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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  Transmission Sensor - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By bill - January 27 - 12:10 pm

  This is the perfect vehicle for the city inwhich I reside, narrow streets and no relative high speed areas. However my Sportage has the power to move out on the highway when necessary. A fun vehicle to drive. I love it! Too bad you guys stopped making this model. I do like the new Sportage SUV, but my 2001 Kia fits the bill!! I would have bought one of these new had I known about the vehicle at that time.

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  Competitive Minivan and a great value - 2016 Kia Sedona
  By Dad that Drives a Minivan - January 26 - 9:37 pm

  My lease of a 2014 Town & Country 30th Anniversary addition was coming to an end and needed another minivan. The Town & Country was a decent minivan and but was feeling dated. I have a wife and three kids and minivan is a more practical choice for my family. They offer more space than a crossover and getting and the ease of getting in and out is so much easier. I thought I had already made up my mind and was going to lease the 2017 Pacifica. But I decided that I should drive a couple other vans to make sure. I drove the 2016 Honda Odyssey and left the space, comfort and ride quality was better than the Pacifica. However, the technology of the Odyssey was very disappointing, the infotainment system was not what I would expect in an almost $40,000 car. It was very dated, even more so than the Town & Country. I decided that I would drive one more van and then make my decision. I went to a local Kia dealer and drove a 2016 Kia Sedona SX trim. As soon as I sat in the driver seat I knew this was the most confrontable of the three. Im 62 and I had plenty of space. I was able to get in the seat behind me and was very confrontable. I was also surprised that my knees were not touching the seat in front of me. Next I climbed into the third row and was able to fit in the back seat, I would prefer the send row but would be ok riding in the back. The list of features on the SX is simply amazing at this price point. The SX trim comes with blind spot monitoring, backup sensors, backup camera, 8inch touch screen, with navigation, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, heated and cooled seats front seats, heated 2nd row seats, power sliding doors and hatch. Upgrading to the SX you get an Infinity® 8-Speaker Audio system and the sound quality is amazing, so much better than the radio in the LX and EX trims. There is also an abundance of USB ports, two up front even a quick charge USB port, one USB port in the second row and 115-Volt Power Inverter, Center Console more than enough to keep all your technology powered. Now onto how it drives, it was to be one of the most confrontable easy driving vehicles that I have ever owned. Driving around town, maneuvering the parking lots is a breeze. There are three driving Modes "Comfort, ECO, and Normal" When you select the Comfort setting the steering wheel takes almost no effort to move and low speeds. On the highway, the road noise is almost nonexistent. From the front seat, you feel like you are driving an SUV, which for me is another positive for the Sedona. If you are in the market for a minivan I recommend driving a couple different ones to see which suits your needs best. For me the decision was simple the Kia won hands down. If you are looking for a van a comfortable ride, with an abundance of features, good looks and great value the Kia Sedona might be for you.

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  2007 KIA Optima - 2007 Kia Optima
  By bearscouter - January 26 - 7:26 am

  The basic car is great but the fuel mileage is less than advertised. With a 34 hwy mpg on the sticker we figured we would average over 30 but we are between 26 and 28 mpg. That has really disappointed us. KIA does not seem concerned saying it is better than the 24 city mpg. We drive 95% highway on cruise control on 70 MPH with not much slowing or stopping. Also the radio does not pick up AM very well.

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  GOT MY MONEYS WORTH!! ( Plus A+Safety!) - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Mr.Thick Wallet - January 26 - 2:00 am

  After my family was involved in a major automobile accident (Both vehicles were totaled) It was our decision at the hospital bed that our next minivan would be purchased with Safety first and not just the styling and to our pleasent surprise we landed on KIA SEDONA.

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  Others Dont Come Close... - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By SedonaForever - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I have 1,000 miles on this car and I love it. Other vans cannot compete with the features/value of the Sedona. Highly recommended.

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  Initial Reactions - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By John Deane - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 2003 Kia Sorento on 12/13. So far, the experience has been excellent. The 3.5 liter engine is ok so far, but it feels underpowered. I do not yet know how the vehicle will handle when I am towing my 2,000 camping trailer. We will see this summer! For the most part, I am please with the initial performance.

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  Sorento is a great SUV for the $$$ - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By pastrad - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I have only had this SUV a couple of weeks but so far so good. The only things I dont like are the front OH lights dont come on when you open the door. The middle and back ones do. The standard AM/FM/CD could use more power. The guage package is rather plain but nicely done. Floor heat mildly comes through dash registers. The leather is very nice. The horn is AWFUL. Sounds like a toy car. Overall a 9 out of 10.

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  Pretty good basic car - 2006 Kia Rio
  By Julia - January 25 - 7:50 pm

  I had my rio for 2 years almost exactly and it had 50,000 miles on it! It still ran great but I did keep having problems with the battery. I had to get 3 within that period of time and the third was malfunctioning. That didnt really bother me since it was easily fixed, covered by warranty and there were no other problems. The ride is noisy and random passengers would always think a window was cracked from wind noise. I was warned of that and it didnt matter to me. I liked the interior actually and thought it looked cool and cleaned well. Gas mileage was not nearly as good as expected. If possible spend more get civic, much better quality and gas mileage. But this is good for the money.

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  First and last import - 2009 Kia Optima
  By tielbor - January 25 - 4:17 pm

  We were looking for a decent, mid-sized car and settled on the Optima. We purchased the car used(two years old), with 40,000 miles on it. The car served us well for the first year and a half with only a few small issues. As soon as the warranty expired at 60,000 miles, the transmission failed. Two weeks after replacing the transmission($2700), the air bag sensor in the passenger seat failed ($1500). After the sensor, a host of electrical problems surfaced. Since the car cost us more in repairs in than it was worth over a year, we sold it and wont touch another KIA.

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  So far so good. - 2006 Kia Rio
  By Go Green - January 24 - 10:00 pm

  Our Rio has over 68,000 miles on it and has had no problems. Steering, brakes, everything on this car is still as tight as the day we got it. My wife had traded in her gas guzzling Jeep Cherokee and we laughed at her choice. When gas prices rose, I began using it for selling Real Estate and my clients are shocked when they find how roomy the back seat is. It is a great car for scooting around the city and taking a trip does not break the bank. With a fresh oil change I can get up to 38 mpg on the highway! City driving gets from 25 to 32 mpg. Fresh oil affects the mileage so keep it serviced.