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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  Steak on a hamburger budget... - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By Friendship Auto - June 18 - 10:06 pm

  I had a $50,000 BMW 330 Convertible which got repossesed when I went belly- up in the stock market. After scratching together $2500 over 3 months, I went and bought a 1999 Sephia LS with 84,000 miles on it. I had it for 3 years and spent a total of $300 on service and minor repairs. After 130,000 miles, the timing belt finally went and since I was already back on my feet, I sold it AS IS for $500. Sure it is not a Lexus, but for the money one pays, it is damn well worth it. And people should remember to judge accordingly. I now own a car dealership, and do not hesitate to sell this car or to recommend it to the cost-conscious.

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  Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Chucky - June 18 - 7:56 pm

  Ive popped my hood and trunk for total strangers at the bank, stores and other places. People love this car.

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  cute but cramped - 2001 Kia Rio
  By KathyR - June 18 - 10:00 am

  I have had absolutely no problems with this car, but it is not for a family (I have 4 people!) and not for long trips. If you are larger/taller, it is not for you. Good performance for a small car with auto and air and great on gas mileage. Instrumentation simple and all within easy reach.

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  rhonda hill - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By rhonda hill - June 18 - 10:00 am

  i was pleased with my kia and would like to purchase another i have had no troubles with it since my purchase in 1999.

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  Dont Do It - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Unhappy buyer - June 18 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle because of the price & now know I would have been WAY better off to pay more for a better brand. A/C has been fixed 2 times & it took 3 trips to dealer to diagnose bad evaporator. It made horrible noises & needed a crank shaft pulley replaced. Also, the windshield cracked with no sign of impact...another complaint Ive seen in other reviews. Worst of all, it has begun to rust. It was repaired once & now is rusting again in another spot. When I called Kia to request help getting rid of my lemon, they told me to use the state lemon law...in other words, they wouldnt do anything on their own, it had to be legally.

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  Great Buy - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Bill G - June 18 - 10:00 am

  I must admit I was leary about buying a KIA but I must say I am very pleased with my vehicle to date. Ive only had Sedona EX one month so far and have put on 1200 miles but his has been superb. The mpg is low...Im averaging about 19-20 city but what minivans or SUVs get great mpg anyway? The mpg has to do with the vehicle weight [on average a 1,000lbs heavier than other vans] and I am more than willing to sacrifice paying a few more $ on gas than give up a 5 Star saftey rating. I did a lot of reasearch on mini vans and this is by far the best value IMHO.

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  Satifsied so far - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By joecal - June 18 - 10:00 am

  Ive only owned my Sorento a couple of months, but so far I like it.The ride is very good, and it handles decent. The interior is very nice and the quality seems comparable to General Motors, if not better in some aspects. I guess time will tell how this vehicle holds up.

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  Great little vehicle. - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By John Hawker - June 16 - 12:13 pm

  My KIA replaced my old Ford Escape . The KIA rides better and has more power. I pull a 3400 pound boat with my KIA. The KIA has better road handling than the Escape . It has more pulling power at highway speed without down shifts. Over the last 8,000 miles we have averaged 19.2 MPG. This compared to the Escape is 3 MPG better. I have been told that we were working the Escape to the maximum where the KIA is under rated. I believe this is the difference in the 3.5L vs the 3.0L engine.

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  Kia Amanti owner - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Bill Wilds - June 16 - 10:06 am

  I am very pleased with this vehicle, it rides well and is extremely quiet when driving on the highway. The sound system is excellent and the interior room is perfect. Ive owned Mercedes for 20 years and dont see any reason to go back.

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  Great minivan. - 2016 Kia Sedona
  By YY - June 16 - 6:47 am

  We have been very impressed. Ride is excellent. Handles like a car. Looks as good as a SUV. We had a 2012 Honda Odyssey Elite previously (lease). This Sedona SX is better. Ride is better. More tech inside. Definitely enjoying the surround view camera, the vented seats, the automatic high beam (useful when driving on a mountain road not having to worry about flipping the lights when paying attention to the curves). These are features not available on another 8 seater minivan currently. Also we like the fact that Kia comes with a much more reasonable warranty. Honda and Toyota both has only 3 year 36K mile warranty - this is low in the industry. And ... to those who says Honda and Toyota dont break ... guess again ... they do! Our 2012 Honda Odyssey had transmission problem - fortunately just before the warranty is up. That is the reason we are not keep it beyond our lease. Very glad with our 2016 Kia Sedona SX right now (8 passenger tech package). The only grip I have is: why Kia doesnt make a 8 seater loaded and with the panaramic sunroof? Our $40K Sedona is loaded - but has no sunroof? Fortunately my wife hates the Sun and does not like to have sunroof. I on the other hand would wish that being available as an option. The SXL comes only in 7 seat. Why? Otherwise we would have bought a SXL. Update: Apparently the SXL comes in 8 seat now. Wish we had known about that. Vehicle still running great. We had been very happy about the purchase. Drives better than our prior 2012 Honda Odyssey with a more upscale interior. I am also happy to read that Kia now has better reliability than Honda according to a 2016 Consumer Reports article.