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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  Best New Purchase I have made - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By rsigler - September 5 - 4:56 am

  I purchased my SUV one week ago and couldnt be happier. I have had no problems and the more you drive it the more you like it. I have purchased a few new vehicles over time and this one is exceeding my expectations and is my favorite.

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  shouldve been great - 2003 Kia Rio
  By George - September 4 - 5:03 pm

  I bought this car second hand from an elderly lady with 8,300 miles on it, and at first I loved it. Good performance due to light weight, and great mileage (32 mpg) certainly had me feeling good when gas prices soared. Love the warranty coverage, though Ive had to use it throughly, and this was the cars ultimate undoing. By 61,000 miles of mixed city, suburban and long highway drives, it has gone through several (4- 5) sets of front wheel bearings, a control arm, a few sensors (check engine light comes on every spring for something different) and a TRANSMISSION. Im currently facing another failed sensor, an ominous noise that the dealer says is "normal" and spotty starts. Hoped for better.

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  Hard to beat at this price point - 2011 Kia Forte
  By Dan - September 4 - 2:08 am

  Purchased EX 5 door auto new. Have 64K mile on it, and it has never seen a repair shop. Oil changes and one set of tires are only maintenance expense so far. Mileage is as expected, 29-31 in normal driving, 70/30 city/highway. Did get over 41 mpg one time when I held it at 60 on an interstate trip. Normally get 33-35 on the highway. Best features are the seating comfort, both front and rear, outward visibility, cargo capacity, reliability, and economy of operation. Worst features are the navigation and backup camera implementation. Navigation commands sound like broken, computer-generated English, making it difficult to understand which road to turn on at times. Backup camera has a design flaw, IMHO, where it takes 7-8 seconds for anything to appear on the screen after starting the car. So I start the car, immediately shift into reverse to back out of a parking space, then wait for 6-7 seconds for the image to appear. Kind of negates the purpose of having the camera. But, even with these 2 nits, the Forte is a very nice car.

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  The half a truck - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By Fnkycld - September 4 - 2:00 am

  My experiences are great with my vehicle. Dont have any major complains, you just cant get a perfect vehicle. You would want features from all vehicle if it could possably be done.

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  Great value, great warrantee - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By colokiaguy - September 4 - 2:00 am

  Solid vehicle loaded with standard options including key safety features like side curtain airbags. Performed great in recent blizzard. Very roomy compared to others in its class. Cant beat this value. Other than the rough ride this is a great vehicle.

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  I cant believe I bought a Kia! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By CnB - September 4 - 2:00 am

  I still cant believe I bought a Kia! My husband and I just had a baby and we refused to buy a four door car so we started shopping around for SUVs we looked at every one of them and almost bought two, the Xterra and Santa Fe. Thank God we didnt. I love the space, the way it drives and the way it looks! We call it our cheap Lexas! I would recommend it to anyone! I LOVE IT!!!:)

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  Consumers Beware! - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Consumers Beware!!!! - September 3 - 6:36 pm

  My van has a thumping noise caused from the struts. What bothers me the most is that Sedona vans have been known to have this problem since 2002. Had I known this I would have driven right by this dealership on the day I bought my van. Now, I am stuck. Kia is aware of this noise and has established it as an "irritant noise" and not a safety issue; therefore, at this time nothing can be done until Kia develops a replacement part (which will be covered by warranty, given the warranty does not expire before the part is invented). Great van -- if you dont mind a brand new vehicle that makes a thumping noise. Before you buy a Sedona do your research -- talk with other Sedona owners.

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  My New Ride - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Patricia Gingras - September 3 - 2:28 pm

  2017 Kia Sportage SX Turbo So smooth to drive count not be happier

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  Best bang for the buck! - 2016 Kia Sportage
  By Raymond Ptak - September 2 - 12:48 pm

  Purchase a previous rental LX AWD with 4700 miles for a $7000 savings over new. Vehicle is tight with no squeaks or rattles. Steering is god as well as handling, keeping in mind that it is a tall vehicle and not a sports car. Bought this model over the EX because the wife wanted simplicity. Another point to remember is the 10 tear, 100 warranty. While the Nissan Rogue and Honda CRV and others are comparable, their prices are thousands more without the lengthy warranty or the high J. D. Power quality rating.

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  I love my little car. - 2004 Kia Rio
  By septembersrain - September 1 - 11:49 am

  I enjoy driving it so much that I am going to end up replacing the motor and transmission on it. Even with replacing both of those I will still be only paying a third of what it would cost to buy a new car. Not to mention even with all the maintenance Ive had done, The car has never once left me stranded. Ive had cars, trucks, and SUVs prior to this car. This was the first time Ive ever had this much fun driving though. Finding parking spots, flitting in and out of traffic, great gas mileage, and shes so simple. Those new cars have just too much technology that will distract me while I am driving. I can also foresee a huge expense of having to replace that technology when it goes out.