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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  Kia Sedona at 13,000 Miles - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By diskjokk - September 8 - 7:16 pm

  I never dreamed I would end up driving a minivan but as a single father of 3, there was no better choice of vehicle for me right now. So I bought a 2005 Kia Sedona LX. I just love this van! Everything from the exterior to the interior of this van was put together with care and understanding of a family on a budget. The van looks and rides good and I am pretty happy with the purchase. My only gripe about this vehicle is that its consumption of gas is HUGE! I can get about 22mpg on the highway. When on the road, there is minimal road noise and good visibility. Controls in the cabin are laid out in a logical and thoughtful manner. Factory CD/radio system isnt bad.

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  Trouble free luxury - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By likesoafar - September 7 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our two-tone Sedona EX in Spet. 2002 with leather, rear AC and sunroof. My wife has put 8K on it already and we have had zero problems. Very solid build quality an execellent transmission. The ONLY rattle comes from the third row seats on occassions. I had a friend who knows cars sit in it without seeing the name. He looked around, felt the materials and said, "Is this a new Acura minivan or something?"

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  Gas Guzzler - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By jeffp - September 4 - 8:36 pm

  Overall nice vehicle poor gas economy

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  My "Soul" mate! - 2016 Kia Soul
  By Janice - September 4 - 4:20 am

  I was tired of the low seating of sports cars and sedans. Driving my Soul feels like a small SUV, solid, smooth, quiet, roomy, no blind spots. Love it!

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  My "Soul" mate! - 2016 Kia Soul
  By Janice - September 4 - 3:07 am

  I was tired of the low seating of sports cars and sedans. Driving my Soul feels like a small SUV, solid, smooth, quiet, roomy, no blind spots. Love it!

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  Good, but - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Mike Crowe - September 2 - 2:53 am

  We liked vehicle, but had problem from start of lease with poor shifting at 40-50 range. All dealer would respond is that no computer errors show.

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  so-so car - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Shaun - August 30 - 5:10 pm

  Bought this car used when it was 6 months old. The car is gorgeous inside and out. About a year after buying it, we started to have a lot of problems. One problem was the car would get stuck in third gear and not go up or down for days they "fixed" it twice under warranty but when it happened again after the warranty expired, it was a chip that I had to pay for. The coolant hose leaked and I couldnt buy one at a store, only the dealer sells them and it was $300. The airbag light keeps going off even though they fixed it 4 times. I was so upset with this car, however a year ago I got the new chip and did the timing belt, and since then the car has been very good with no problems, $1000, later

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  Some Good and Some Not so Good - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Jon - August 26 - 5:10 pm

  We’ve only had the Sorento 7 months, but our first impressions are some good and some not so good. First the good things: 1. Love the body design and overall exterior and interior look of the vehicle. 2. The ride is very smooth and quiet, with ample power for passing and hopping on the freeway. 3. Gas mileage is above what they rated it to be. We’re getting over 25 mpg on highway and 21-22 in the city. and thats in the 7 passenger, 6 cylinder, 3.3 liter SX 4. It has a very short turning-radius for that long a vehicle. 5. The shifting is very smooth and the manual shifting works very good for driving in winding, steep mountain roads. 6. There’s ample leg-room in all 3 rows of seats, but the headroom (with a sunroof) is a little too low in the 3rd row of seats. 7. I like the manual shifting capability. It makes driving on winding mountain roads a lot easier on the brake pads. 8. The blind-spot warning and reverse warning systems work well to assist in driving. The visibility when backing up is not as good as wed like, so the backup camera and warning system help in that regard. 9. I like that the leg room along the "hump" (console area) next to your right leg is much better than in many of the other vehicles we test-drove--like the Nissan Murano and Infiniti QX30. Some of the not so good features are: 1. Entering and exiting the 3rd row seats is a slightly difficult. 2. The front seats are a little too firm, and the power lumbar is still noticeable even when fully contracted. 3. The steering wheel position could be allowed to go lower and farther out. 4. I liked the CVT transmission on our traded in Murano, so I do miss that smooth, quiet shifting.

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  Still Truckin - 2008 Kia Rio
  By cf - August 22 - 2:26 am

  What can you say when gas prices are over $3, 35 MPH +. I am concerned as others have expressed that the slow shift in the auto transmission may result in some type of future problems. My car at 46000 miles is getting worse. The service dealerships are too few and far between. Otherwise so far so excellent. No problems just regular maintenence. I own 2 Hondas and have the Kia as a work car and drive it excessively. I dont even get into the Hondas, a real shame that I am paying for them.The lx version with power package has 6 speakers and one is blown, so annoying. Great system for such an inexpensive car though.

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  Bluetooth needs update - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Toms view - August 19 - 10:00 am

  The bluetooth is terrible--- every time you pass a new cell tower- it downloads your address book-- when you get in the car- the phone cannot be used until the address book gets downloaded. You also lose you phone calls when the cell tower transfers the bluetooth needs to be upgraded or replaced