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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  Fast and furious - 2011 Kia Forte
  By Paula - January 13 - 5:51 pm

  Love driving the car. Steering is super easy and smooth, hugs the corners, glides right down the high-way and the power is there when you need it. I love the look of it... got mine in white, very girly. Cutest car in the universe. I find it extremely comfortable and so does my 120 LB Labradane. Hes got plenty of room to stretch out in the back seat and is perfectly fine hopping in and out. Overall I love the car and look forward to driving it daily. Technology... Okay so maybe I am spoiled because I came from a 2015 automobile with all of the cool techie features. I mean the XM is good but options and sound quality is awful. Speakers are awful. Could have spent a little more for the navigation and back up camera. Since I got such a good deal on this car I have asked the dealer to upgrade the radio/system/speakers. Problem fixed.

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  My first car - 2004 Kia Optima
  By ameagle177 - January 13 - 2:17 pm

  I bought this car two years ago as my first car, i got it for 400 bucks all smashed up. i fixed it at 75k miles and ive had no problems at all except crank sensor and belt squeak. I drive it pretty rough, but i perform all needed routine maintenance. it now has 86k miles and has served me well.

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  Love Kia - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By maryhelpful - January 13 - 10:26 am

  My recent Sedona is my second one. I love the Kia. It takes care of my family of five and beyond normal servicing, I rarely have taken it to the dealership.

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  Not a Borrego....but close - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Dan - January 12 - 6:01 pm

  The new Sorrento has a more grown up feel....bigger and more of a presence.....like the Borrego of 2009. That SUV is now one of the most sought after used SUVs in the market. I love my Borrego and wish Kia would have continued the large SUV format. At least this version of the Sorento is larger and has a substantial road presence. I was torn between the new Pilot and this version but the warranty and past Kia performance convinced me to continue my Kia loyalty. I hope the Teleride is released soon.....it looks like the awesome full SUV that Kia needs.

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  KIA OWNER - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By DADEPO@AOL.COM - January 12 - 2:00 am

  I LOVE KIA AUTOMOBILES I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMENED THEM AND WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE MY SELF

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  So Not a MiniVan/Soccer Mom...til Now! - 2010 Kia Sedona
  By J.Zof - January 11 - 4:26 pm

  Weve only had the van for about two weeks now and so far love it! Its like they say, never want one, till you own one! With 3 kids this is the perfect car for us. I was sad to get rid of my CX-7 but am so happy we did - not just for the room alone. The ride is smooth and surprisingly quiet. The leather seats are very comfortable! DVD with wireless headphones = awesome! And getting all in & out is stress free. Looked at the Sienna & the Odyssey - so nice, but expensive at the mid-range model. We got this fully loaded for about the same & neither could touch the cash incentives or the warranty! We hope weve made a good investment & are able to ride this car into the ground. A Kia? who knew?

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  Love My Kias - 2007 Kia Optima
  By R Jenkins - January 11 - 2:40 pm

  We purchased a 2007 Kia Optima EX V6 with heated seats, sunroof, spoilers, dual exhaust, etc. and LOVE this car! It has lots of safety features, a huge trunk, a comfortable interior, and is still sporty to drive. It feels like you are riding in a much more expensive car. The car is very responsive. We have owned sports cars and luxury cars, but this is the best of both worlds. The front and rear de-icers are great and the ten speaker Infinity sound system is AWESOME! The built-in roll-down shade for the rear is like those often seen on a Benz. The car is quality built and we believe that by the time Honda and Toyota take note, their market share may be lost! We love both our Kias.

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  Great value - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By David - January 9 - 2:28 am

  The engine and acceleration on this van are great! We have 136,000 miles and have had NO engine problems. Weve changed the battery, but thats about it. Im very satisfied with the overall quality of all the parts that matter- engine, etc. But, the inside of the car feels a little cheap. It feels "plastic-y". But, we bought this car for overall value so were very happy with a peppy, great motor and drive, and dont really care about the feel of the inside controls.

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  Your gonna love this car! - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Tammi Shaw - January 9 - 1:06 am

  This Car is a all around winner, And you"ll just Love to drive it!!

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  Blown away - 2009 Kia Optima
  By carman09 - January 7 - 8:16 pm

  I drove an Accord, Camry Mercedes just to name a few. I drove an Optima and was totally blown away. I would have picked them over the others any but when you throw in the cost it is truly unbelievable. This car has everything you can imagine as options, has road manners that of an Accord. I drove a camry (32,000) comparably equipped. The only thing the kia didnt have was a 3yr, 36000 warranty. The Kia has a 5yr 60000 bumper to bumper and 10 yer 100000 warranty! Very happy!. Cost 20,150