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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  Gets you where you need to go - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Rio90 - August 14 - 6:53 am

  I bought this car from my uncle in late 2008, it had about 88,000 miles on it and I have only put about 3,500 miles on it. It runs pretty nice..better than i had expected. My uncle took very good care of it because the interior still looks great. The car starts always starts right away and i kinda like the sound it makes when you accelerate and the radio is off. Speaking of the radio, mine has the stock with CD player on it, its pretty decent, but will probably put a new one in. Can drive to high speeds(highway)if need be, but most of my driving is in town. Overall, this car has been reliable & hopefully it will keep being a good car to me. I plan on driving it until the wheels come of.

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  Not so good after all.... - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Aaron - August 14 - 3:10 am

  My wife and I bought our Kia new in 05 with the hope that we were getting a decent vehicle...WRONG! Overall its okay. However, the rear brakes make a groaning noise that the dealer cant seem to fix. The horn works intermittently. Every so often the A/C stops working. There is not as much cargo room as I had initially hoped. Unless you are a child, getting into the back seat requires you to be a contortionist. The paint must be the lowest quality possible, it gets scratched just by looking at it. The fuel mileage isnt horrid, but you can get comparable mileage from a Suburban. Which is what we are looking into trading in for. Do yourself a favor, avoid Kia.

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  2011 Sorento 6 cyl AWD - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Tim - August 13 - 6:40 pm

  I had this car for about a month now and have been very satisfied so far. It is fully loaded with Nav, premium sound, leather seats, sun roof, etc. I would have paid easily another $2-3K with any other competitor. Anyone who is picky about road and engine noise should stick to 6 cyl with this model. I test drove 4 cyl models, there was a BIG difference. It is worth paying the additional $1500-$2000. After driving an 02 Ford Explorer, this vehicle feels like a luxury car made from high quality materials. I liked the fact the KIA offers standard 10yr/100K mile warranty. I would have paid easily another $1500 with the competition for the extended warranty.

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  LOVE my new van....BUT...... - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By r2pnknhds - August 13 - 10:00 am

  This is our first van. I researched and researched before purchasing. I absolutely LOVE IT and you cant beat it for the price and warranty. I couldnt imagine buying the "Brand Name" vans and paying $30k+ for the stuff I have in my sedona. We just bought it a week ago, at 655 miles the engine light is on! NOT HAPPY! Have an appt for service already...never thought Id be in this position.

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  Happy and driving - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By KIA - August 13 - 10:00 am

  I shopped around and read as much as I could before buying. I looked at everything and only drove the ones I liked. The Sedona has the best looking interior of any mini-van, it has the best price and best warranty. This is a great van other than the poor gas milage and smallish space behind third seat. I drive it a lot on long freeway trips to Vegas, I always arrive fresh and never fatigued.

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  Cant be beat for the price - 2006 Kia Optima
  By LaMarr - August 13 - 1:30 am

  I test drove a comparable 06 Hyundai Sonata and I went with the Kia because it was $8,000 less. The Sonata may have had a little more power and dual exhaust, but the Kia was basically the same car minus $8,000. I went with aftermarket leather from the dealer as my Optima came with cloth. Now with leather I love the Optima. Its quick, and even gives the option of manumatic shifting, which can be fun. Its a nice quiet drive as well. I test drove a 2006.5 4 cylinder and found it lacking compared to the 2006 V6, even though the power output is similar. The V6 keeps up with the boytoy Hondas nicely. :)

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  Fun Little Car!! - 2012 Kia Soul
  By tayalynn77 - August 12 - 9:27 pm

  I have almost 9,000 miles on my Kia Soul. So far it’s doing great. I am averaging about 32 mpg in the city. Only one kid left at home now so I am down-sizing my life so I got rid of my luxury mini-van and went with the simplest and cheapest new car I could find. I went with the 6 speed. I bought the car with my business in mind so I have graphics and tinted windows installed. I also purchased a center console/arm rest which I love. The car is not the best for long trips. I took it to Florida (about a 16 hour drive) and we nearly were blown off the highway a few times. It handled fabulously other than that. We even had an 18 wheeler tire explode just as we were passing the truck and my husband managed to drive and shuttle around the pieces of tire with no damage or incident. Eventually this will become my husband’s every day car and I will get something better for traveling. All in all, a great little car to scoot around town in! Yesterday I got a letter from my dealer stating that they needed some 2012 Souls and wanted to try and put me in something else if I wanted to trade it in. I’ll pass!

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  We (heart) our Rondo - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By momgray - August 12 - 12:26 pm

  After looking around for over a year (we knew our old car wasnt going to last much longer), we decided to get a Rondo. We had gone to the Chicago Auto Show two years running to see a variety of cars, check out the new models, etc. and all of us loved the Rondo we saw this year best of all (missed it last year). When our old car went into its last gasps we went to test drive it - smooth and great to drive. At the time we bought our Rondo the 08s werent on the lot, but with the deal we got we are quite happy with our 07. My SO, who has a thing against minivans and SUVs (conspicuous consumption) likes our wagon solution; the kids love the room; and I like being able to haul a few friends.

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  I love my Sedona - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By sedona - August 12 - 10:26 am

  When I test drove this vehicle I couldnt believe how smooth and quiet the drive was, very surprising for a minivan. The interior is very roomy and comfortable, you can stretch out and really relax. The 2nd row seating is very comfortable. I got this van because I needed more room for my grandbabies, and it really gives me the room that I needed, plus the comfort. It has a lot of power, it can get up and go when you need it to. I love it.

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  Gas guzzler - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Andrea K. - August 11 - 12:10 pm

  Bought this van used and had nothing but problems with it. Air conditioning never worked;had a tiny leak that no one could ever find. Engine missed and jerked whenever the weather was humid and cool;basically all Spring and Fall. Again, no mechanic could figure out what was wrong. Rear heat antifreeze pipe rusted and broke. Sliding doors were heavy and hard for kids to pull shut. The MPG was horrible!!!! I got 13 MPG in the city!!! This van was constantly out of alignment and the tires always wore unevenly. It just wouldnt stay in alignment no matter how many times I had it done and bought new tires. The van was a piece of junk and Im so glad to be rid of it.