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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  Many problems with my Kia - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By purpledog - December 23 - 10:00 am

  Have had many problems with my Sportage. Have 32,000 miles on it and already had the exhaust system replaced, new brakes and tires. They just had to replace the 4 wheel drive system and now it needs a whole new fuel system including gas tank and fuel injectors. The ride is loud, noisy engine even when idling. Luckily almost everything has been covered under the warranty.

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  Great Car - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Doug1 - December 23 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car for the value and warrenty, I m impressed more each day. I drive about 45,000 miles a year and have almost 5,000 miles on the Kia. This has proven to be be a great buy.

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  I LOVE MY KIA - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Ramonita jimenez - December 23 - 10:00 am

  I LOVE THE WAY THE FIVE SPEED TRANNY RIPS THREW THE GEARS WHEN I PUNCH IT SOUNDS LIKE A SPORTS CAR. I THINK KIA SHOULD PUT THE FIVE SPEED IN THE NEW SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE THEY ARE INTRODUCING NEXT YEAR (sorrento)

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  I love this vehicle! - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Regina - December 22 - 9:46 pm

  We purchased our new Kia after our 2000 Chevy Venture starting having problems due to its age and 95,000 miles on it. No complaints with the Venture but I didnt like to looks or the price of Chevys Uplander. After pricing the Chevy and the Dodge vans we decided to check out Kia. so far I love it We did have to have the fuel pump replaced right away as it was taking a lot of cranking to start it. Kia gave us a loaner to use which was identical to our vehicle...great move Kia. :) I highly recommend people to check out Kia, great amenities for the price!

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  Great Mid size SUV - 2015 Kia Sorento
  By barlo1 - December 22 - 5:51 pm

  Im a loyal Toyota customer, but I wanted to see what other car makers had to offer. So I test drove a number or SUVs from Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Subaru & Nissan. And the 2015 Sorento impressed me so much that I stopped looking. Its the perfect size, it rides great (better than most other SUVs), very comfortable, great standard feature & options. Very good quality all around, great warranty and Im getting about 26mpg city & highway combined. When you compare the price and quality of the Sorento to other SUVs. Sorento wins.

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  RIO 5 Door SX Is Best In Class - 2012 Kia Rio
  By btatr - December 21 - 6:39 am

  The 5 Door KIA RIO SX is clearly the best car in its class and the driving experience can only be described as pure fun. There are other competitors in this class that are better in one or two areas, but none have the overall combination of a terrific engine with an excellent 6 speed automatic transmission, lots of interior room, fantastic looks, an abundance of safety features, high tech gadgets, nimble handling, and the best warranty in the industry. The RIO is extremely comfortable on long trips, which is unusual for a small car. Can you believe the outside mirrors are heated electronically and fold into the car with the touch of a button? And it has a rear view camera!

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  Good Second Hand Car - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Stacia - December 21 - 5:50 am

  I bought this car second hand with 56k miles on it, paid only $4k. It now has over 110K miles on it. I need a reliable and good commuter car. I got it. I drive 100 miles a day to work. My car has been great for the price. It has had a few mechanical problems but overall I cant complain.

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  GREAT CAR - 2018 Kia Forte
  By GREAT CAR - December 20 - 4:49 am

  Its work the money compared to other vehicles in this same class.

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  CHUCKS REVIEW - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By CHARLES P. TRACY - December 19 - 2:20 pm

  I have been surprised with the reaction that I get from my friends about the Kia Amanti. They all are impressed with the styling and comfort of the car, not to mention how quite it runs. They just cant believe that it is a Kia ! We also have a hatchback Spectra that I bought for my daughter. She loves it.

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  the meaning of the word value - 2003 Kia Optima
  By bradwallace - December 19 - 10:00 am

  The KIA Optima is a fantasticly designed car, the beautiful lines of the vehicle complimented by the reliability of the hyundai sonota frame guarantees the ride of this vehicle to be second to none in its class. Affordability and options all come together with power leather seats as options and an infinity sound system. the front and passenger airbags as well as side airbags keep you feeling safe. sunroof, available v6 or 4cyl. depending on how fast you want to go!