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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  Security is mostly a superstition - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By hoodwinked - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I have owned the car for 18 months it has been in the shop for cracked windshield, new radiator fan, new cat converter, blown speakers, lose passenger floorboard... IT has never been fixed when promised. I was verbaly attacked by my service manager for a negative review of service (go figure)the first 30k service is $600.00 the spark plugs last only 30k and cost $25.00 each. Next time its Honda or Toyota

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  White Tiger - 2011 Kia Soul
  By Jeff Cutler - June 3 - 6:04 am

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  Poorly built AC compressor and interior - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By Boo Borrego - June 2 - 4:56 pm

  Interior has a cheap feel, scratches or scuffs easy. AC compressor makes a knocking noise and I only have 3400 miles on the vehicle. I have taken it in for repair twice and of course the noise isnt as loud while its at KIA so they say it is normal. $27,000 luxury vehicle that makes a knocking noise while going down the road! I was a repeat buyer, but will no longer buy from KIA.

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  Like a premium Budweiser - 2018 Kia Stinger
  By Steve - May 26 - 10:58 am

  No doubt, this is an awesome looking car, its fast, and has lots of latest technology. I own a Lexus and Porsche, and never owned a KIA. I went to the KIA dealer, and, I was immediately reminded that KIA dealers are no Lexus dealer. The car is beautiful, but, I noticed the seat and arm rest are not very soft and on the hard side. I sometimes take long trips and wondered how Id feel. The interior is well designed and has nice materials but I am used to seeing a little wood in a sedan. I sat in the back seat, and, at 6 ft, it is very cramped and my hairs touched the roof. The dealer only offered me $800 off of list of $52,000. As much as I liked this car, I could not justify spending more than my Lexus for a KIA. I like going to my Lexus dealer for an occasional oil change and the KIA dealership just felt cheap. If KIA wants to sell $50k cars, they need to better understand and give the customer the full experience.

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  cheap transportation - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By guachi - May 26 - 10:00 am

  Bought car used in 2002 with 28000 miles. It was very cheap and, at the time of purchase, I needed a car that could carry three adults. For a compact car the back seat is quite large - bigger than the Civic, for example. Havent had any major mechanical problems except for some faulty battery cables that cost $80 to fix (almost all labor). The other cable was fixed for free at the Kia dealership. Not really a car I recommend for anyone except if you are poor. :) But if you ARE, then a used Kia can be a great deal. By the time my then girlfriend (now wife) and I purchased the car it had depreciated 40% in only two years.

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  Not worth the money - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Jessica - May 21 - 11:36 am

  I bought this car brand new off the showroom floor. Immediately we had some small issues but nothing major. After owning it for about 3 years and having more warranty problems, my car spent 6 months in the shop. So many things were replaced its hard to remember. There were transmission problems, computer problems, speaker/radio problems, window and lock problems, and engine problems to name a few. Due to the horrible depreciation on the car, we were only just now able to get rid of it without going into neg. equity. My advice, stay away, theres a reason for the warranty.

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  Not good enough - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By No Please - May 17 - 2:00 am

  10 yr warranty? NOT!! I WAS CHARGED $1,000 FOR IT!! Want more? When I start it in the mornings, it makes weird sounds and TURNS OFF. I have to start it again! In the dealership they told me that Kia Motors knew about the failure and would fix all the cars...they never did. Headlights offer incredibly poor illumination...thanks to that, my husband crashed one night. Car design is ugly...it looks old. Too little features for the price. While accelerating, it jumps and feels weird. But the car build is very strong. One day, I crashed...nothing happened! Same thing with my husband. Cool storage spaces and interior lights. However, itÂ’s not good enough.

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  Do not rely on 2015 Kia Sedona Brochure - 2015 Kia Sedona
  By jbrucelee - May 10 - 8:25 pm

  I leased 2015 Sedona EX Premium Package based on the information in regards to features and options shown on the brochure I picked up on the dealer in mid-January. At the night I picked up the car to home, I found out that there was no 110v inverter and no Drive Memory Seat. It is clearly shown on the brochure that 110v inverter is the standard features on EX trim and Drive Memory Seat is included in EX Premium Package. You can still see on the downloadable brochure from KiaÂ’s website at http://www.kia.com/us/en/forms/brochurerequest/sedona/2015. Kia said no fault on them because window sticker is the one I had to rely, but the sticker doesnt show all. This is Fraud.

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  Worth the savings?? - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By DomesticDog - May 6 - 10:00 am

  Price over all else was the the deciding factor in this purchase. The moment we drove the van off the dealer lot the "check engine" light was on. After three trips and three weeks in their service department, the problem was fixed.There have been other problems as well including: Oil leaks, intermittent A/C clutch noise, loose rear-view mirror and numerous squeeks and rattles (nine months of ownership and six trips to the service department). I would gladly add $50-$100 to my monthly payment to be driving a Honda or Toyota. remember, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!.

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  Look At Something Else - 2013 Kia Soul
  By loversoul - April 24 - 9:51 pm

  Ok so here is the deal at this point I have over 12000 miles on the car. I bought it in Jan 2013. I knew about some of the bad things like bad blind spot at the rear of the car and the MPG not so great but there are more bad starting to show up like the following: 1. It is noise like crazy when it rains you can hear the rain on top of the car. It sounds like you are in a tin can. 2. The road noise is bad with the windows down but even worse with them up. 3. The paint is starting to chip in some places. 4. The wippers leave a streak in the middle of the drivers side and KIA wont fix it and says the work fine. Bottom line dont get one