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:

• 

  I love this SUV! - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By swtjen01 - June 10 - 5:49 pm

  I rent cars frequently and had driven my family 7 hours to Orlando on vacation. I was shocked by the performance and comfort because up until then I thought Kia was a cheap automobile maker. It had ipod and sirius radio and other features I expected from a high end suv. I then rented other suvs such as the: GMC acadia, chevy traverse, hyaundai, ford explorer and etc.. and missed the KIA. I finally decided I had to buy one and I have not regretted it. My other car is a Lexus so my friends joked that they couldnt believe I was going to buy something that wasnt considered "high end" but they are amazed at how nice the suv is especially when they drive it and see what im talking about.

• 

  Goodbye Toyota, Hello KIA! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By rocknronnie - June 10 - 8:26 am

  I could not believe I was signing a contract at KIA for my new Sorento. After owning several Toyotas, I would never had thought a KIA would sway my emotions so much. I love this vehicle. Great performance, awesome fuel economy (averaging 22mpg without being broken in), looks great. I have had people ask me is that the new MDX! No other vehicle I looked at matched the feature content and driving excitement. Dealer was fantastic and seemed just as exciting for me with my new Sorento. KIA is living up to its moto....the power to surprise!

• 

  Great vehicle - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By erikheiker - June 9 - 3:10 pm

  Ive had my Sorento for eight months and have put on 7300 miles. It handles very nicely and provides a smooth comfortable ride.

• 

  My First Kia - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Mommas Baby - June 9 - 1:36 am

  I bought this car brand new with only 41 miles on it and I thought lets see what all the rave is about. After having the car a little while and putting 2,100 miles on it, I must say that I like it. The 3rd seat is kind of tight but overall I like it.

• 

  Kia Renee - 2001 Kia Optima
  By renee - June 8 - 1:30 pm

  Very reliable vehicle with a smooth ride and excellent reliability.

• 

  Kia - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By diphy - June 7 - 10:40 pm

  Only problems have been with the tires -- everything else has been fine. The interior is roomy, and the car drives like a dream.

• 

  Wagon or Micro-van? - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By D. Photo - June 7 - 2:50 pm

  Purchased April 2007. Current mileage 4100. This Rondo had big shoes to fill as it was to replace a 2004 Honda Odyssey, the sport car of mini-vans. Well, Rondo did a great job, in a smaller package. Smooth and quiet drivetrain performance. Huge interior room for the size vehicle. Fantastic all-around visibility when driving. Great standard safety (air bags, ABS, ESC, 4-wheel disc brakes, etc) features. Quiet ride at any speed. Firm, well proportioned seating. Fit and finish every bit as good as Honda (have owned five). V6 has more than adequate power, and a silent smoothy. No problems to date.

• 

  Six Month Review - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Lee Martines - June 7 - 2:00 pm

  This is a follow-up to my Four Week Review. It has now been six months and I am very much satisfied with my Sorento EX. Still no problems, and its still fun to drive. It has become apparent however that at 6 3" it is a chore to enter the vehicle, as I must lower my head considerably to keep from hitting it on the upper door frame. Once inside, there is plenty of head room, even with the sunroof. For initial comments, see my review of 7/13/2005.

• 

  Lots of SUV for the money - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Smiths - June 6 - 5:06 pm

  Only 2500mi so far. We love the feeling of safety and visibility with airbags everywhere. At 61", 180lb the fit’s roomy without any discomfort, even in the fairly roomy back seat. Nicely outfitted, well laid out but we added leather for an upscale feel. Firm ride with good feedback at speed, pulls our 2-moto trailer 70-80mph no problem. Good power, very smooth shifting 5 speed tranny, generous undercoating, quality alum wheels and Michelin treads. Sharp curb appeal for Saturday nite and capable offroad for sunday fun. Great value at 20k$ otd. Hope the long warranty is a seldom needed plus.

• 

  excellent - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Debra D. Anderson - June 6 - 3:06 pm

  This was one of the most important decisons I had to make since moving to the Virginia area. This turned out to be the best thing I did. The ride is comfortable, the gas mileage is great and I am recommending the vehicle to others.