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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  Excellent car! - 2005 Kia Optima
  By prodigit - July 19 - 12:03 pm

  Bought it in 2012, second hand, for $3000. Cant complain. A little low on MPG though... Very luxurious, but after 50k miles starts to have lots of issues.

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  Bye Bye Kia - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Bri - July 17 - 5:10 am

  Well, I owned this car for 11 months and totaled it a couple weeks ago. Overall I enjoyed the Spectra5, and it did pretty well with a rear collision at 50 mph. Pushed me into another car, so both the front and back ends got it, but neither crumpled that far. Safety-wise it did pretty good. The driver seat during the collision slid to the back and put me into a reclining position. Strange, but not a serious fault in my opinion. So, good on safety, brakes stopped me, but the Civic behind me... not so much.

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  Mileage Claims - 2013 Kia Optima
  By jake809 - July 14 - 10:14 pm

  Dont know how heavy footed some of the reviewers are, but Im averaging about 32.5mpg combined. My commute is 35 miles each way, about 1/3 suburban, 1/3 highway and 1/3 city. I regularly use cruise control on the highway, but do not use the ECO control (doesnt seem to help). I used to use my wifes Grand Cherokee on the weekends when I had my Honda Civic, but this one is too comfortable to give up on those 2 days.

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  Cant Be Beat for the Price - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By lhartford03 - July 14 - 1:30 am

  I have found my Kia to be very reliable. Few mechanical problems (I keep up on maintenance). Good pick up for a 4 cyl - I have 5 speed version. Overall, the car has gone above and beyond what I would have expected for the price.

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  For being older, it is hanging in there well - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Greg - July 11 - 11:20 pm

  For the price, it has been a good car. I had to replace an intake manifold sensor a couple months ago, but that wasnt too expensive. This car has had problems with the transmission in its history. The torque converter had to be replaced. On a positive note, I have all the original suspension at 148,000k. Wisconsin winters (read: salty/slushy crap) are rough on the undersides of cars, but it is doing really good. The only thing that is rusted out is the parking brake, and I got all new parts for that for pretty cheap to rebuild it myself.

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  Happy Nursing Student - 2007 Kia Rio
  By Kiley - July 9 - 10:03 pm

  Bought this car Aug 2007. Drove it off the lot with 12 miles on it (now has 40,000miles in 2009). It gets great gas miles and has been very reliable. I bought it to get through nursing school and could not be more pleased (payments are awesome too! Only $230 month). I have heard a lot of negative things about Kia cars and honestly dont know what is so horrible. I graduate in 8 months and will drive my Rio for as long as I can.

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  love my kia - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By belkie11 - July 7 - 3:13 pm

  Great SUV for the money. Fun to drive. Overall very smooth except when going over large bumps. I would recommend it to anyone.

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  Initial Review of 06 Sedona LX - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By akolive - July 6 - 11:23 pm

  A great driving experience. Almost too much power. I suspect that will be nice when we tow our future pop-up. It is roomy though a bit less than the Senna or Odyssey. For the price, that is OK. I think KIA needs to work on being a little more consistent with their controls. They have dials for temp control up front and push buttons for the rear, for example.

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  2.5 years 72000 miles running strong - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By dons - July 6 - 8:13 am

  K so I bought this new.. Wanted a hatchback because of the fact the rear seats fold completely flat.. Wanted room without sacrificing gas mileage and getting a suv. Exterior is soft tho.. As all vehicles are nowdays. All dings and bumps show up, and the plastic front bumper not so great with 6 or more inches of snow on the ground.. In effect it became a plow during the winter, but with studs got around great anyway. Interior roomy. Wife and 3 kids and me fit great. Car headliner easily stainable oddly enough not sure what happened there. Car has been across country from Washington to Texas and back with no real issues.

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  Turbo Problems in 2011 Kia Sportage - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By Tam - July 4 - 2:10 am

  I bought my Kia 2011 Sportage SX brand new from a local Kia dealership. I was thinking of purchasing either the Dodge Journey or Sportage at the time, but the 100,000-mile-warranty on the Kia Sportage is what sold the car for me. It also came well equipped and I have to admit I am now spoiled by a nice sunroof, and all the little bells and whistles that the SX comes with. HOWEVER.....the turbo engine has been replaced TWICE in this car. Once at 40,000 miles (which was fine because it was under warranty), and just recently at 104,000 miles....which cost me $600. The Kia Dealership doesnt say much about this....even though Ive asked if this is a common Sportage problem. Before I purchased this car several family and friends told me the jury was out on a 4-cylinder with a turbo, and now I can see why. Other than that, I LOVE my Kia Sportage and am hoping the 2nd NEWLY INSTALLED turbo engine will last at least another 50,000 miles. Taking bets..... :)