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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  No more Government Motors - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By bmwcyle - June 2 - 1:40 am

  I was looking to replace my 12 year old Jeep. I looked and drove about everything on the market in the crossover class. I liked the loaded standards and the seats for seven people. The AWD goes were you point it. It is quick and fun to drive. The layout is good and the fit and finish is nice. I had the passenger roof light switch is bad but I have had no other problems. I love the back up camera and it really helps. It turns in a small space. The tires seem alright but I cant wait to try better tires. The car is just a joy to drive.

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  What do you want from a price point car? - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By elderchuck - May 30 - 4:46 pm

  Sometimes problematic on cheap stuff, but overall fun and economical car to drive and own. Hesitation/surges when warmed up, dealer says "normal" but I say "not". Heard there is a fix but have not found it yet. Would keep car for comfort, economy, price.

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  Great affordable, reliable car. - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By shellbee3 - May 26 - 2:20 am

  I purchased my car last year with 86,000 miles on it. I now have 100,500 miles on it and its doing great. I took this car on a 2,000 mile road trip in the summer and my Spectra did fine. I do have to say that one con for this car is that it does not get up to speed very quickly on the highway. When I try to accelerate the engine feels weak and buzzy; it gets pretty loud and I dont go much faster. Beside that, its a reliable car that gets me to and from work and around town with no problem. I get about 30 MGH combined city/highway. The interior is very roomy and comfortable even with five people seated. The trunk is deep which is awesome for travel. Overall a great, reliable car.

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  2007 Kia Rondo - 5 seats - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By akr71 - May 25 - 5:26 am

  We traded in our Spectra5 for a Rondo and are very happy with it. For a 3 person, 1 large dog family that likes to go camping, a hatchback just wasnt cutting it. Roomy, well thought out, lots of storage, decent legroom in the back for an adult. For a 4 cylinder, the engine has a lot of pep. We dont get it out on the highway much, so the fuel economy is suffering some (barely over 20 MPG), but have just hit 3000 miles, so Im expecting it to improve somewhat.

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  Okay car - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Probe - May 13 - 11:06 pm

  This is 4th year of my owner ship of kia Spectra5. Car seems to be ok , other than the fuel efficiency and service expenses.I keep my service schedule and I am not a agressive driver I get 21 MPG with in city ( got 24400 miles on car) and 28 -30 MPG on highway. Which is far lower than Japanese brands. I had to change my front brakes at 22000 miles I guess brakes should lost more. Good Year tires on this car lasted for 24400 miles and I guess they should last more. Bottom line is this car needs more maintenance in long run, that defeats the purpose of saving 2000 - 4000 bucks you save on this car when compared with other brands.

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  Not so good on gas in the city yet! - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Gregory Gould - May 9 - 8:53 pm

  Had my car for only 5 weeks now, but I am only getting around 13 miles to a gallon in the stop and starting of small town driving. I hope this is just the engine break-in period and my mpg will improve. Also I am getting a wind noise from the back windows. I checked them and they dont seem to lock very tight. Also my kids complain about the head rests and how unless they are in the up position they are very uncomfortable.

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  Surprisingly Good! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Reggie Beas - May 7 - 2:00 am

  After all the bad things Ive heard about Kia, I cant believe the Sorento is this good! I show off my Kia as much as I can, because this is a solid truck, as good as anything Honda, Toyota or any of the other market leaders can muster up! My truck is loaded, but I tell my friends get the base Sorento… Great truck for short money! Of course, the money you save goes towards gas, but you cant have it all…

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  LUV my KIA - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Mel Schlobohm - May 5 - 9:53 am

  If you off-road, this is fun fun fun. Very little problem. 70000mi strong and it seems to get better. Left me stranded once but KIA had a tow vehicle to help within 30 min. (crank position sensor broke). It is very strong in 4wd low - wow. I can drive with the big boys no problem. Wish there were performance parts available.

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  Kia Girl - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Angel Kia - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Ok so this is my second kia and my second car my first one was 1998 Kia sportage. This was a huge upgrade for me. I havent experienced any problems just yet other than car kinda sound like its having trouble starting, but once it does it runs beautiful. I love my car its so nice and shiny!

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  2001 Kia Optima SE V6 - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Erika - May 3 - 6:33 am

  The worst part about buying from a used car lot: you dont know what youre going to get. I did just that. Bought it w/94K later finding out the previous owner did not do ANY maintenance to this car. Little "fixes" add up very quickly. Kia service dept. knows what theyre talking about. My regular mechanic still cant figure out a nasty chugging/"hiccup" the car does in reverse and idling which has been going on about 6 months now. They cleaned out the idle system, but that doesnt seem to be the case. Looks like Ill have to take it back to Kia to have it checked out. Also has a passenger side-impact airbag problem - $1600 to fix. Ill just go without the airbags... its not worth it.