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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  Yes, I bought a Kia! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By RRG - March 10 - 10:00 am

  Yes, I bought a Kia! At first I was nervous about doing so, but after months of research and test driving other SUVs on the market, it became obviously clear that the Sorento was the SUV for us (the warranty helped ease my mind about buying a Kia as well. I love the way it looks (I call it my generic Lexus) and with the luxury package on the EX model, it has all the features you need in a vehicle. It rides very nice and the seats are very comfortable, it is an all-around great vehicle. Weve only had it for 3 weeks, but already have put on more than 1,000 miles and it seems to be doing great.

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  davids sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By cybergasm - March 10 - 10:00 am

  so far with only 3k miles showing on the clock it has a flawless vehicle to drive so far. like the handling, hate the steering tho too light all the time absolutly love the stereo system in it too.

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  Great Econo Coach! - 2003 Kia Rio
  By BILL - March 10 - 1:36 am

  Great little cheapie, all I expected was for her to get me from point a to b cheaply, and reliably, and shes definitely filled those requirements. I expected low power due to the engine size but its more than sufficient on flat roadways. I would not recommend the automatic, in hilly or mountainous conditions, since the computer wants to up and downshift to maintain road speed. I haul a lot and this little wagon just keeps on chuggin, my gas guzzlers stay at home while I drive this one back and forth to work. I doubt you could have found a better car for the price back in 2003.

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  I love it! - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Vikki Wiggins - March 10 - 12:03 am

  I love everything about this car! But, the gas mileage lacks a lot to be desired. You must use premium gas, but the best I have done on a long road trip is 17.2 mpg. I dont believe I will ever see 25 mpg. The strange thing is that it does not seem to matter with this car whether you drive it like a grandma or at high speeds. It gets the same on a long trip either way. I must say that I like the car enough that even with the bad gas mileage, I would still purchase the same car if I had it to do all over again. I spent a long time shopping prior to buying, and for the price, in my opinion, it is the best car on the market. Very high quality.

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  Dont overlook the Rondo - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By rondodude - March 8 - 8:00 am

  I bought my 2007 EX after owning a Siena minivan for years and briefly owning a 2006 Scion xB. I compared this car with the CR-V, Vibe, Forester, Legacy wagon and other "near SUVs." The Rondo had far and away the best space utilization and features for the price. Seating position is nice and high, visibility is excellent, but handling is dull. Drives way too much like my old Siena and not enough like the zippy xB. Build quality is good (Ive owned 10 Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas and Mazdas to compare with), although carpet in cargo area is cheap. Im OK with the MPGs, which range from 19 to 27. The Rondo is a real car, unlike my xB, which was so devoid of features it was ridiculous.

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  First Impressions of a 2005 Kia Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By MagMax - March 7 - 2:00 pm

  After a year of research, I took delivery of a pearl white 05 Amanti a week ago. Since then Ive put about 300 miles on the clock. The cars got an amazingly comfortable ride, has a vast and beautifully detailed interior, and has plenty of power for normal circumstances. It has everything from heated rear seats to automatic wipers. Im especially impressed by the silence inside the car, by the comfortable seats, and by how easy it was to get used to driving it. It has excellent visibility, a commanding driving position, a very tight turning circle, and is very easy to get into and out of. For less than a loaded Camry, its an unbeatable bargain with lots more bells and whistles.

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  I LOVE my Kia Rio - 2002 Kia Rio
  By SaltyDog - March 7 - 2:56 am

  The Rio hadnt been out very long when I bought it so I was kinda nervous, but let me tell you. I would die without my beloved kia rio. I watched other people at work by gigantic mc-cars and felt so bad in my little kia, but NOW with gas the way it is. I can proudly say with gas at 3.25 a gallon I filled up with $26. The only thing that has ever gone wrong with the kia is the alternator had to be replaced when it was 5 years old. Thats it folks. Little things here and there. Door bell rings by itself, interior light comes on by itself, back seat leaks (think it comes from the trunk somehow) but who cares I love my Kia and I will have her until she dies literally.

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  Good versatility at a cant beat price! - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Marley - March 5 - 5:56 pm

  Wanted a smaller vehicle to replace a Kia Sedona minivan but wanted the versatility of 6-7 passengers in a pinch. To be honest I was ready to purchase a Mazda5 but decided to stop in at Kia one day and got a deal that is hard to beat and purchased the vehicle for a good amount less than I could get the Mazda. Styling is bland compared to the Mazda5 but it does seat 7 instead of 6 (although very tight) and has ESC which the Mazda didnt, among many other good safety features. The vehicle gets good gas mileage, handles well and has decent power with the V6, and the price was right for us.

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  The Surprise of the SUVs - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By ~ - March 3 - 10:00 am

  When I bought this SUV, I wanted the feel of a car, but room of an SUV. I have nothing but good experiences with this Kia Sportage. If you are looking for an SUV but are shy on the funds to afford the top of the line, take a look at the Kia. You could find that it is just the right car/SUV for you.

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  My first and possibly last - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By RJR - March 1 - 10:53 am

  The appearance and interior space was a big plus when we purchased our van. However, after only 60K miles Ive decided this is my last Kia. In the past I have owned a Jeep Cherokee and a Nissan Quest. I guess once you get use to an automobile that doesnt send you to the shop on a routine basis you get a little spoiled. Our Sedona has sent us to the shop for a loose drivers seat (twice, plastic hardware), a bad seatbelt, constant sqweeking noises in the rear door, airbag, two AC fans, the Oh Crap handle in the passenger seat came out of the roof, the console makes constant noises and now it is making a cracking noise in the front end.