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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  If you are skeptical, you are wrong - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By matute008 - September 26 - 7:56 am

  We went to the car show and for two years in a row we loved it. It has all the safety features I was looking for and to be honest a little bit more. Riding in the car is fun and the interior is really comfortable. The infinity stereo is awesome and the sound is perfect.

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  Still Reliable at 133K - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By MandyH - September 26 - 1:06 am

  We bought this van with less than 20k miles on it and have found it to be a very reliable/dependable vehicle. It has never left us stranded or threatened to do so. We have only had oil changes and some of the suggested regular maintenance performed. Nothing to report, just normal wear and tear like brake pads, tires, and an alignment or two. The only negatives I can think of is that I do not like the fabric in the interior it seems to collect lint like I never knew was possible and I have owned few cars. We did have problems with the sliding of the side doors but one was a factory recall and the other the dealership fixed it for no cost when they were replacing tire tpms sensors. I am glad I do not have power doors - these can be expensive to fix.

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  Kia Surprises - 2007 Kia Optima
  By micro99 - September 26 - 1:03 am

  Smooth ride, very good handling with more than adequate acceleration (not as fast as others); great value by any metric but especially features per dollar.

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  value plus - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By al weir - September 25 - 5:13 pm

  As my wife is handicapped and she was having difficulty in entering our 2003 Dodge Sport Van, I visited every different dealership in our area and measured every minivan for seat height etc. We then proceeded to try those vans with the lowest threshold etc. and the Kia won hands down as my wife slid in with no problems. We purchased the vehicle after a test drive and we both find it very comfortable and easy to drive. This is a top of the line unit, solid, and relatively quiet even with the sun roof in the open position. Much quieter than the Dodge Caravan. Gas mileage has been great. 25mpg city/highway average and I anticipate 30/34 mpg on straight highway at 65/70 mph. A great van for the dollar.

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  Our new Kia Sorento is great - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Dave C - September 25 - 12:07 am

  My Wife and I just purchased this Kia Sorento V6 AWD with the SX trim level in a beautiful red. This was a demonstrator with about 2800 miles on it so we got a great discount from the $45,000+ price. We originally were talking with the dealer about a lower EX trim level model but we were able to negotiate for this higher trim level at about the same price as the lower EX trim because it was a demonstrator. This is a fantastic car with the safety and technology packages on it. One of the coolest features is the smart cruise control which maintains the distance from the car in front of you even down to a full stop. The lane keeping alert is also very helpful. The UVo voice activation feature is nice so you dont have to take your eyes off the road to tune the radio or make a call. The ride is very comfortable and quiet even on rough roads and at high Interstate speeds. The leather power seats have multi position adjustments which are quite comfortable and these happen to be heated and cooled. The only nitpick is that there is no daytime running lights feature and the lights dont come on automatically with the wipers. Kia engineers should fix this. Otherwise this car is great. It gets high ratings from Consumer Reports, Kelly Blue Book and J D Power. The Kia warranty is an industry leader. The value Kia puts in this vehicle is tremendous. The features on this car can be had on vehicles twice the price. This is the first NEW car we have had in our 40 year marriage and we are very satisfied with it.

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  I miss my CDs - 2016 Kia Optima
  By Joe - September 24 - 11:03 pm

  Why would the manufacturer decide not to put in CD players. We love our car which we have owned only one month, but on a recent trip through mountains both our "Sirius" and our "radio frequency" kept stopping as they couldt pick up the satellite. I love our CDs with the continuous music wherever the road leads, so when I went to put in a CD and couldnt find a place for it I called the dealership and was informed they had discontinued the CD player. Now all we get is choppy music. I am very disappointed. I wish the dealer would have mentioned it, we probably would have not gotten a KIA.

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  Things That Make you go Hmmmm - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By tombeaman - September 24 - 7:52 pm

  Ive got about 1500 miles on my new Sorento so far, and there are SO many things that I love about it. It seems to be a great value, a very comfortable car for the money. There are some items that make me scratch my head: The so-called third seat...REALLY? That is crazy in every SUV I have been in. Give it up, people. If you want a third row, get a mini-van. For the Sorento, getting that third row not only gives you a couple of seats that only an 8-year old could sit in, it also loses you some handy storage bins! How stupid! Another poorly designed feature is the power rear hatch. The Sorento has a great feature that allows the hatch to raise just by approaching the car...that is cool. What is NOT cool is that the hatch will open up while you are in the garage and then bang your hatch into your garage door. If that happens (say, your fob button gets pressed by your other keys), then you go out to the garage and open your garage door, causing hundreds of dollars of damage! This is not a problem with only the Sorento, but I never thought of it until I owned an SUV. Beware! A feature that I am having trouble with is the Automatic Forward Braking system. Its supposed to monitor traffic ahead and warn you or apply the brakes if needed to lessen a collision. A great safety feature...that turns off dozens of times each trip...about once every four miles! Accompanied by a "ding ding!" I feel like its going to be Christmas all year round! Its going back to the shop tomorrow, so well see if they fix it or not. My next whine is the leather seat warmers. Why would the switch have to be engaged every time I start my car?? And why have a switch that requires multiple taps to cycle through the options, instead of a two-or-three position switch? My other cars with this feature have an Off-Low-High toggle switch, and when you a running errands the heater comes on to the last setting. But the Sorento has to be turned on each time, and then you have to push the button repeatedly to go from high to medium to low heat. Now, after that list of complaints, I still LOVE how it drives. A powerful engine (a little too touchy on the gas pedal), smooth tranny and ride, tight turning radius, great visibility. I am happy, but I do wish those things on my list were not so puzzling. Another oddity about KIA is that accessories cost twice as much if you wait to get them after the sale. Seems to me that a posted price for an accessory should be the same whether the item is installed at the dealer or at the port. And another thing??? Hire someone who actually knows English to write your owners manuals! UPDATE: The Forward Braking problem is already a service advisory from KIA. So the good news is they are on top of it. The bad news is the fact that it was not done properly to begin with, and now the part is on order. Ill update this again as the repair process proceeds.

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  Keep it up Kia - 2014 Kia Cadenza
  By rick277 - September 23 - 3:55 pm

  I had an optima which I really liked. Great car and gas mileage with many options. I was impressed with the craftsmanship of that car. When I took it in for service and I saw the new Cadenza I had to drive it. Well nit only did I test drive it I drove it home. I have 10,000 miles on this car already and enjoy this car more everyday. I get about 21.5 on a average for gas mileage which I dont think is bad for such a large car. Around 24-25 MPG on long trips.

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  Overlooked Excellence - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By bmw3nate - September 23 - 8:43 am

  For whatever reason these cars seem to be few and far between. I have always owned German, but this past weekend, I borrowed my mothers 2008 Amanti for a short road trip. The car did amazingly well cruising on the highway. Very roomy and comfortable with very supple leather interior. The air conditioning works great, and the ride was very soft without being too boat-like. The best part of the trip was when I calculated the gas mileage to be 26 mpg, which for such a large sedan with such power seemed excellent. I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a comfortable and reliable car. The dealership has been great for service and the warranty is outstanding!

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  FACT: Sorento Is A Great SUV - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By L. walker - September 22 - 1:30 pm

  My experience with Sorento has been very good. The engine response is much better than all other SUVs I drove in its class. It is tight, firm seats, good sound system, sure stopping and solid suspension. I receive compliments on the appearance of my ice blue Sorento...would recommend this vehicle as an excellent buy.