Kia has already made inroads into the European market and aims to pack more of a punch, signing up the German design guru behind the Audi TT and VW Beetle, opening a state-of-the art factory in Slovakia next month and recruiting tennis ace Rafael Nadal as the company's "global face".
The marque's ambition can clearly be seen in the new Sedona people carrier, an altogether sleeker version of the much-loved model, with 31,000 sold in six years.
The car's a big favourite with private buyers looking for an affordable MPV and, from what I've seen, is likely to remain so.
I spent a week road-testing the entry-level GS version with 2.9-litre diesel engine.
First impressions are of a sharper, cleaner style - I could never come to terms with the bonnet scoop on the old model - and of size. This is a true seven-seater, a spacious car if ever there was one, but it is shorter than its predecessor, though taller and wider.
Believe me, elbow room ain't a problem. Access is easy, with wide-opening driver and front-passenger doors and twin easy-to-slide ones for the middle row of passengers.
The rearmost ones enter via the sliders and a tumbled-forwards middle-row seat.
Opening the rear tailgate reveals a low-lipped flatload-floor and, even with the third row of seats in place there is decent boot-space.
Trappings
Begin to remove some of those seats and the load area rolls out before you like the Great Plains. And that's just as well for me, with a daughter returning to university encumbered with enough trappings to give a removals firm a headache.
Four of us were making the trip to the groves of academe, so I took out the back two seats and the central one in the middle row. It's an easy enough action, although the seats are a bit on the heavy side - as they are in other makes with a similar arrangement - no doubt to fulfil stringent safety requirements.
The seats also slide forwards and backwards, recline, fold in half and store upright.
With oodles of possessions on board, the vehicle was doing just what it was built for, being multi-purpose, and hauling a car full of passengers and a hefty load with ease.
There's an atmosphere of capacious comfort about the Sedona, a feeling enhanced for the middle-row passengers by a ceiling-mounted, drop-down DVD player, complete with wireless headphones.
Our journey gave just enough time for a full-length film (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as you ask) and a post-movie discussion of same.
While the big feature was showing, yours truly was at the wheel, sampling the torquey urge of the big diesel motor, mated to a smooth-changing automatic gearbox. The autobox suits the Sedona, adding to that air of ease-of-use, but for those who like to be more involved there's a semi-automatic stick-shift mode, too.
The driving experience is car-like, despite the motor's dimensions. Indeed, Mrs T, who clocks in at a full 5ft tall, was behind the wheel on the return leg and pronounced the car easy to drive.
Predictable
I found the handling predictable and confidence-inspiring, even being rewardingly taut in demanding cornering, while the high driving position adds to that feeling of confidence.
If you want the hi-tech stuff, South Korean manufacturers certainly don't stint and the Sedona's features include triple-zone air con, powered and heated door mirrors, roof rails and six air bags.
Posher models even have powered sliding doors, while the top of the range TS aspires to the likes of leather upholstery, cruise control and electrically adjustable driver's seat.
And if you want the practical stuff, the Sedona has a multiplicity of storage spaces, including a double-decker illuminated glovebox, as well as that flexible seating arrangement.
And if you want a truthful pun, for many families it will represent a good Korea-move.
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