handles broke off in my hand. Dealership claimed there was a recall, but used a recent ice storm to slither out of replacing the door handles. Wanted to charge me $500 per door. When asked about the fairness of doing such a thing, dealership shrugged me off and told me "you shouldnt have bought a used car". Vehicle performance is marginal. Acceleration isnt that great, almost no power. Vehicle doesnt seem to handle speeds above 75 very well. Mileage is terrible, but probably good for SUV. Vehicle is roomy, and interior laid out well.

• 

  Got 3 of them - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By SS454 - May 13 - 9:26 pm

  Only problem I see is with their so called alternators... they stink - to date I have had to replace one on all 3 of my Sedonas. Other than that for what I paid for them theyre great.

• 

  6-months and counting... - 2012 Kia Optima
  By t1000 - May 12 - 8:40 pm

  The build quality, I rated a 3. Heres why: the body material is quite flimsy. Very light actually compared to previous cars I owned (Honda, Lexus, Toyota, Nissan). As I wash my car, I can feel how easily the hood can collapse under your hands, the rear fenders are plastic like and feels like I can bend it all the way to the back. However, it does have a 5-star crash safety rating. Go figure.... The comfort, I will never give a 5-rating because I havent found a seat that I like. Overall, this car has excellent acceleration, very sporty looking, head turner, excellent warranty, high tech features and a lot of them for such a low price.