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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  My new Kia - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By kia guy - March 8 - 3:06 pm

  Great power for a car that price and hosepower. 1st gear power is great. Exterior design is ok. Interior is great. Seats are wonderful with a lot of space. The heated seats burn my buns. Its sooo slient I dont even know the car is running when it is. A little too bouncy though. More than a Towncar I think! So cant make those fast turns without feeling like youre about to roll over. Would not spend $30,000 for a new one but this would be a great buy to get a one year old one. Ive seen some for $15,000 for an 04 with 8,000 miles.

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  OUTSTANDING Vehicle` - 2012 Kia Soul
  By wyowes - March 8 - 8:01 am

  I just purchased a 2012 Kia Soul from Weseloh Kia in Carlsbad, CA. First of all the dealership was outstanding as well as the folks--Elise and Oscar--to took care of me. They were all just amazing. I love my car. This is the 3rd Kia our family has purchased. Together with the quality of the car, the look, and the warranty, and of course all the air bags, I wouldnt get any other model. Also the price is right, too! Thank you to all who are connected with this Car Dealer.

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  First Time Kia Owner - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Ralph - March 8 - 6:40 am

  Find the L-4 engine very competent in this vehicle coupled with Kias 6 speed auto. Just completed first 800 miles (mostly hwy)averaging 25.8 mpg while pushing/testing vehicle during highway driving through mountains and expressway driving in TN and KY. Delighted with lack of engine noise and strain during shift down while going through mountains on cruise control at 70 mph. Pleased with my purchase price and overall quality and performance. This is the 7th SUV vehicle I have owned during the past 25 years and may be the best.

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  Good vehicle for a family - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By DeWayne - March 8 - 4:26 am

  My wife wasnt impressed when the dealership gave us two different coded keys. She couldnt start the van because the key she had was coded wrong for the ignition. It took the dealership 6 hours to get back to her to explain why the van wouldnt start. Weve also had to return to the dealership to have the cigarette lighter replaced with a cell phone plug-in. The vehicle only had one power plug. Neither my wife or I smoke, so we preferred to have two power plugs. There are a lot of bells and whistles, almost too many to get to know in a short period of time. Ive found that some of the accessories, like the pull up tray between the driver and passenger can make it difficult to engage the seatbelt.

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  Love that truck... - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By HJS - March 8 - 2:56 am

  Its a really nice truck with great styling inside and out with good fit, finish and quality... also plenty of power... great offroader, too... had no issues except a split overflow canister which was replaced under warranty... and break shudder comes into the picture once the rotors wear down... but can be avoided by installing better grade after market replacement rotors which are actually cheaper than the original ones...... otherwise my six year old Sorrento is still rock solid and running smooth... it is quiet on the road and comfortable compared to other SUVs out there... will replace it with the same model if it ever falls apart... but so far its holding up very well...

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  gas tank problem - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By acea - March 8 - 1:33 am

  Hi! I Love my Kia. My problem is The last two times I filled the gas tank.. 1st time it didnt even registar that I put $40. of gas in it the 2nd time it took forever for it to register $30 of gas 3rd time filled fine but while sitting at an idle I went from 3/4 tank to 0 and slowly went back up to 3/4 dropped a little and back up again it is really strange. Has anyone any info one this problem?

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  Quality Family Car - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Rondofamily - March 7 - 11:26 pm

  As our old mini van was on it last legs, we came across the Rondo. I am glad we did! It is a good car at a very reasonable price. It is the perfect size for our family of 4. We have taken it on long trips and find it has the room to haul all our stuff and is very comfortable. The only complaint I have is that the seats stain for no reason. It is like the stains are coming from the inside of the site. Cleaning with water only makes it worse. I have contacted Kia about this issue but have not gotten a reply just yet. The roadside assistance is also a great feature. My wife picked up a screw in her tire and called. They showed up quickly and were able to patch the tire on the spot.

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  BOSE eat your heart out! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By gameboymama - March 7 - 10:00 am

  Only driven my new minivan a few weeks, but it handles much better than my Caravan ever did. All the features inside are easily accessible and the kids love the rear air features and the 12v plugs throughout the van that they can plug their games and stereos into. Was pleasantly surprised by the luxury car mats that came with it- even for both back seat areas, and the first aid kit was also a great find! It is a great van for the money and since I saved more than $8,000, I can use that money for a vacation!

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  2009 Kia Sorento - 2009 Kia Sorento
  By Teri Padgett - March 6 - 3:26 pm

  This is an easy handling SUV. It performs very well in snow and on ice. It helped pull bigger cars out of ditches during a blizzard. It has great power, accelerates easily. I love this car inside and out.

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  Kia... designed to fail at 61,000 miles - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Skylar Sutton - March 6 - 10:59 am

  Were the second owners of this vehicle, purchased it 2 years old with about 20,000 miles on it. We had minor/insignificant issues during the 60k bumper-to-bumper warranty period (which DOES transfer to the second owner)... insignificant things like a backup camera that needed replaced and some minor vibrations on the interior that just needed tightening up. Let me tell you though, almost the MINUTE that warranty was up parts started falling off this thing like a cartoon. We just had to take it in for a $450 oil pressure sensor that caused us to lose the entire contents of our engine oil in less than an hour. Thats a MAJOR engine component and WOULD have been covered under the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty... EXCEPT it doesnt transfer to the second owners. Ive owned cars with 200,000 miles on them that never needed an oil pressure sensor replaced. That is a major engine component that should last the life of the vehicle. Im terribly disappointed in this vehicle and Kia service in general. If you absolutely have your heart set on one of these, intend to have it paid off and traded in by the end of your 60,000 mile warranty or its going to cost you thousands per year to keep it limping along.