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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  no fuel econemy - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By larry - May 17 - 5:50 am

  The van is reliable and easy to drive. The comfort level is very good. In the first 25,000 miles I had to replace both brakes and tires. My biggest complaint is that gas mileage doesnt exist. Highway is fine at about 19/20 to the gallon but city is around 10 and they can do nothing about it.

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  Work Commuter - 2012 Kia Forte
  By finzphan68 - May 14 - 5:12 am

  Needed a new car for my daily commute, and have wanted a hatchback for a while too, so came across the Kia Forte, and found that while its not the top of the line model, it offers everything that I needed in a functional and stylish package.

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  Amanti Problem - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By D.Cummings - May 13 - 9:10 am

  Bought used w/6970 mi.on it(told it was a salesmans who leased a new one).Got home & on parking in driveway noticed light on dash,brake light was out! Went back it was replaced, but this was just the start!!Have since replaced 17 bulbs on this car!!! Car was checked & was told nothing wrong,its normal on Kias,& theres a lot of electronics on the vehicle.Each time nothing wrong is found, it costs me $92,so much for the warranty!! Lightbulb replacement cost $35-$40,since you cant get to them w/out removing half the frontend. Have had bottom of seats,bushings,rear support brackets and shifter all replaced, all taking 2 visits to do,as have to wait for parts! Im upside down & have to keep.

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  PLEASANT SURPRISE - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By AZTEC ROAD - May 5 - 7:10 am

  When I purchased this car I was in the market for a 96 Camry but just happened to come across Kia. This is car that I would normally not buy. But because it was cheaper than a used Camry I purchased it with the intentions of keeping for a year or two. Now almost 5 years later its a "keeper". Love the warranty and will be driving it for another 5 years. I purchased a 2006 Sonata today and gave a passing thought to trading in the "Green Machine" but decided not to. The only draw backs with the Spectra are its soft seats, lousy on long drives and lousy gas mileage for such a small car. Anyone looking for a car for a teenage-this is it! Also, a grea commuter car.

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  Coming from a 99 Chevy Lumina - 2016 Kia Forte
  By John - April 30 - 8:39 pm

  Upgrading to this car from a ill-maintened Lumina was one of the best decisions ever. Then again, Ive jumped quite a few years into the new-car-world. Ive been owning the Forte LX for 4 months now, and to say the least, its a great car. Not perfect... but great. It runs smoothly, quietly, and if you want, super fast. I was impressed at how the engine keeps it quiet, like the Toyota Priuss. However, after putting-in over 2,500 miles, the engine starts losing its futuristic engine sound. Im a music enthusiast and I was extremely overwhelmed with the possibilities of connecting your phone/mp3 to the car via USB, AUX and Bluetooth. However, I am not impressed with the sound quality, but of course, that can be upgraded later in life. The windows are supposedly made to keep the heat out of the sun, but thats not quite accurate. Its like any other car window in its family. Trunk space is awesome! Fold down the seats, and you can practically sleep back there. All-in-all, the car does its job quite well. I forget sometimes to be grateful when I begin comparing it to other cars I should have bought instead.

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  Not bad, could be better - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By Looking to trade - April 30 - 2:53 am

  I traded a sedan for the Sorento. I use it to transport bikes and dogs (one of which is a 75 lb. Greyhound) and commute to work. I wanted a vehicle that sat higher than a car and had plenty of cargo room. I drive combined city/highway and get 22.5 mpg. Ive had trouble with the passenger airbag-my brother (140 lb.) has ridden with me and one minute the airbag sensor screen shows its on, then a few minutes later its off. Doesnt exactly make you feel safe. Theres a rattle (already) on the drivers side that the dealership fixed, then a few weeks later it came back.

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  I hope I didnt make a mistake - 2010 Kia Forte
  By bj - April 28 - 10:33 pm

  I bought this KIA 2 days ago. I really liked the looks and the price. Today I noticed that my front right bumper little loose. I took it right back the dealership after they looked at it they said they have to wait for KIA motors response since they dont see any damage and they never seen this happen before. Interior looks nice but the material is little cheap compare to my 11 yr old Honda Civic. Leather doesnt feel like good leather. Too many oily fingerprints. I hope I didnt make a mistake buying this car. We own 7 Hondas in the family, this is the 1st Korean car.

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  Major paint issues - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By princessmeliss - April 24 - 11:00 pm

  My Kia Spec5 was awesome for the first 8 months until the paint started chipping off. Kia refuses to take responsibility for it and Ive seen 2 others with the same problem. Kias rep told me that his is doing the same thing, but its not a quality issue. Have since found other Spec5s with the same thing and found feedback on the web from owners experiencing the exact same issue. Kia isnt interested in hearing about it and has lost a customer as a result.

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  good cheap car - 2001 Kia Rio
  By cpatriaw - April 13 - 2:00 am

  this car is great for single guy and not suitable for family car.I bought mine on Oct 00 and in Feb 04 ive drove over 60K miles. In 2003 I drove this car from New York to San Jose,California without problem. Things that should be improved from Kia is they need to bigger their second row seat.

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  Not bad - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By derf - April 10 - 2:03 pm

  I like the interior space, the handling and the filtered cabin air. We just did our first trip with the KIA sorento 4 cylinder FWD automatic. It is rough riding compared to our Chrysler town and country. I am really disappointed with the gas mileage. It claims to get 29 mpg (4 cylinder FWD) but I only averaged 25mpg on our trip. I used cruise control and was on 4 lane highways all the way (508 miles). With All my other cars I got 2 or 3 mpg more than the window sticker. Perhaps the EPA estimates have been "readjusted".