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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  Piece of Junk - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By badluckbetty1 - February 11 - 10:42 am

  I have the 2004 Kia Sorento and nothing but a piece of junk! Every since I bought it has been nothing but a headache and not minor things major costly items.. water pump, the ignition fried and would start BY ITS SELF!! The relay box went bad, all the belts had to be replaced and now the mechanic at my near by kia dealership says the timing chain is going bad and the car will be ruined if not fixed! The headlight and tail lights go out every other month. Kias are pieces of crap and I will never buy another if you are looking into buying this vehicle please dont save your time and money! ohh by the way my vehicle only has 81,000 miles on it and still falling apart!

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  Starts off great but major water issues! - 2014 Kia Forte
  By shanell - January 23 - 2:10 am

  I have had this car for over 2 years now and the issue of water somehow leaking into the car from the trunk/back lights has become a major problem. Anytime it rains or you get the car washed you have to hope that the car and anything in your trunk isnt soaked inside. I have gone out to find puddles of water, wet back seats and trunk, and in the cold months frozen windows (from the inside). The back windows stopped working which I am sure is due to the water damage and I have seen condensation inside the dash board where the speedometer is as well as freezing in the ceiling lights. Heads up, the problem begins with windows that constantly fog and youll probably dismiss it with bad defrosting but DO NOT be fooled! The gas mileage is great but the issues that come with this car are not worth it.

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  Thank God I got out!!! - 2001 Kia Rio
  By TYLERALLEN1120AOL - December 20 - 2:00 am

  I BOUGHT MY CAR IN MARCH 2001 BRAND NEW! WHERE DO I START. LETS SEE.....WE ARE UP TO 25 TIMES IN THE SHOP AS OF TODAY! ENGINE LIGHT, AIR BAG LIGHT, LOSS OF POWER GOING 55MPH. YA WHAT ELSE DO I SAY. I HAVE A LEMON!! AND TO PROVE IT, KIA IS BUYING IT BACK. I HAVE A FEW THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE CAR, NOT ITS ENGINE, BUT I LIKE ITS HANDLING AND IT DRIVES FUN!!WHEN IT WORKS!!! BUT THE ENGINE IS, I DONT KNOW SOMETHING IN MINE WAS WRONG??? I WENT THROUGH 3 WATER PUMPS, 2 O2 SENSORS, ALL NEW ELECTRICAL WIRES, YOU NAME IT,ITS BEEN DONE TO THAT CAR. WOW! ANYONE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS?? LAWYER PLEASE!! IT HELPS!

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  Frustrated Kia owner!!! - 2014 Kia Forte
  By Pennie - December 5 - 7:53 am

  This car starts out cute, had it 2 yrs. now. Just found that there has been water running into the vehicle by way of trunk or back windshield. Its rains for a day and a half. I put something in my trunk and spotted a soaked trunk. I thought well Ill put in in the back seat , opened the door and put my bag on the back seat only to find that the back seat and floor were completed enfolded in water. Took the car to the dealer, there response was, well your warranty is out. The car is having electrical problems back windows wont open , apparently the water ruined them. The car has mold. They say , oh yes we are fixing there manufactures defect, not mine because its out of warranty. WTF, this should be a recall due to defect! Wont stop this fight!!! This could cost more for repairs than the car is worth. Looking for help!!! Frustrated in North Carolina

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  I will never buy another Kia! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By jmc7982 - December 3 - 5:13 am

  I have 3 children and buying a minivan seemed like the right idea. If i had only known that buying a Kia would put me in debt i would have never ever done it! Everything on the car is pretty much plastic. I have broke several door handles that are far from cheep to replace. Everything in the van squeeks. I have had to replace the compressor and the shocks in the back that lift the back door! I have sank way too much money in this vehicle to enjoy it.

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  Never Again! - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By lori - October 31 - 8:43 pm

  We have had nothing but trouble since we bought this thing. Weve had to have new rotors put on after the first 15,000 miles.The interior lights stopped working. Have had to change countless bulbs in the head lights and tail lights. The transmission has gone out and dumped $1600. in having it worked on and still on working properly. The front seat design is horrible for long trips - across the country. The only good thing about this junk is that it is paid for. Ill never buy another KIA!

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  Careful - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Tiago Moraes - October 31 - 11:20 am

  When I bought my Rio it was clean, I mean clean like new, you could still smell that new car smell in it, the other owner took such a good care of it and I was very exited to have a car that was so new, so I drove it to work and home and one day when I parked the car at work a piston broke off and that was the end of the car, for no reason or now warning signs a piston broke and now I have to change the whole engine. Kia wont cover it (of course) now I have a car that looks new but doesnt run, it has only 60,000 miles and all three mechanics told me it was garbage, so be careful and listen to what people have to say.

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  Small Things - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By jreynard - October 14 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car new from the dealership. This car was my first brand new car. I was blind to all that goes into buying a car. If I had to do it again I would not. It ran well for the most part and it did have a roomy interior but the attention to details was lacking. The engine was really loud on the highway and its handling was bad. The body was made of very weak metal that showed the smallest of dings. It seemed to me that alot of quality was comprimised when they were trying to be "economic."

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  KIA OPTIMA SXL Never buy it - 2013 Kia Optima
  By Abdul rahman - October 13 - 9:48 am

  Please dont buy kia optima sxl engine turbo the car looks great but the engine are so annoying I was driving my optima 80mils a hour coming from work while suddenly the engine make some noise and I dont see any warning signs in dashboard before or even after it stopped and shut down ,break up the engine and that was as easy as 123 so my advice to all of you who buy it dont ever spend your money and time on something not worth it. Its kia optima sxl

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  unreliable car - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Jenn - October 10 - 1:16 am

  This car has already gone through 3 transmissions and is about to get another one. I have never had a problem with transmissions on any other car that I have owned, so I know its not me. This car is more trouble than it is worth.