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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  beware of 04 optima - 2004 Kia Optima
  By mike fletchinger - February 26 - 5:56 am

  I bought this optima in 2006 with about 22,000 miles. A friend, a kia service tech, said I would love this car. When used, the warranty only goes to 60,000 miles. After about 61,000 the air bag light came on, the cruise control and speedometer sometimes dont work and the transmission has gotten really rough especially in cold weather and on these cold spring mornings. It will have to be replaced. What started out to be a pleasure has started to become a nightmare.

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  DO NOT BUY! - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Shelly - February 26 - 1:26 am

  This is the absolute worst vehicle I have ever owned. It needed new brakes after only 25,000 miles. The brakes squeal when they get wet. The tire on the back is the biggest pain - hard to see around while driving and hard to close after loading cargo. The fact that the seats dont fold flat really limit the cargo area. The electronics in the car leave a lot to be desired - the power door locks make locking noises when you are exiting the vehicle. The cup holder in the front is in the worst possible place. You cant see the clock or reach any of the climate controls when it is in use. The one in the back is in an even worse place. Who puts a cup holder on the floor?

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  I used to be a "Chevy Man"... - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Frizzer - February 25 - 5:53 pm

  ...until I bought my 2006 Kia Sorento! I have owned my Sorento for 7 weeks and have put over 4,000 miles on it, mostly commuting. This vehicle is comfortable, powerful and fun to drive. It is good for lugging the kids to practice and it looks good when I take my wife out. My wife and I have always bought Chevy trucks before and after test driving the Kia Sorento and experiencing quality again, we were sold. The Kia Sorento is the perfect all around family car.

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  Bad Spectra - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By kennyg - February 25 - 7:13 am

  This is the worst car I have ever owned. I have an intermittent (has happened about 25 times) problem when the brake pedal will go soft while braking and the car takes a greater distance to stop. The dealer cannot replicate, this time they drove car 53 miles. KIA national does nothing to help me with this problem. I have had to pay for a rental car. The car is going to hurt someone, probably me. I will never buy another KIA. You get what you pay for.

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  Love this car - 2010 Kia Soul
  By bkl1 - February 24 - 3:20 pm

  Bought a Kia Soul a few weeks ago and have to say this is the most fun weve had with a vehicle! So far the gas mileage is great, and all the little extras like the blue tooth capabilities, usb plug in for the radio and the satellite radio have made it a joy to drive. We originally looked at this car because of the safety features and gas mileage, which is great for a vehicle this size, but we were truly wowed by all of the extras. I especially like the seats, its very difficult to get comfortable in a bucket style seat if youre tall, the support and adjustability on these seats and steering wheel make it a really comfortable drive. Not to mention having the radio controls on the wheel-A+

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  Kia Converted - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Tammy - February 23 - 4:33 pm

  The only thing I dont love about my new Sportage is the lack of pep. I test drove a RAV-4 4 cylinder with 53,000 miles on it before the Sportage. I liked both but I had a hard time letting go of the zippiness of the RAV-4. My dealer said Toyota had a much more advanced 4 cylinder motor than Kia. Well I wish Kia would figure out how to do it. BUT, the 4 cylinder is still peppy enough for me. I drive on the highway everyday back and forth to work and I dont have any trouble with passing if I want to. I absolutely LOVE the smooth ride, and lack of rattles. My mothers Explorer feels like a jalopy after riding in my Sportage. I dont like to ride in anyone elses cars now. Kia did a great job.

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  The Best - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Gene - February 23 - 2:00 pm

  I thought this vehicle would be to small but am very pleased to Say it has pleanty of room. My wife and I are bigger and we have more than enough room. There is pleanty of leg room in the back seats so no one is crowded. The 4 cylinder engine has more power than I expected and have no problems going up and down the mountains of Colorado. I also like the nice long warranty.

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  Great value compared to most other mini suvs - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Galen - February 23 - 3:42 am

  Great value for the money. Attractive interior, very roomy and handles well. I love the 3rd row seating that folds flat.

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  High MPG Driving Method-2012 Kia Rio 5 EX - 2012 Kia Rio
  By worknman - February 22 - 8:00 pm

  1.TURN ECO BUTTON ON AND LEAVE IT ON---2.PUSH THE GAS PEDAL SLOWLY-sudden pushing of the gas pedal turns off the ECO software and it stays off for minutes---3.when driving through the throttle dead spot from 20 to 40 miles per hour-PUSH THE THROTTLE DOWN SLOWLY UNTIL THE TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS-then simply hold that throttle position-let the transmission pull the car up the hill---4.USE THE CRUISE CONTROL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE-the Kia C-C is excellent but you must set it right to get the most out of it---USE THE 2 AND 7 RULE-always set your cruise control at mph numbers that end in a 2 or a 7-NEVER 0 OR 5!---5.your best highway mpg will happen at 62 MPH SET ON CRUISE CONTROL-SEE FAV-FEATURES

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  horrible customer service - 2013 Kia Rio
  By Raj merchant - February 22 - 5:29 pm

  Car is so so, but the dealer service and quality is horrible, I took my Kia to 3 different Kia dealer and they have no customer service. My car purchased came with wrong battery installed. after 2 years the battery died, I took into the dealer to have them provide the correct battery the dealers refused.