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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  2nd To Best Car I Have Ever Owned! - 2011 Kia Sedona
  By kiafanaz - May 5 - 6:18 pm

  People give KIA Motors dirt about how their build quality is horrible and that they are a piece of junk but ill tell you something this minivan is the the 2nd best car i have ever owned! I purchased mine at Jim Click Kia and the sales people are just the best! Hey its a minivan you cant expect excellent fuel mileage! The price is unbeatable I paid 25k for mine loaded and the power doors have never gotten stuck no problems at all! power everything! for 25k? WOW KIA really out did themselves with the product! The engine is super strong!! and it is very hard to drive this car with a light foot because the power is always there! shifts smooth as butter just if you need a mini van! take a look

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  Satisfaction at its best - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Eric - May 5 - 5:56 pm

  I am a proud owner of Kia Spectra5. We were sold on its great looks. The dealer was the selling point too, he gave me the keys and said hell see us in a few minutes. We drove it and fell even further in love.

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  BEWARE!! Dont buy a Kia Optima - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Bev - May 4 - 8:36 am

  We purchased our Kia Optima 12/26/07, big mistake, not to long after we started having trouble. Started out with the trunk opening up either going down the road or while it was parked. Hesitation driving between 40 & 55, then the lifters started making noise. Cruise control came on for no reason, & the list goes on. We took it to the dealer many times & they just told us that they couldnt duplicate the problem so nothing was wrong with it. We finally took it to a certified mechanic & found the problem in a couple of hours, that the service department where we bought the car didnt/wouldnt find. Resale value is in the dump. Its not worth the money.

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  Kia Optima LX 4 - 2003 Kia Optima
  By KatyChowChow - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Love this car! Great handling and pick up. Wonderful gas mileage, for a full sized "luxury" car. Large,roomy interior. Looks like it cost a lot more than it really does. Better than th e Hyundai Sonata(Kias cousin). Smooth ride, great comfort for short or long rides. Nice safety features. Would reccomend to anyone looking at a Taurus or comparable car! More car, less money!

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  Very disappointed!!!!!!! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Denise Abel - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Bought 2 2003 spectras in May 2003 and am very shocked at the depreciation of these vehicles. We have two identical cars but they both drive differently. Mine has looser steering and my husbands feels like manual steering. We were told by the Kia place when my husband took his car in that this was normal. We paid $13,200 for each car (in trade) and now cannot get over $6000 for them in trade. Have not been able to sell the cars to private party because no one wants to buy them!!!! Very cheaply made! My husbands whole front bumper cover fell off and cost $1400 to fix. We are getting rid of both by this Friday.

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  KIA 2000 - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By BOB - May 3 - 5:50 pm

  I have gotten this Kia new. It was a good car. Had some prob. But Kia fixed I have taken to a Harold Chev. Where they were only Kia mech. I gave the car to my Kia . A few later started to have prob. When about 70,000 miles car started to sound bad. Kia dealers tried to fix it every time but it always comes back like Kia just gave up. My other daughter has a Kia. 2000 hers is after 7 years she had this car. It is have fallen a part. Kia has had this in shop. Many times. Just runs bad/now they say has a bad cylinder/I have a Kia Sedona new bought 2003 have warranty for ne to fix. Have no major prob. Kia been good to me. When I told daughter how good Kia is they will never buy one. Me ether.

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  Sporty Fun on a Budget - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By GorgeKiaDriver - May 3 - 1:33 pm

  We bought this new. This is a sporty looking car with the rear spoiler and 16" sporty wheels with low profile performance tires. With the SX you get all this plus cruise, aluminum accents on dash and chrome pedal covers. Interior is an upgrade also. Cruise control standard. Only option was ABS which I would recommend to everyone. This is great on snowy roads and accident avoidance. Best mileage we have gotten is 28 with the automatic,

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  Terrific Car!!! - 2002 Kia Optima
  By L-45-FDNY - May 3 - 10:00 am

  I wanted a large safe car for my girlfriend and after much research and many test drives we decided on the Optima. Let me tell you, the amount of car you get for your money is flat out unbelieveable! A loaded mid size car for the price of a stripped compact. It drives like a luxury sedan costing thousands more....quiet, smooth and it handles great. The 4 cyl 5 speed has plenty of power. Can you tell I really like this car? If Kia doesnt raise their prices Ill definetly be buying another one for myself next yr!

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  Good so far - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By balpho - May 2 - 12:53 pm

  I just purchased a 2007 Spectra with around 40k miles on it. Only problems so far are a blown speaker when I bought it (didnt realize it initially.) So far though the ride in the car has been great. I was coming from a 2000 Kia Sephia, and this is leaps and bounds better. Kia certainly has come a long way from when they started. My bf has an 06 Corolla, and the 07 Spectra is actually comparable which says a lot considering the prices between the 2 had a $3000 price difference on the used market at the least. The MP3 jack is a great addition and the interior is quite classy. Much better choice then a very old model Honda or Toyota.

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  sorrento lx 7 passenger - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By dad with 2 girls - May 1 - 7:03 am

  we were looking for an economical lease and after test driving a Chevy traverse, mazda cx9 and the kia, we felt the kia had the best ride and most features for basically being a base model. the 4 cylinder is more than enough powerful and very good on gas. This car was at least 100 dollars a month cheaper than the other options with more features. as far as negatives go they are very small.....the trunk button on the key fob does not pop open the trunk, it just unlocks it which is kinda annoying because with my other cars if you press the trunk release, the trunk pops open. other than that great driving car with great features at a great price.