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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  Sweet ride - 2013 Kia Sportage
  By Steven Hayes - June 2 - 1:25 am

  Good value

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  Need to have eyes like bats. - 2016 Kia Sportage
  By tusabellin - June 2 - 12:07 am

  My one very BIG complaint is that the headlights are just terrible. Night driving is actually dangerous. These headlights should all be recalled and replaced. The mileage is also very poor. No reason why this car should be getting less milage then the one I traded in which was a 2010 Tuscan.

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  Value, Features, and Style - Oh My! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By ggunderson2 - May 31 - 1:49 am

  Unlike others I have been getting good mileage - 22 in town, 33 interstate. Engine is adequate and I always have the power I need. Engine noise is loud outside of car, but unlike others I have had no problems with noise levels inside the car. I purchased for $23K with leather, heated and cooled seats, dual sunroof, and 60K warranty. No Japanese, American, or German car comes close to matching the overall value - If you are looking for a family sedan price and compare. Only weaknesses is it rides low so front frame scrapes when backing out of driveway, etc. View outside constrained by thick C-pillars. But rides very nice and has more truck and interior space than large cars.

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  Love it all but.... - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Soooooouuuuulllllll - May 30 - 2:10 pm

  I just recently bought this vehicle to replace a dying 15 year old Pontiac. Like everyone else, I have complaints about the scuffing on the interior and how easy that is. Otherwise I think its pretty neat so far. However, I live in Michigan and we get a lot of snow. The Soul does not do well climbing out of two inches of snow, which is disappointing considering the size and the lift of the vehicle. Have a set of chains or a shovel ready. :

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  First and Last Kia - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By stoneattic - May 30 - 7:53 am

  If you use the stereo aux with a satellite radio or charging ipod there is a very noticeable alternator whine. The dealer had it twice, now claims thats the way its supposed to work. If you are going to have a convenience feature it should work properly. As annoying as this is the real clincher is that the parking lights will go on by themselves in the middle of the night for no reason, draining the battery. Im not the only one with this. Search Kia forums and you will find many with the same issue. Kia claims a new BCM will fix it, but it hasnt corrected mine. Then theres the goofy shift points, but theres not enough room to list all of my complaints. Dealer is awful too.

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  Not a bad value - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Justin - May 29 - 1:35 pm

  Bought this car in 2010 when family expanded with twins. Rear passenger power door works about about 10% of the time. Only a few trips to mechanic for some leaks, oil and radiator. But expensive repairs when needed. Blows signal bulbs and headlight bulbs every three months, which I learned to fix proficiently on my own. Drove this van on numerous family trips all over, and some very long distance trips as well. Never once did it break down and leave us stranded, never once did it fail to start. Not the highest quality, but great value. I couldnt afford a Honda or Toyota, but those have their own problems too, just research them. Also we were severely rear ended with all of my kids in the car, including a three year-old in the third row seat. The rear window blew up but the door stayed solid and didnt come anywhere near the third row. At the end of the day I would trust a Kia with my family.

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  Great Value For The Price - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By idrn - May 29 - 12:21 pm

  I traded in a 2007 Tundra with a 5.7L engine for this vehicle. Weve had it for about 1 month. The MPG is above the sticker estimated numbers. We are getting 26.1 city and 34.5 hwy. I think this is great coming from a huge truck with 14 city and 17 hwy. The GDI engine seems to be the best balance between economy and still having some oomph on the road. The back up camera and rear sonar are great and the UVO is very easy to link to bluetooth HTC phone. We really like the A pillar A/C for the rear seat and the fold down arm rest for the rear as well. The rear under floor storage is huge and the ride is quiet and smooth. Though not a Lexus the value is right for the money.

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  high valued minivan - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By george - May 29 - 10:30 am

  I have the new Sedona Kia for 5 weeks and 1800 kms. and find it a nice van to drive around. No problems at all with quality. Gas mileage not great in city but reasonable on highway. Compared to my previous 2001 Xterra, the mileage on this Kia is a lot better. The Xtera is a lot noisier and too high to climb in and out. Love the features inside and more than enough room for my family of 5 including a baby and a toddler.

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  Great Value - 2005 Kia Rio
  By jlangman - May 28 - 7:06 pm

  White 2005 Kia Rio, Automatic, A/C, and sports package. Pros: Low price!, very comfortable, quiet, roomy, handles well, looks nice (even better with tinted windows), lots of trunk space, simple controls, uncluttered engine compartment, sensation of great value. Cons: Poor acceleration (dont pull out in front of any trucks!), only about 311 miles on tank of gas around city (not sure if it can make from LA to Vegas on one tank). No other complaints that I can think of.

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  Better than the Honda Civic - 2010 Kia Forte
  By John - May 26 - 11:36 am

  Traded a 2007 Honda Civic for the Forte, and have no regrets. So much quieter on the road, and a lot more fun to drive. Loved the Honda until I drove the Forte. Honda having a lot of issues with there quality including cracked engine blocks. I paid 16700.00 for a LX Civic ,and 15700,00 for a SX Forte that has a lot more standard features. Stability control, and traction control are not even offered on the Honda. Build quality and materials on the Forte are also a step above the Civic, and remember this review is coming from some one who drove the civic for 3 and a half years. The Honda didnt even have heated mirrors, even my 2000 Dodge Neon had heated mirrors.