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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  Favorite car in 40 years of driving - 2002 Kia Rio
  By querflote - December 3 - 10:26 am

  Bought the car when it had 10 K miles, one year old, one previous driver. Since then have put 140K miles on it, with fewer problems than any other car I have ever driven. Replaced timing belt at 60 K and 120K. Has no AC (bought it in PA). 5 sp manual transmission. Fun to drive, plenty of acceleration in 1st and 2nd. Manual everything (windows, etc. ) means that nothing ever breaks, and no little things need repair. Incredible highway mileage, even at 65-70 mph (40-43 mpg). Had to replace gasket for trunk lid. Not a car for 4 large adults - better for 2 adults, 2 kids in back seat. Great value for the money I paid. Am expecting to put another 100 K miles on it.

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  2012 KIA Sorento LX AWD - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By lamplighter30 - December 3 - 5:25 am

  Due to a blown headgasket in my 02 Liberty I had to move up my plans to buy a new car. I had been looking at the 12 Sorento for a few months. I am a very tall person, no way I can fit in a sedan, I have more than enough leg and head room, seats are very comfortable, excellent visibility front and back, 2.4 GDI engine, more than enough pickup to be able to merge into highway traffic. Have to wait for the winter to be able to evaluate the AWD system. Already took a 150 mile trip, estimated 26 mpg city/highway driving. Still too early to do a detailed evaluation, Ill do another post if anything changes.

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  Drastic change puts it in perspective - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By LakeTravis - December 2 - 5:40 pm

  I traded in a Suburban for a Spectra, so the shock value alone took some getting used to. Overall, this is a great little car. Mechanically engineered well, great gas mileage (I averaged 34mpg the first weekend, 300 miles of mixed use), looks pretty decent parked next to a Nissan or Toyota. The "carpet" is more like some sort of fuzzy cardboard, well see how the rest of the interior holds up over the next 3-4 years. Overall, for the price I dont think you can beat this car in terms of warranty, safety, features, and performance. Sticker on mine was $17,250 - drove away for $10K after trading in a 1996 Suburban with 230K miles. Yeah, I keep them for a long time!

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  Where are all the Rondos? - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Jacks - December 2 - 1:10 pm

  My husband and I knew exactly what type of vehicle we wanted: sporty, great fuel economy, with a third row seat, and under $20K. After searching and searching we found the Rondo. But Id never heard of the Rondo! And Id never seen one on the road! We loved the car and purchased one. But over a month later Ive only seen 2 other Rondos on the road. Where are all of the Rondos?? But thats okay with us. We know we got a great car for a great price!

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  Love my KIA - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By hc - December 2 - 4:36 am

  My passanger doors are difficult to open for children & tend to stick. And a few big blind spots because of the rear head rests...however I love to drive my KIA I traded it in from a Voyager & the POWER is awesome! I got the cloth seats, didnt want the leather, but got every other option including the sun roof..the seats are comfortable, the sound system is as my 8yr old says AWESOME. I would buy another tomorrow if I could.

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  Our Sorento - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Robert - December 2 - 2:23 am

  We like our Sorento. It is a beautiful SUV. It has handled the little off highway excursions flawlessly. The warranty experience has been good except we have no dealerships close by and the front brake rotors need to be turned again at 37K. We love the quiet ride. We would like to see the gas mileage improved (it is an SUV) and to have a true FlexFuel (gasoline, alcohol, diesel, biodiesel) capability combined with hybrid technology (electric). We would also like some accommodation made for HAM radio installations (but that is one of our things). The farthest weve taken it is from CA to UT during a hot summer & it kept us cool. So far one of the better vehicles, but 37K isnt many miles.

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  Nice Car!!!! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By edubb - December 1 - 5:03 pm

  We bought the Sorento on Feb 13th for a good price. The financing options were very favorable. This is our first KIA. My wife and I are die hard honda owners but KIA has changed that. Since the vehicle is new, I cant really comment on maintenance issues. However, we bought the LX+ conv pkg and we love it. It has heated fabric seats and all the little techno stuff. Most we tested costed a lot for these features. Best Value I think for the price!!!

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  2004 Sorento Marginal at Best - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By ablebaker - December 1 - 8:30 am

  Rust and reliability issues, dealer maintenance costs are exorbitant and warranty issues are always issues. 23,000 miles and a plastic bushing from a defective intake manifold gets sucked into the #6 piston which it destroys. Gas mileage is abysmal - 12mpg in town 17mpg highway going downhill with a tailwind. Next time itll be a Honda.

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  Satisfied So Far - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By rach13 - November 30 - 9:06 pm

  We purchased our 2011 Sorento a few weeks ago. Driving conservatively, getting around 25 mpg in town. Spacious interior...husband is 64 and fits comfortably with adequate head room. Appealing looking interior & exterior. Ride not as smooth over rougher roads. Occasional rattling in rear area...not able to identify. Click sound from dashboard, behind radio when slowing down & hitting 5 mph. Dealership stated that the click noise is due to a "relay" which allows a driver to move from Drive to Reverse. The sound is a little frustrating/irritating to me but may not bother other drivers. Overall, the vehicle appears to be a great purchase.

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  Dont Buy! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By vj - November 30 - 12:50 pm

  I had problems from the beginning. The car overheated at 200 miles. Started with 16 mpg, but after several gas treatments and cleaning fuel injectors never got better that 19 mpg. All parts are made cheaply. Ive had MAJOR repairs: CV joints (65,000 mi), transmission (75,00 mi), ECM (90,000 mi). This doesnt include the starter, water pump, valve cover gasket, rotors, and several batteries. I cant wait to trade out! Save yourself the grief - dont buy one.