I've had a 2000 Kia Sportage 2X for a little over three years, currently at 60k+ miles. It's the first used vehicle I've ever bought. (~11k at purchase) For the price vs. equipment nobody could touch them, but they aren't always the most dependable vehicles. So far so good though, nothing that has kept it from getting me around safely.
My first three brand new vehicles were a toyota, a nissan, and then a mazda.. respectively.(the first and last I kept until they were around 120k) That said, I have really loved this truck but it has had a lot of warranty repair. The main things were: both catalytic converters, the alternator/bearing, the a/c compressor/receiver/evap coil, and the drive shaft/bearings. I just missed the 100k/10yr warranty when I got mine, so I'm just out of the warranty coverage now. I'm not too worried, although when I get something else I probably won't trade this in on it.
Supposedly this vehicle was originally designed with hardcore use in mind. A lot of respected names were involved with different components. It did win the baja a couple years in a row. Modified of course... (
http://www.suv.com/kia/KIA2K/ )
Anyway, it looks like the quality issue has only gotten better. My truck came standard with more features than ANY of my previous vehicles, and cheaper than the mazda (mx3).
I really wish they hadn't switched to the gas-guzzling sorento.
The few people I've talked to that bought Kia cars seemed to be happy with them overall. I felt I should add that since the sportage was a different animal to an extent.
If you're not too nit-picky they're worth a look. Also, I've been the salesperson's worst nightmare on all my purchases. Like Raggie said they will probably try to get more out of you, so be prepared to stick to your guns and walk out of the dealership if you have to.