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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  no comparison - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By jtocatlian - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought my EX model three weeks ago. I had looked at all the luxury SUVs. There is no difference between this vehicle and the Lexus RX300, or Acura MDX. I felt I couldnt afford not to get this car. Between the warranty, the price and the absolute quality and luxury of this car I am thrilled with my purchase. It rides like a dream and I have every luxury imaginable. This time my husband was right!

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  Good car but had problems - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Chezjuan - July 16 - 11:40 pm

  I like the body style, passenger and cargo space, and power of the 2007 Kia Sorento, but I have issues with the quality of the car. Not only were there two recalls that affected the safety (front seat airbag sensor, stop lamp switch) but my car had several engine problems. Also, the OEM battery would not hold a charge and had to be replaced within 6 months.The biggest problem was that the car would refuse to start intermittently - the engine wasnt getting fuel. To get it to start, I would have to pull the fuel pump relay and replace it, then the car would work fine. After a year of trying to fix that (under warranty), the car started cutting out when driving so I replaced it.

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  Great car - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Richard - July 15 - 11:26 am

  I recently picked up the forte SX. I guess there is a very limited number of leather packages out there and I could not pick one up. But I did get the sun roof. This car is great. Awesome feel when driving. Takes corners pretty tight. Engine has enough go for what I need. Car looks awesome with the 17 tires.

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  Simple, but nice - 2009 Kia Optima
  By Hopeful skeptic - July 14 - 5:20 am

  Recently purchased an 09 LX Optima, used, with less than 12k on it. I test drove this car simply to say I "shopped around." There was not a real intention to purchase a Kia. However, I found myself more satisfied with it than the Accord, Camry, and Malibu, all of which I had driven in the same afternoon. It doesnt really stand out in any one category, but does all things well. Controls are simple, but well placed. Nothing feels all that cheap, like I expected. Fit and finish is on par with the Honda and Toyota, notably nicer fit than the Chevy. The whole car is simple, but very well done. Hopefully the long term impression is the same as the first! Oh, $4k less than comparable Honda/Toyota!

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  Good Build, Poor MPG - 2013 Kia Sportage
  By smealio - July 13 - 6:43 am

  I hope anyone considering this car takes 3 minutes to read this. I traded in a 2005 honda pilot that was literally running on dollar bills for this 2013 Sportage EX on both the sticker and dealerships notion that the MPG rating was true to form in our terrain. A week into ownership I was only logging 18mpg on hwy. I called it in and they said let it break in at 5k miles. I continued to log complaints to be heard and at 5k miles on my 50 mile, 80% hwy 20% rural (Pennsylvania) commute i logged 19mpg. I did a controlled fuel test with the same result. Kia issued their mpg program but its pennies. This is a terrible vehicle performance wise and is extremely overrated...take heed.

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  Glad I Bought It - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By ajbugs - July 12 - 8:40 am

  I just bought a used Kia Sportage with 35000 miles .. it sits better and feels better than any of its competition .. i.e. Rav4, CRV, Nissan Rouge, Ford .. I drove all of those and decided the Rav4 was best for me .. then I drove the Kia .. my only complaint .. fuel economy and smaller engine .. but my Kia stays up with the best of them on the highway!

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  owner review-updated - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By herb45 - July 11 - 5:40 pm

  since i bought car in december,and wrote 1st review,i have many things to say.first,have had car in dealership many times for interior rattles,both in the dash,and where the rear subwoofer sits,the front rotors have since been repaired,but the shake when applying the brakes between 45-50mph has returned.also,the ride has really deteriorated a great deal,and mine has the 16-inch wheels !.the gas mileage has still been much better than expected.i had to wait over a month for the dealership to let me know their loaner car has arrived,and will be taking my car thursday of this week.i hope they fix this right this time...would like to know if anyone else has the same issues.

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  Vermonters review - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Jay H Karpin - July 11 - 3:13 pm

  The vehicle is excellent in deep snow but I have had the 4WD fail once at about 40,000 miles and now the cruise has failed at 51,000. It is better on stability than any other 4WD that I have had and I do drive a lot of interstate at 65 mpg. The one other problem I find is the rear tailgate door is difficult to close with the pull down handle on the inside.

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  Love my Kia - 2003 Kia Optima
  By harris - July 11 - 10:00 am

  Wonderfull Car, would buy again, great dealer, great price, KIAS are great

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  A WHOLE NEW SUV - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By ivngrfs - July 11 - 10:00 am

  Its just such a nice vehicle to have. Having an intimidating V6 engine that even impresses V8 owners its quite fun. Plus having the freedom in mind that it is cover for 100000 or 5 years gives you an edge over other SUVs. All I can ask for in my Sorento is a sunroof. Unfortunetaly I was buried in negative equity with my RIO CINCO that I had to settle for the LX model with the nice rims on the EX, and the roof rack. Its still a very nice vehicle. I really recommended for all new shoppers. It just takes the SUV into another time zone. I have people advising me to put 20s on it or if that if its a LEXUS. WELL DONE KIA.