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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  My 6 Months with an 05 Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By MagMax - April 16 - 8:13 am

  This is the most comfortable riding car Ive ever owned. Its extremely quiet, has every possible convenience feature, is easy to see out of, has a tight turning circle, has excellent workmanship and comes in at an amazingly good price. Frankly, I dont see any reason to spend more for a Camry or the same for an Accord both of which have fewer features and less comfort. The Amanti is a wonderful highway car and is ideal for smoothing out rough city streets as well. The interior is amazingly roomy and the heated rear seats, left and right temperature controls and rear A/C and heat are welcome to all passengers. Mine has been trouble free for over 5000 km and I love it.

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  Very Happy With My KIA - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Amy - April 14 - 10:20 am

  Ive had my optima for a month. I was very pleased with it when I bought it and I still am. I love the warranty. It feels like a luxury car without the hefty price tag.

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  dont drive it as you would drive Prius - 2011 Kia Optima
  By doryhan - April 14 - 10:14 am

  My other (or previous) cars: Ford Taurus V6 Chrysler PT-CRUISER I4 Cadillac DHS V8 I have owned and been driving Optima Hybrid (OH) for a month, filling up the tank twice. MPG: first tank 34.5MPG second tank 35.5MPG (99% city: the car computer indicates the average speed 22.2MPH) At the beginning, I tried to drive the optima the way I would drive a Prius - slow acceleration, no sudden stops, obsessively use EV mode (or try to use). But that does not help you with MPG. (more talks continued in "Suggested improvements")

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  Kia Koup is the way to go - 2010 Kia Forte
  By morganturskey - April 14 - 10:00 am

  When I first started looking at cars i looked at used cars like Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. All great choices until you look at the warranties and cost of ownership. I then turned to the Kia Forte Koup SX and fell in love immediately. It is just as fast to 60 and handles better than you would think. It easily takes on-ramps at 55 mph with no tire squeal. So much more room than other coupes in the market. It even beat my roommates 2010 Ford Mustang V6 in a race. Limiter is set to 132 mph compared to the mustangs 116 mph. For those of you who like music, the stock radio is great but if you love more bass i suggest putting two 12 inch subs and 1000 watt amp. It makes it sound so much better.

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  Must Consider this car! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Mister Tough - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Very pleased overall with performance, styling & creature comforts. Note: Do not see engine temperature / charge / oil pressure gauge. Owned Chevys my entire life. Never thought I would own anything else. The recession changed my way of thinking to consider best possible value for the dollar. After looking at American makes, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, decided that Kia offered the most car / most features / best performance / best economy / best safety / best warranty for the dollar. For less than the cost of one repair bill, upgraded to 10 yr / 100K mi Bumper-To-Bumper warranty. The total price tag was less than any other new car and many 1-8 yr used cars.

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  Its not just a KIA - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By islesfan303 - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Ive had this car for about a week now and I couldnt love it more. After looking at several other small SUVs, (Equinox, Terrain, Outlander etc.)I stumbled upon the Sportage. I would have never even thought to look at a Kia, but a family member had just gotten a great deal on Sorento. For the money you cant beat the amount of features you get with this car. The LED running lights look awesome day and night. The comfortable fabric seats have cool stitching and small designs on the lumbar area. I really only got the EX because of the LEDs and the 18 inch rims - Im glad I did because they make the car stand out big time!

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  2011 Kia Sorento LX - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By jlwear - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Initially, we never considered a Sorento, but the new 2011 proved to be a pleasant surprise. We needed space for cargo and carrying the grandchildren. AWD was a requirement due to rural roads. The 3rd row seats were the best we saw within our price range and the ride exceeded our expectations in this price class. All in all, I would consider this vehicle as best in class. I hope it as dependable as it feels.

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  Work horse - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By Zack - April 13 - 10:49 pm

  Bought the Kia for a commute to work, been daily driver for years and never had single prblem. Self maintenance is very simple. Overall impressed with the car, it doesnt look stylish but dont judge a book by its cover it performs well. Adequate acceleration with satisfying fuel economy. Transmission shifts smooth without notice, also has sensitive steering. Surprisingly very comfortable ride with plenty of head/leg room for compact car Im 62" and its pleasant to drive. Has over 250k miles and still drives like new! No oil burns, drips or leaks. Simple maintenance and these cars will run forever.

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  A new way to roll; and yes, its no mini, but thats GOOD. - 2011 Kia Soul
  By joe331 - April 13 - 9:37 am

  My previous car was a mini. Everything about this car is better as far as I am concerned with few exceptions. Its not fast, but, its still a lot of fun to drive and its plenty fast enough. It is easier to get in and out of than the mini, it holds 4 big adults comfortably, everything works well, The base stereoe sounds way better than the minis. Gas is a trade off, mine got a little better mileage but the soul burns regular. It shifts just fine with the manual trans; I have no idea what all the fuss about vague shifting is about ... I never miss a gear, the clutch is light and easy, shifting is effortless. A great car, looks good, engine even sounds better than the mini.

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  So far so good - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Theolus - April 10 - 2:00 am

  After 3 months, we love our Sedona! Not one problem with it so far. My wife loves the way it drives. We have 5 softball playing daughters and it carrys the seven of us and their gear to tournaments on weekends with no problem. Plenty of power to move us along. The leather upholstery is holding up well to the abuse.