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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  Great SUV, very dependable & comfortable - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Tom B - November 15 - 1:36 pm

  Purchased new, now have 50K+ miles, my daughter drives it. Never a break down! Very comfortable, and dependable. Typical maintenance issue you have with any car...change brake pads, tires, oil (no surprise) but never any big problems. Two items replaced under warranty...no big deal.

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  Not a Bad Econobox - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By nethed - November 14 - 10:00 am

  not bad at all for the price. Havent had any major problems or any mechanical problems with the car. I drive a lot, and i mean a lot. pushing 30000 in just 6 months of driving. However, i have had a lot of minor annoyances with the car. Such as the stereo didnt match the Sticker, the Back seat doesnt latch correctly, the Truck Release is flaky at best. Overall Though its a good deal for the money.

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  Good car, so far! - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Breezy - November 14 - 10:00 am

  13000 tough miles on this car in just seven months with no serious problems (the drink tray floor broke, but it still holds most cups and mugs). I like the fuel efficiency, which is the upside of less than stellar engine power. Its nimble in city traffic, and with its tight turn radius, short wheelbase and ample ground clearance, you can always find creative places to park. Weve had no trouble on dirt roads and gravel, but stay out of the snow, mud or sand unless you have the 4wd. If you plan to drive on such roads, consider getting a skid plate to protect the oil pan & vital parts.

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  First Experiences - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Steve Whitmer - November 14 - 3:00 am

  Got Special Edition 2 with 18" wheels and low profile tires w/TPMS, orange w/racing stripe, sunroof, upgraded stereo, steering wheel controls, bluetooth, sport suspension. Very happy after two weeks. Got 29.2 MPG on first fill-up in mostly suburban street driving. Have ridden 4 people, backset riders said were very comfortable. Ride is tight as expected with sport suspension. Car is quiet- no high road noise as have read in other reviews, even at 65-70 mph. Soul looks to be good balance of sportiness, fuel economy, and cargo/passenger utility w/ top drawer warranty. In short, it does a lot of things pretty well at a very reasonable price.

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  Nice lil car - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By silver bullet - November 13 - 3:16 pm

  At 65, 300 lbs I wondered at first if I could even fit in it, to my surprise I did. Now at about 45000 miles I cant complain much. It has good power and with the stick in it I really go if I need to, but I think it needs to have a sixth gear in it. I put an after market sound system in but left the factory deck in it and it sounds quite good. I had no problems other than the front spoiler is gone due to rubbing on parking ties and drive entries.

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  The better Kia Sportage - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By K McMichael - November 12 - 11:03 pm

  I must say that the new Kia Sportage has come a long way. Compared to the old kia sportages this new one is great.

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  Very Happy So Far - 2013 Kia Rio
  By gmmcnair - November 12 - 10:17 pm

  I bought my Rio LX hatchback a little over a month ago. I have the 6 speed automatic, and just about nothing else as far as extras. I am not into fluff on cars, but this one is nicely equipped and has all the amenities that one needs in a basic daily driver. The little 1.6 liter engine is spirited off the line (slows down a little bit after that), and gives me decent numbers. I drive in a lot of heavy, stop and start, traffic, and I get about 26-28 mpg overall. Highway mileage hovers around 40....this is without the active ECO button engaged (turns the car into a slug).

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  4000 mile update - Wow!- keep being impressed - 2012 Kia Optima
  By fixer199 - November 12 - 12:57 pm

  After 3 months & 4000 miles we like this car -- and Kia, more and more. As previously posted, the amplifier was replaced under warranty. I complained to Kia, the found the problem, & took care of it. Last week we received a gift card from Kia apologizing that we had experienced a problem with our Kia. Wow!! What a nice experience compared to my dealings with Ford on our other car! We get so many compliments on this car. Love driving it. Really like the 2.4L engine. The only thing we would do differently is not buy the Infinity NAV system. My $150 Garmin is a much better nav, & you give up the HD radio. Controls are frustrating!

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  Great Car - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By SAY iT - November 12 - 12:50 pm

  OK, So i bought this car used at about 25k and have had it for 22k. I probably can say that this car is a better performing car than my friends Civic (in power that is). Great gas mileage, little trouble, except when I had to change my front wheel bearings [covered under warranty even @45K). I am little concerned with the brakes; they tend to be needing readjusting every so often to fix the weak braking power. As second owner I have the 5 year/60k warranty which I have used 3 times when I locked myself out :-). Mine is a LS 5 speed with everything except the ABS. I LOOOOVE the car. I believe the KIAs need to be taken more seriously.

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  Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Mark K - November 11 - 10:00 am

  I am very impressed with the quality,style and workmanship of this vehicle. It handles extremely well. Outstanding warranty and a great price.