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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  155,000 miles and still running - 2004 Kia Rio
  By midwest - March 12 - 2:26 pm

  I commute appox 120 (highway) miles each day in the Midwest (extreme weather, including snow, 100 degree and below zero degree weather days) using this car. I currently have 155K miles on the car. I regularly change the oil (synthetic blend after 100K) and get the belts (timing) replaced every 60K miles. Just this year I have experienced some looseness in using 1st gear (manual transmission). My goal is to get 200K miles out of the car.

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  Affordable luxury and Elegance - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Bill - March 12 - 12:50 pm

  No problems, smooooth ride, heads turn, people ask what it is. Cant believe that KIA has a car like this. Cant believe that I am saying this - KIA has a customer for life. Too bad domestics cant have this quality for this price.

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  Big SUV feel - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By MattH - March 12 - 11:40 am

  We were looking for a used SUV, when we stumbled upon this one. It had just come out, but it immediately caught our attention. Most of the suvs we had driven in the small segment, felt just that, small. But this surprised us with its solid feel, and impressive craftsmanship. We are somewhat brand conscious people, so this SUV really had to win us over to get past the KIA name. But we have had it well over a year, and it still performs wonderfully. I fully expect it to out live its 10 year warranty.

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  Just cant beat it! - 2003 Kia Rio
  By RSmith - March 12 - 10:00 am

  I had to have a car that I could depend on. Although Kias have had a bad rep, I went with it anyway. The price of the car is so great, and this car has been so dependable so far. I hope by saying this, it doesnt come back to haunt me. The car rides smooth and when on the interstate its not very noisy, which I love. No problems thus far. Plus the warranty!

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  Love It! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By dirksm - March 12 - 10:00 am

  The Sedona is a joy to drive. The first weekend I drove it, I got a speeding ticket -- my first one in ten years. Drove from St.Louis to Florida last summer and the cruise control had no problem maintaining speed over the mountains. The windshield cracked due to the heat and it took awhile to get a new windshield installed (it was back ordered). However, the service department was great when the parts actually came in. The Sedona does have many many blind spots. We had to remove the headrests in the back to be able to see out of the back window.

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  Annoying! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By mariebee - March 11 - 8:13 am

  Bought my Sorento brand new in 2004. Did my homework before I purchased it and people seemed to like it - at that time. Ive had it for 6 years now and Ive had to buy a new battery every year for 5 years because the factory installed CD (which was replaced twice) was using up all the juice. Ive had to replace tail lights every year. The last 6 months, Ive shelled out over $500 because of coolant reservoir leaks, after I paid off the dang thing.

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  Got this for Christmas and Love It!!!! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Princess - March 11 - 12:13 am

  My husband gave this to me as a Christmas gift and it is the best gift ever! I had a 2004 Kia Optima and loved it and I wanted to stay with the Kia family. I love my Sorento even though I intially thought an SUV would be too big and awkward to drive but I needed something bigger - more room. The warranty is one of the best out there. It handles just like a car so I dont feel like I am driving this big piece of machinery. It looks far more $$$$ than it really is. Several people thought it was a Lexus or Acura! Looks way better than those to me!

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  Best Car Ive Ever Owned - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Belinda Davis - March 10 - 2:46 pm

  I bought a white pearl in 2005 and my husband did not care for the color so we were out riding one day and we stopped by the car lot and decided to trade it in for a black one. These cars are so sharp looking, no matter what color they are. I feel like Im riding in a Cadillac but I did not have to pay the price for one! I love my car and my next car will be an Amanti and it will be my third Amanti that I have owned. Just ask me and Ill tell you like I tell everyone else "best car Ive ever owned".

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  A great compromise. - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By jdubbs19 - March 10 - 2:17 pm

  We bought the Sorento after looking at the CR-V and Rav4. The Sorento won out for the obvious: better warranty, features and more truckish styling (at least in our opinion). We got a killer deal (as does just about anybody) and read through the requirements to uphold the warranty to the T. Long story short, its a killer value and so far nothing has gone wrong. Weve put 10,000 miles in three months, taking long trips, moving and hauling lots of cargo. Its proven to be comfortable while averaging about 25-26 mpg on the highway and about 20 mpg in the city. Kias advertised 32 mpg can be achieved and has been, but only while driving 60-65 mph on a steady, flat highway. Id buy it again.

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  What a Disappointment - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Angela - March 9 - 2:10 am

  At only 62000 miles this car already needed a new timing belt and transmission. Also had to have the auto window repaired. Way too much work needed on a car of this year and mileage. Kia Customer Support very rude.