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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  Economy Does Have To Be Uncomfortable - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By goldenauragirl - December 19 - 7:53 am

  I was used to a 6 cylinder and expected the car to be a lot less peppy. I was pleasantly surprised. I drove the 2 smallest cars from every Japanese and Korean automaker before I settled on this car. I found the interior of the Kia to be very comfortable.

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  Great Car! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By jck1962 - December 19 - 12:00 am

  I love this Car! I saw this car advertised in the paper and it quickly caught my eye, then i saw the price and was like wow! after a quick test drive and the usual 4 hour negotiation with a trade I drove it home and that says a lot because I loved my Nissan xterra just not the gas it was costing me for my 50 mile round trip to work.

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  trucks except dealer stinks - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By hsanantonio - December 18 - 11:46 am

  I love this truck. I used to own a US built, but that will never happen again. The performance is great. After changing to a k&n filter, the truck handled a long drive of 3k miles. I owned a Sephia before and loved the reliability of it.

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  Excellent Car and Amazing Value - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By lug1115 - December 17 - 7:13 am

  Picked up a fully loaded EX V6 AWD and it is truly a great car. And its not only the price; the car can go toe to toe with any other car in its class and win. The fact that it is thousands less than competing vehicles is just icing on the cake. I did a significant amount of research on the Sorento and other CUVs in its class, and none of the others came close to what the Sorento could offer, both in terms of features as well as price. As other reviewers here on Edmunds and elsewhere have noted, the ride is firm, but it is controlled; its not the bone-jarring sea-saw of a ride others have made it out to be. As a near mid-size crossover, it handles as it should and exceeds expectations!

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  GREAT INEXPENSIVE LUXURY CAR - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Susan M. - December 16 - 3:40 pm

  I recently bought the 2006.5 new style Kia Optima LX. Considering that Ive only had it less than a week, its still very new and I cant say just yet about the gas consumption. I do love the new style of the Optima over previous years. It looks like a very expensive luxury sedan. The Kia has LOTS of standard features that are options on the much higher prices competitors. This car has so much on it for the low cost compared to other manufacturers. So far I am totally enjoying my Optima and rate it highly! If you are looking for an inexpensive, great looking inside and outside, great driving luxury sedan, go for the 2006.5 Optima.

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  Great quality - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By trick1 - December 15 - 10:04 pm

  I bought this car new in 2005 for my wife and outside of general maintenance issues it hasnt missed a beat. Its rolling up on 80k. This car has been so good that Im considering buying another one for a commuter car since Im having a hard time justifying driving the SUV with the current fuel prices. The car seems to average about 30 on mostly highway miles so its right up there with similar sized cars for mileage.

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  Love it. - 2008 Kia Rio
  By TPNDrew - December 14 - 3:03 pm

  I bought this car to replace my first car (1996 Grand Am). I was in dire need of something new or newer as my Grand Am had 200K miles on it and died 3 weeks later. This was the first car I looked at and loved it immediately. This car looks great in black. My Rios shift timing is a little awkward compared to other cars Ive driven, but Im used to it. I got the red pinstripe on the side and the matching red/grey interior. Mine seems to be the only one of its kind in my area. The audio jack is welcomed as well as my mp3 player used to run through a tape-deck adapter in my Grand Am. The space given the car size is really impressive. As an art student, I can appreciate the extra space.

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  Excellent V-6 Value - 2003 Kia Optima
  By Dvweb - December 14 - 10:00 am

  My last auto was a Chevy Prizm which was a very nice car overall. This Kia is both prettier, faster, and better designed overall than previous autos owned by me. The V6 is quiet while fun to drive. Plenty of power and I like the 4 speed automatic with the Sport manual shift. The ride is soft but not bad. Handles well with the 15" Michelin tires. Very happy with the build quality of this Kia Optima and the many features that are standard. Very happy with this purchase and highly recommend the Kia Optima to others looking for a midsize auto. Very nice!

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  Forget Honda or Toyota - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Bikermidget - December 13 - 12:40 pm

  Soon as you drive it youll know.Quiet,smooth,nice heater,passenger sensor airbag,side airbags,roomy,nice stereo,traction control,steering wheel controls,fuel effecient and most of all affordable.You cant beat this for the price.We got the EX automatic 2.0 and love it.I couldnt stand the KIA before,all of them looked cheap and generic but as soon as I seen this one I was amazed.

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  Fun Run-about with style - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By CEsav - December 13 - 4:10 am

  With the rebate, great price to start with, no nonesense dealer (not what I found at Toyota and Honda)the surprizing quiet ride and style plus 10/100 warranty, I was sold. I bought it for around town driving, but drove well on the interstate, and got a solid 26mpg. The 4 banger took a little to getting use to (at the lights), but was better than I thought it would, but love it at the gas pump. LX is good value.