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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  Dependable Transportation - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By csg - April 9 - 1:33 pm

  I bought this van in sep. 2005. It has been pretty dependable. I have 57000 miles and other than routine maintenance and brakes I havent had to do a thing. Gas mileage is O.K. for a van (low 20 mpg). Roomy if you have kids.

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  From My Point Of View - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Juskolmeal - April 8 - 8:53 am

  I have driven quite a few autos and I love my Optima. The dealer came to pick me up in the 2007 and I fell in love with the car. Then they wheeled out the 2007 with the appearance package. Love at first sight. 17 inch rims and low pro tires. Chrome interior. Blue light dashboard. I have had people coming up to my car and looking at the Kia symbol like whoa?!?! A Kia??? Yes ladies and gentleman- A KIA!! Handles like a dream and the sport-stick performs like a dream. The take off power and acceleration has me moving at a pace that is keeping up with the best. Im telling you, This car is a real shocker!

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  Honest Review - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By kehaak - April 7 - 9:11 pm

  I purchased my Sorento late November 2010 replacing a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee (V8). I did about 6 months of research and test drives before I made my choice. I travel for work quite a bit and was looking for something with better mileage. I currently have 12,000 miles on the Sorento and nearly 70% are work related. The mileage was very disappointing at first, only averaging 21 MPG. After the first service, the mileage spiked. I am currently averaging a little over 24 MPG. I didn’t change my driving habits, maybe coincidence? I had one issue with the Sorento, the rear brake calipers were faulty and leaked brake fluid basically giving me a dead brake pedal. I took it to the dealership when I noticed the issue. They were very helpful and accommodating to get this fixed. This happened on a Friday. The dealership gave me a loaner out of their stock and I picked up my Sorento the following Tuesday. As mentioned in other reviews, I do get a little bit of a rattle in the middle/lower dash but this only happens when the interior of the car is cold. Living in Northern Illinois, the roads are far from perfect and any car hitting multiple pot holes and road damage is going to make noise. I am very happy with this Sorento. It was a great replacement against the Cherokee and the Sorento V6 seems to have as much get-up-and-go as my old SUV. For price/options/warranty, no other SUV/Crossover can compete. For an additional piece of mind, I paid an extra $500 through my dealership to get bumper-to-bumper warranty for 10 years/100k miles versus the standard Kia power train warranty.

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  Good car for my money - 2013 Kia Forte
  By dreadnought - April 7 - 8:49 pm

  I have owned my Forte for two years now. It has 17000 miles on it and we have driven it in all weather, all terrains, over much if the country without a problem. Ride is comfortable for class. I recently got 42.6 mpg on a trip from the northeast to Georgia and back , and The car usually averages about 36-38 highway, 28 local. Love the exterior staying for its classic, clean look.interior is bland, yes, but not junky, either. This is my second Kia, the first,a Sportage was a great car which I traded in at 80K to get better more economy, never gave me a problem. I trust this car will of as well.

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  06 Kia Amanti - Its amazing.... - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By new car guy - April 5 - 7:43 am

  Some of the features of the trip computer are useless such as the elapsed driving time. Having a fluid systems status check would be more useful and why didnt Kia think to integrate a compass into the trip computer; that would have been useful too!

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  My Kia - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Kevin - April 4 - 5:10 pm

  We love it....the room inside is amazing and the storage areas are plenty. The engine runs so smooth and it dosent make much noise when it is running. I have driven this van as much in one month than I drove our car in two years! The gas mileage is so-so..but we did come from a V4 car where we could drive for weeks on a tank of gas. Overall, I would recommend the Kia Sedona to anyone. We have purchased a lot of automobile for a low price.......Go buy one today!!

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  Over 200k! - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By nobother - April 2 - 8:00 am

  I purchased mine used 6 years ago to get me through the snowy mountains of Virginia, and it has never let me down. I drive it about 3500 miles per month and so far these are the only repairs: brakes, tires, 02 sensor (at 150k miles), batteries (gone through several of these), power window switch. Cloth seats feel cheap, but otherwise the interior is well planned and accessories are convenient. Exterior, for me, is pretty rough--it sort of looks like a beefy go-cart. I would recommend one for a new driver who will have to deal with inclement weather conditions. Easy to maneuver in snow/rain, easy to park, and there is plenty of glass all the way around so drivers can see surroundings

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  Surprised by a KIA but wishing for more - 2006 Kia Optima
  By chadyboy - April 1 - 3:33 pm

  I was pleased with the overall feel of this vehicle and appearance from the day I began test driving Optimas. This car gave the most bang for the buck of everything I had driven. The engine is very responsive and the ride is very smooth. This seems to be the perfect vehicle for anyone who does not maintain the vehicle as needed. Whenever I have done simple maintenance, it reacts adversely. I constantly drive the same Highway to work and back and after cleaning the fuel injectors my gas mileage dropped from an average of 32 to 26 without any change in driving pattern. I also wish I had looked for one that did not smell smokey. I thought it could be taken out easier.

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  tons of fun - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By bablewis - April 1 - 10:00 am

  this suv has been tons of fun off road and on road it is classy but manly the options are far more than expected in a suv that you can buy for less than 25k greatttttttttttttt suv.

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  i like my kia sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By brenda lee - April 1 - 10:00 am

  i cant ask for a better suv i love my suv