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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  What a bargain! - 2007 Kia Optima
  By imacheapsk8 - May 7 - 8:50 pm

  I think this car drives just as nicely as a Camry or Accord for several thousand less!

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  Quick, Quiet, Quality - 2006 Kia Rio
  By Charlie in KY - May 5 - 1:06 pm

  Have owned for 5 months now, this car has proven its more than I initially expected. It has a peppy engine, good mileage (28 in town) very easy to drive and park. And with all the standard airbags and the great 100,000 mile warranty, I am looking forward on having this car for many years.

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  Functional but Unreliable - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Dan - May 4 - 10:20 pm

  We purchased this van for our expanding family in August 2006. I think after two years I can provide good insight. The van is comfortable and great on long trips, even with kids. It will swallow anything. The powertrain is smooth and powerful enough, if not all that responsive. Fuel economy is probably what can be expected from a 4500 lb minivan, I get 16 mpg in the city. The main problem is reliability. I have had trouble mainly with the brakes, an O2 sensor, and I had a fuel pump go out. I have warped two sets of front rotors in less than 25,000 miles, and Kia wont cover the second set under warranty even though they only lasted 10,000 miles. Beware of this issue on this van.

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  Shaky over 70 mph - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Kia Family - May 4 - 10:00 am

  When driving around town, it is very comfortable and performs well. However, I noticed since the night we brought it home, that if you go anywhere over 70 mph, the truck actually begins to shake. However, after reading some articles on the truck, Ive seen similiar complaints. The Sorento is a very nice looking SUV, that is so similiar in looks to the Lexus 300, it makes you want to park next to them and laugh at how much more they paid for their vehicle. Ive had my Kia Sedona for almost a year, and I absolutely love it!

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  04 EX V6 Optima - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Matt Tyndall - May 4 - 6:40 am

  Ive had the car for 5 months and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Its only shortcomings are sup-par fuel mileage and raw acceleration. Everything else has exceeded my expectations. The car appears to be solidly built and hasnt burned a lick of oil for the first 10K miles.

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  4 years and 74K miles later - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Docker - May 2 - 2:23 am

  Front brake rotors had to be replaced at 12K. I installed cross drilled and slotted rotors which made braking much better but it eats pads more. Rear brakes have been great and still have over 50% left on them. Power/acceleration is much better than expected even towing a 2K# trailer. Handling is great for a minivan. There seems to be a rust issue with the rear heater hose which I feel should be a recall because its a design flaw. This was a $375 repair OUCH. Just hit 74K miles and the O2 sensor is shot. This too I believe is a quality issue as I have never replaced this sensor on any other vehicle I have owned. I hope to get at least 300K out of this van and will keep you posted.

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  2013 LX GDI AWD - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By ucinn35 - April 30 - 7:35 pm

  We bought a 2012 SX AWD for the wife last year. We love that car so much we bought another one for me. I use it for work everyday so I went with the GDI for better gas mileage. Im getting between 24 and 25 combined with a couple hundred pounds of tools and parts in it. The acceleration is peppy and more than adequate. The 6 speed shifts smoothly and effortlessly. Handling is great, a very good turning radius so it handles like a smaller car. The SX has 25000 miles on it and mine has 1000 and weve had no problems out of either of them. I am probably a Kia customer for life now.

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  Reliability could get 6 stars - 2008 Kia Optima
  By bklyndriver - April 30 - 6:42 pm

  Ive had this car, as second owner, for three years. It has never been a problem. All Ive done is replace the brakes and tires. Its still got less than 35K miles, but so far this is the best around-the-town car Ive ever had. It is surprisingly fun to drive, handles great. Downsides: I dont get the mileage I thought it would get - seems like I fill up a little too often. At about 30, I can feel the gear shift. There is absolutely no style to this car - it is super generic. These things dont detract from how good the Optima is.

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  Stay away from Kia - 2008 Kia Optima
  By i_hate_kia - April 29 - 2:49 pm

  1 BAD EXPERIENCE , I will never buy another , motor locked up with only 46,688 miles , they piece together another new engine because kia was to cheap to send a complete motor it runs for 10,00 miles and the oil light starts coming on at ideal. I ended up letting the dealer buy the car back and bought a Toyota camry, almost forgot car was out of service for 47 days the first time and the next time well its been 3 weeks today and its still not fixed 1/11/12 VERY BAD EXPERIENCE

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  Great Fun for a minivan - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By DnK - April 29 - 10:43 am

  I bought the 2005 and only months later had to get another. I got the 2006 and have not been more pleased.