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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  Best 2008 value - 2008 Kia Optima
  By Matt - December 28 - 4:26 am

  The chrome looks very nice with the black and the tan interior is very nice. Everyone thinks it’s a more expensive car than it really is. I am 6’1”/250 lbs and I am satisfied with this mid size vehicle and all my friends say the same. The trunk is quite large and the only thing I don’t like about the interior is the backseat head rests: they block the view when you’re attempting to switch lanes pretty bad. The gas mileage is a little disappointing. It’s a mid size thus it’s a bit light and drives light and especially in the elements.

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  Impressed - 2007 Kia Amanti
  By MHall - December 27 - 7:26 am

  Have driven Caddys, Lincolns, Olds and number of other family style autos. The Amanti beats them hands down, the car drives and rides very smooth, no road or wind noise. Have had zero problems at 38k miles. The car is loaded with every option and performs great.I get compliments all the time, the rear end looks like a Lincoln and the front between a Benz and a Jag. Avg 19.5 MPG mixed HWY & CITY. Would recommend car to anyone who is looking for a solid built, smooth riding automobile with ALL the safety feature.

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  More fun than it looks - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By David J. Phoenix - December 26 - 9:13 pm

  I bought a new Sorento because it is built in my county in Kias first American plant. The styling is head- turning and a far cry from the basic designs that Kia first brought to this country. The interior is modern and has a premium feel, especially with all the controls on the steering- wheel, including Bluetooth (which is standard). The test drive on a winding road showed the car to be agile but never. The 2.4L engine also had plenty of guts to easily complete any two- lane overtaking moves asked of it. The three-hour ride home from the dealer revealed the car to also be an excellent long distance car as well. Fun to drive + Long distance comfort + lots of gadgets as standard = a great car.

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  If youre not loving driving Kia U R just driving - 2017 Kia Forte
  By Blair - December 25 - 2:26 am

  I originally bought a pre-owned 2013 Kia Forte LX with 70 thousand miles. Really liked that car alot. GREAT automobile. Today I bought a brand new Kia Forte LX with 22 miles on it. Got tremendous customer service from car salesperson David Beasley. Had no trade in yet got a stupendous deal equal to what I was paying on the other car that I had a high interest rate on. Got a great interest rate on this new one, more or less the same payment I had AND got 3500 dollars off during the resent Kia sale and 45 days until my first payment. Insurance only went up12.00 and a bit of change. By the time I drive home 157 mile and pulled in my driveway I was absolutely in love with an automobile. Ive named him Devin.

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  I am happy! - 2002 Kia Rio
  By DesertBum - December 24 - 2:00 am

  Hi Desert Kia in Victorville is great. Ask for Linda, she sold us this car. They do deal, so...be ready :) We love it. Its a small dealership, but their customer service makes up for it. I would buy again. It gets 31city/36highway DesertBum 2002KIA Rio/Automatic/4-door

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  LOVE MY SPORTAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Bob Hoskins - December 24 - 2:00 am

  I LOVE THIS CAR, ITS FUN, SPORTY AND EVERYTHING I EXPECTED...ALSO SAVED OVER 3000 FROM THE RAV4

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  Best Buy - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By amy564 - December 22 - 10:00 am

  I did my homework and test drove quite a few SUVs, but this one took best overall in my opinion. If you want an SUV that can maneuver and accelerate well with great reliability this is the one. I would compare it to a sports car/SUV. I am very happy with it to say the least. I also like that it can tow my 17 Searay with ease. I highly recomend this SUV to anyone in the market for greated priced and well equiped SUV.

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  Soul + with 68K miles - 2011 Kia Soul
  By soulmanencore - December 20 - 6:29 am

  I purchased this vehicle new in late 2011 and have been very pleased. I commuted from southern WV to northern IN weekly for 9 months logging 1K miles per week. The car has been great in snow, mountains and all sorts of driving. I have been extremely happy and average about 28.9 miles per gallon for the types of driving that I do. I researched the Soul for quite sometime and was impressed by the low initial cost, the fuel mileage and the safety ratings. The Soul has lived up to all of these ratings and I am extremely happy with the car

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  service is as important - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Alani(BrightHeaven) - December 19 - 8:13 pm

  I made a cost effective purchased Nov. 2008. And until Jan. 2010 driving Sedona LX with get up and go on freeways and hills were more than expected. Jan. 2010 Alternator stop working but with excellant warranty and service I was back in my Sedona in a week. My sisters new car (other brand) had problems within a month. Shortly after purchasing my Sedona I was viewing it from a restaurant window against other vehicles and noticed how really impressive looking (color=white) it really is.

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  Yes, I bought a KIA - 2009 Kia Optima
  By donald09 - December 19 - 5:33 pm

  My wife and I have only had our Optima for a couple of days. It is everything that the data says it is. We took it out for a fun run to see how it performs. We put on 140 miles and used approximately 4 gallons, 35 MPG. I couldnt get the wife to quit playing with the SAT radio, she loves it. I felt it was easy to handle in a curve, the visibility was great, the instruments were easy to read and access.