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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  Dont get hit! - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Brad Zimmerman - September 14 - 1:30 pm

  Overall, car was good looking and fun to drive. Lots of pick up for a 4 cylinder. Comfortable on long trips with ok mileage (29 hwy). 2 days after I got it, battery was dead - faulty alternator was replaced. Then, battery failed. After that, the car was trouble free. Then, I was rear ended by an SUV at about 20 miles an hour. My car was pushed into the car ahead of me. This low speed collision caused $17,000+ damage to the Optima, totaling it. My 8 month old car with 6500 miles on it was totaled with this small wreck! The body shop said repair parts for Kias are overpriced and hard to get, sometimes requiring a long wait for the parts. The car did protect me as I wasnt hurt.

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  Good SUV for the value - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By Gokuldas Hegde - September 9 - 1:49 pm

  front panel lacks indicator for burned lights. There is no indicator to show if any of the light bulbs are burnt or do not come on.

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  Not as impressed as others - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By b - September 7 - 12:50 am

  Leased 2007 Sedona July 2007. 1 week later needed the DVD replaced. Power sliding doors decided to work or not when they felt like it and dont always close securely, sometimes opening back up for no reason and often hearing a crunching sound also. Fuse box needed replaced, no wipers. Tire pressure system often shows all tires are low for no reason. Sunroof leaks. DVD blocks rear mirror when drivers seat is raised. Driver needs to be a contortionist to operate and remove dvds for small children while driving.

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  Sportage - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By bbbaker - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I was pleasantly surprised with the power and comfort of such an economical vehicle. Interior has a spacious feel. Back seat folds down and was able to haul items that I normally would have borrowed a truck for.

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  Happy overall - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Satisfied owner - September 5 - 4:56 am

  Ive had my Sedona for over 3 years and have never had a brake problem as others are saying. The only persistent problem is that the interior light doesnt always come on when I open the door. If I play with the switch, it works for a while and then stops working again. The dealer hasnt been able to find any problem. The only other comment is that it doesnt have a great turning radius. I was used to compact cars and sedans. I drive over 40 miles round trip daily. I am getting 20 miles per gallon! I think thats pretty good for a large vehicle. My next minivan however will be stow-n-go seats and power side doors.

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  Great Commuter Car - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Long Commute - September 1 - 10:00 am

  I drive approx. 150 miles a day in my car. The ride is quite comfortable and I think I got alot of features for the money. For the $15.5K on the sticker I could either drive a stripped sedan either from the US or Japan. I am quite pleased with the quality "feel". -Good acceleration -Quiet ride -Around 30 mpg highway -Comfortable seating

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  This is a Kia? Really? - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By newzie - August 31 - 5:26 pm

  We wanted a larger SUV (traded an 09 Ford Escape) with AWD. Looked at the Mitsubishi Outlander SE, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Chevy Equinox, and Ford Escape. Feature for dollar the Kia cant be beat. The ride is very good and comfortable. The vehicle is rather roomy and the design is very pleasing with some nice touches. But dont touch that plastic. While it looks expensive with is graining, its harder than a rock!

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  GOOD RIG FOR THE $ - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By RICK - August 29 - 9:23 am

  I purchased my Sportage new to replace a nissan that had over 300k on it! My expectations were high and for the most part I am very satisfied. Now my Sportage has 246k miles and as long as I replace the drive belt and change the oil as scheduled I should get much much more out of it. The horsepower is a bit low so I ordered it with a manual 5 spd trans to help make up the difference and the cup holder is a piece of crap but other than that, I love it! My plan now is to retire it from the road and turn it into a toy for offroad!!

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  Gas Mileage - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By chupacabra1 - August 23 - 12:22 pm

  Got my Sorento 4 cyl GDI eng 4 months ago and I have around 3800 miles on it. I purchase the vehicle for fuel effeciency. Well after driving almost 4000 miles I can see that what Kia advertise is not really true.. most of my driving is on highway I keep the speed from 65 to 70 on flat road and the best I can get is 24 to 25 MPG on the hwy... First time trusting KIA and last... Im going back to Totoya after I drive this vehicle for another 12 months. I went to the dealer and I was told that "I will get this kind of miliage after the engine get some more additional miles".... What 30,000 miles????

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  Kia owner for life - 2004 Kia Optima
  By David Hatch - August 19 - 8:40 am

  This is the second Kia Ive purchased - first was an 02 Sedona EX that has been so solid, my ex-wife fought for (and got it) in the divorce. I paid around 12K brand new as an 04 left over and have had very few problems. So far after 80K miles all Ive done is oil changes, new brake pads, and two new tires (one a side wall puncture). Have not had to used the warranty on this one, but had to in the past on the Sedona (power window, rear wiper motor) and had no hassles in invoking the warranty. Great commuter car that also offers pleanty of interior room. My next car will also be a Kia, but by the way this ones going, that doesnt look like Ill be getting a new one for a while!