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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  Great Van for the $$ - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By PhillyJohn - August 26 - 10:33 am

  07 EX with power package (power sliding doors $ liftgate.) We initially wanted an Odessey, but after driving both we went with the Kia becuase of the warranty and price, (A similarly equipped honda was $7K more.)and couldnt be happier. Its has a powerful V6 with a smooth shifting trans and handles well for the weight of the vehicle.(4600lbs.) Fuel economy is outstanding on the highway (24-28 mpg)though it suffers in city driving. 14-17 depending on traffic) I wish we would have opted for the DVD system for the kids. This is a great family vehicle! The only complaint I have is at 20000 miles it has developed a few rattles in the back.

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  The on a budget car - 2005 Kia Rio
  By H Stewart - August 26 - 8:20 am

  This is a great car for a person or family on a budget. It comes with an amazing warranty and driver assistance program. It has simple styling and ample interior space.

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  A Great Value for the Money - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Chief Ike - August 25 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car second hand in 2001. Since then, we have put nearly 50,000 miles on it, and driven it everywhere. Given that the price is so low compared with the CRV, Jeep Liberty, and other similar mini SUVs, I dont have any complaints. Honestly, we have driven across the country twice, and used the 4x4 on a daily basis during tough northern winters. If you treat your Kia well, it will treat you well in return. No joke, for the money, pound for pound, this is the best investment I have ever made in a car. I highly recommend it.

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  Unbeatable Value - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By garyb - August 25 - 10:00 am

  Features, warranty, and price got us to look at Sedona. Test drive, nice interior and exterior design, quality materials, and excellent build quality sealed the deal. Nothing else comes close when price is considered.

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  car good, factory? sleazy option packages - 2012 Kia Sedona
  By buzzk - August 24 - 4:39 pm

  we drove several of these til the dealer came up with the colors my wife wanted; on a blustery crosswind day, we compared Sedona to the 4 & 6 cylinder Siennas & the Oddysy in a 6+ mile run on I-70 & a winding, hilly no-shoulder 2-lane. the Sedona & Toyotas were very good & close, the Honda conspicuously less controllable in the twistys & harder to keep in a straight line in freeway crosswinds. We now have 20k on the car & changed to a decent tire-Cooper CS4 at 15k. Drives beautifully. OTOH the autolock/unlock is an idiotic security nightmare, hoodlums will love it, you are a sitting duck when you park

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  Great Little Truck - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By lg - August 24 - 3:06 am

  We owned a Ford Escape and bought this as our second vehicle. It quickly became our first vehicle. The ride is great it handles great and it comes with so many standard safety features. The ride is so much better than the Escape and a lot quieter too. Really fun to drive. We liked it so much that we traded our 2004 Escape in for another Kia product, the Sorento.

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  Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Pipe Major - August 23 - 9:26 pm

  Ive been driving Kia cars since 1994 when I bought a Ford Aspire, built by Kia. Then a 97 Sephia which has given and still gives excellent service, but now requires a muffler and timing belt replacement. Also have a 2002 Rio which is 3 years old and has given perfect service with NO problems. Have also used extensively a 2002 Optima which is a wonderful car. The Amanti should be just as good with a lot more luxury.

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  Very pleased; great value - 2007 Kia Amanti
  By mharr - August 22 - 9:36 am

  Great car for the price. Comparable in interior room and size, luxury, sound, and performance to the more expensive Chrysler 300M or Buick Lucerne. Taken on 2 trips and was perfect touring car, even through West Virginia highways. Wife loves memory seats and power pedal adjustment.

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  Great milage - 2012 Kia Rio
  By georgeannv - August 22 - 1:31 am

  I drive a total of 60 miles a day to work and back home. I travel both on highway and city. I use the ECO feature when dealing with traffic and have on the average (depending on where I buy my gas) get 34mpg. I have noticed with lower grade stations, the perfomance is less. The pickup while using ECO is a bit regulated but with a quick click, you can turn it off and get the punch you need to pull quickly ahead. I replaced this car with a 2007 PT Cruiser which had horrible gas milage. I find the instrument panel great with the RIO SX model and love the rear screen view due to the limited viewing of the rear window. I would definitely recommend the Rio to other buyers. It is fun to drive!

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  Never getting a KIA again - 2006 Kia Optima
  By never_a_kia - August 21 - 9:12 am

  I will never own a KIA again. I had to get the AC replaced 2 months after getting it new off the lot took them 4 weeks. I have also had to replace the sun visors 3 times on each side. The visors are only replaced in the first 50K, and I am not going to pay $130.00 for the visor now. Even the dealer says they see them all the time with velcro, tape, and one person stapled them up. The computer says that I am getting 29MPG but I have NEVER gotten it that good. I keep up the maintenance and when I run the numbers while filling up I am getting 19 to 20MPG. I will not even get into how you cant set the castor and camber on the front end. If you are cutting tires you cant fix it.