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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  road noise or engine whine - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By charles cornell - July 11 - 10:30 pm

  Excellent car with one flaw - road noise or possible engine whine with acceleration! Factory tires need to be changed to a tire that is less aggressive and possibly a different tread design. With the radio off you hear the subtle hum of the tires on the road or possibly the engine whine while acceleration. Quick fix is to turn the radio up and enjoy the Infinity sound system.

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  Sportin my New 2017 Sportage EX - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By SillySindy - July 11 - 5:55 pm

  Wow... what a difference the 2017 Sportage EX is compared to the 2016 Sportage...BIG change....world of difference in comfort/road holding/steering/gadgets. Test drove the 2016 and 2017...knew right away...2017 Sportage EX was going to be my pick. Went with the premium package...didnt feel the technology package was worth the extra 2 grand. Only disappointing feature on the 2017 Sportage EX is the lack of cargo compartment space...no pockets in the back for items...everything slides around....no passenger side cargo space-saver under the seat and no coin change holder/personal/dodads draw or compartment to hide small items...just a big deep hole in the console that you probably will never find something in....once you place it in there....

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  Very nice SUV - 2014 Kia Sportage
  By YBR - July 11 - 6:19 am

  I’m not an expert, but an owner. I never ever have owned a Kia before this one, and to be honest, I was very suspicious about Kias car, but we were in the market for find the best SUV that we could afford. After a lot of searching, we found this 2014 Kia sportage with 13k miles for only 20k, and I gave myself the opportunity to check it out in person. Im not regretting after 3k miles. If you don’t have money to spend on fancy car, the Sportage is the way to go. Best small SUV out there for money vs quality. Kia put together a nice package at a very good price which is why I bought the EX model with the premium package. The Sportage is not as roomy inside, and is not a gas saver car as other SUV’s but if you are looking for an SUV with a turn head and sporty good look, a great pick up, fully load, comfortable, real smooth to drive and inexpensive, then you must to check the Sportage, it is a car that gives you greater value for the money than any other car out there without cutting down on quality, functionality and reliability, plus, the warranty offered by Kia. But nothing is perfect, so I want to point out something that displeases me, it is that there is no good visibility through the rear window of the car, when you use the rear view mirror found inside the car on the windshield, to see something in the rear view mirror there has to be perfect angle between the mirror, your eye sight and back window; instead that, you would like to use your side view mirrors while you are driving and a back up camera when you go forward. Anyway this is not a big issue, just something to point.

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  LOVE IT !!! - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By jdcali - July 10 - 4:15 am

  I love everything about this car. I just purchased the 2012 SX V6 dark cherry two weeks ago for my wife. Its fully loaded with all the whistles and bells you could want, its certainly a head turner and conversation starter when people see it. She drives it mostly during the week to work, so I look forward to the weekends so I can drive it. I know several people have complained about the gas mileage, but we havent had that experience.

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  Cute, fun to drive and reliable - 2010 Kia Forte
  By LisaB - July 9 - 4:27 pm

  This is my wifes car. Weve had it for 7 years and other than the basic brakes, tires and battery replacements, it has been flawless. The wife loved the cuteness of it and I admit it has a fun sporty look. Performance wise it is fine, as you might expect from a small car it can beat you up a little on rough roads but overall it has a good ride. It is quick but not fast and is good on gas. Id say for us it was a winner.

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  Sorento - The Best SUV On Earth - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By The Canucks - July 9 - 2:00 am

  Love it! What a great value for the price. With the full option EXL package and EVERY Luxury imaginable, it is thousands less than GRAND CHEROKEE or MDX. Comfortable, stylish and very attractive from every angle.

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  Very Happy and Impressed! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By LouB - July 9 - 2:00 am

  After purchasing and driving this vechicle I am throughly impressed. The ride and attributes of this vechicle are amazing considering the price. Attention to detail from exterior design to interior detail are first rate. That together with the worry free warranty give the added satifaction of a value based purchase that not only performs well but looks good doing it.

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  On NUMBER 2 - 2016 Kia Soul
  By Joe - July 5 - 9:24 am

  This is the second Kia Soul that I have owned; the first being a 2011 (WHICH I LOVED, but cant drive standard anymore, which is why I had to buy new) I must say; I LOVED my old one, but this one... OMG SO MUCH nicer!!! More features for the base model (which is what I had before and now) MORE power, MORE room, MORE of everything... I am absolutely IMPRESSED with Kia and how much they have grown since the first few hit the market some years back (I owned a 99 Kia Sportage Convertable 4x4) the quality and pricing is SO awesome! I recommend these cars to anyone and everyone and turn non-believers to believers... Our family NOW owns 3 Kias we are going onto 5 within the next few weeks... A Sorento (moms) Soul (mines) Sportage (my niece and her husband) and another niece who is going for an Optima and one of my sisters is looking at a Sportage for herself... We are TRULY becoming a family of Kia; absolutely LOVE the new Kias! If you havent switched; go take a look, a drive, etc and decide then... I give my Soul and A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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  I love my Kia - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Myles - July 5 - 8:00 am

  Great vehicle, loaded with features. Lots of power, and the Sportshift is a great feature if you live in the mountains. Handles tight, and the 4WD traction has an aggressive bite.

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  Great Value - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Jewster - July 4 - 10:00 am

  This van was fully loaded with comfortable leather captains chairs and many other extras available at low cost ($20K). There is simply no way to beat the value and the warranties. I searched long and hard and tried to decide between the Odyssey (lots of transmission trouble), the MPV (well designed, but small and a bit more expensive) and the Sienna (too many$$). We were concerned about safety (Sedona is 5-star rated) and the problems related to power sliding doors (read the Odyssey reviews!). This is a great van for the money.