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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  Impressed - 2010 Kia Optima
  By shaun - November 26 - 10:00 am

  never thought of kia as a car in par with hondas , toyotas and chevys. Dealer said, take it for a ride. going from a saturn ion to this 100 % improvement. handles well, nice looks, sharp car , had less than a week and very impressed. feels alot more solid than previous cars Ive had, Kia is onto a whole new audience. Look out honda, toyota, nissan.

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  Sorento EX V6 AWD 2006 RAV4 Limited AWD - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By sarge - November 26 - 10:00 am

  For $2K more than I paid for my RAV4 4 years ago, I got a lot more. Leather, GPS w/bluetooth/voice activated, rear camera w/backup warning, chrome 18" wheels, more room in 3rd row seat and easier to get in/out, 6 speed auto, FOB keyless, etc. Paid $30K (w/o tax, lic). RAV4 drives stiffer. It will also blow the doors off the KIA with its 269 HP 5 spd auto! Kias mpg has gotten better. Was 16.5, now 18-19 city. Hwy can get 23 mpg. Now, all the complaints other reviewers had, I havent experienced. Hope I dont. But, the tranny on the RAV4 (64K miles) leaked oil. Dealer said $1800 minimum to fix. Shaft to transaxle had 3 cracks on it! Out of warranty. Toyota did a good-will on it. Cost me $165.

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  Great so far, could improve on gas a little - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By pdona - November 25 - 6:47 pm

  We bought the Kia Sorrento 4cyl, GDI AWD after doing lots of research. We wanted 3rd row seat, and good on gas. Minor problem is gas milage is averaging 19-22 with the regular grade gas. That is averaged quite a few ways from mostly highway to both. Our first trip was about 600 round trip miles going to Lake George, Ny on the highway, average was 21mpg Next step is to try the better grade of gasoline, maybe that will make the difference to be worth the expense. Hopefully its in its "Break In" period. Weve gotten numerous compliments on how SHARP the vehicle looks and are satisfied so far !

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  Kia Sportage - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By dana Owens - November 25 - 5:36 pm

  Ive had the Sportage one month and so far everything has performed to my expectations. I knew when I bought it that I was buying one of the cheaper sporty SUVs. It is not a powerful car but it gets about 24 mpg which is a great improvement from my previous car (Pathfinder) which got about 15 mpg.

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  So Much Excitement to Behold! - 2014 Kia Soul
  By Tulip - November 25 - 8:55 am

  I purchased my Kia Soul + on January 2nd of 2018. It replaced my 2000 Kia Sephia that I hated to part with, but it was time. I am so thrilled with the Soul! I didnt drive much before I purchased it but now Im finding excuses to go places, just to get the feel of it. Getting used to the controls was a bit hard and I havent set up my cell phone with it yet, nor have I figured out how to the Sirius system. Ill get there though. Im a short person so getting in and out of it is still a bit hard but I know Ill get used to that also. Its such a dream to drive - so quiet and it goes around corners with ease plus its easy to park, even though Im sitting up higher than the Sephia. The seat controls are fantastic. I can even make the seat go higher as well as closer to the steering wheel. It has cruise control which I love and a trip monitor for the trips I plan to take now that I have a car I can trust. Lots of cargo area with a luggage net in back. If you are thinking about buying a Soul, dont hesitate!

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  Best buy for the money - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By David Cowan - November 25 - 12:23 am

  I really looked at foreign and domestic vans and chose the Sedona for value, warranty and the interior design.. Cup holders everywhere, two glove boxes, plus front seats that adjust to any position, as well as comfortable second and third row seats. The 6 cylinder gets only 15mpg around town and 3 trips from Dayton to Atlanta average 22MPG; not bad but the powerful and smooth engine is worth the lower MPG. The value is still there as prices were out the door for $16,000 and the van is loaded with features; any thing else was $22,000 to $28,000 for same features.

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  First Kia and Impressed - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By Ron - November 24 - 10:33 pm

  Purchased an LX about a month ago after seeing a newspaper ad. Was looking to buy a slightly used SUV, but was able to buy my new Borrego for only a couple grand more. Out-the-door price was about $24K after rebate and discount. The strong engine and brake perform flawlessly. Transmission, however, sometimes hesitates. Fuel economy is a little disappointing at 16+ MPG (mostly city). The interior is mostly quiet, and ride is good except over rough pavement. It can get jarring, and mine rattles a bit in the back area. All controls are laid out intuitively. I wasnt sure about the red-lit center stack, but its actually quite soothing at night. Overall, Im satisfied with Borrego.

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  Best Car Ever. - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Sean Chao - November 24 - 9:20 pm

  This vehicle is the best choice you can possibly make when it comes to buying your next urban/short-to-mid distance traveling. It is cheap, maximizes utility, is strong enough to handle the competition, is efficient gas-wise, is stylish, and is among the most durable cars ever made by Kia. The ONLY gripe about this vehicle is that the interior vinyl scratches easily as heck. Be sure to buy some vinyl protection/repair material. I suggest Meguiars Accent Coating.

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  Great Deal!! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Satisfied for Now!!! - November 23 - 1:26 am

  I have been driving a compact car for almost 10 years so this purchase was a major adjustment. I like the interior size, the quiet ride, the powertrain warranty, and the overall style of the vehicle.

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  Ongoing Problem Kia Cant Fix - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By SWFang - November 22 - 2:10 pm

  I love the vehicle inside and out. It drives and handles well. The only problem I have is the engine light comes on and off at random always giving the same code (P506) and the vehicle stalls at random usually from a cold start, but sometimes when the vehicle is in motion. Kia has tried to fix these problems at least 4 times each but have had no success. Apparently, they want me to constantly take the vehicle in for service each time the problems happen, but its impossible for me to do so every week. Kia doesnt seem too concerned about the problems and has said they will make no offer to resolve the problem.