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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  Pre Owned Kia - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Ben - January 22 - 5:00 am

  Purchased this car in early March, with 14,000 miles on the clock. Have put 6,000 miles on it in 3 months. Averaging 21 mpg 80/20 highway city split. (75 mph over hilly WV terrain). Very pleasant dealership experience. The USB adapter seems to have stopped working, the only flaw against this car.

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  good SUV but - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By stuart - January 20 - 12:00 am

  dead battery three times. the dealer has no clue. a slightly hard ride, front seats could be wider other than that i like the vehicle. great off road preformance (part time 4wd), handles great, quiet and tows a small pop/up trailer well. good value for what i paid for it...time will tell

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  Best car I have owned - 2005 Kia Optima
  By 4Dr EXV6 Sedan - January 15 - 4:36 pm

  I can not understand why this car is not very popular. Have driven it for a year and has never failed me. A point that motor writers do not mention is that this car drives on low octane as well as high octane gas and if required can easily be converted to LPG.

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  POOR GAS MILEAGE - 2012 Kia Optima
  By errolb - January 15 - 3:22 pm

  I bought a new 2012 Kia Optima LX a few months ago. I like everything about the car except the gas mileage, stated to average 28mpg, all I get is 22mpg. That is a big difference when gas is over $4/gallon. (Every car I have previously owned achieves the stated mpg.) The matter is compounded by the poor response from Kia. I have spoken to two consumer service agents, both of whom were unresponsive to the point of being rude. They contended that the mileage rating was after 5000 miles of break-in, despite the fact that the manual clearly says no break-in is required, and actually tried to blame the dealer (?). A disappointing commentary on an otherwise good car.

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  2010 Kia ! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Vic - January 14 - 9:16 am

  I am 50 years old and bought the 2010 Kia! that comes with the moonroof and foglights. 3 month subscription to Sirus. I bought this car as a commuter car. OK, the good news: Sporty exterior look and colors, everyone ask me about it, Bluetooth, Ipod/MP3 connection, steering wheel controls. Pretty good on mileage. Price. Bad news: no storage space, steering wheel leather but doesnt fill like leather to me. Interior color of the seats not fantastic but liveable. Doors and Liftback doesnt seem strong and sturdy when you close them.

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  Very good value but with subpar engine - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By H Vu - January 12 - 2:50 am

  I purchased this car used with 19k miles at a dealership for only $12k and it is still under factory warranty. This is a loaded EX 2wd model. It is a vibrant blue color and looks great inside and out. The car is relatively quiet and comfortable and fit and finish appears to be very good. I do have a problem with one of the rear passenger interior door handles not working, but I can just take that in any time to get it fixed. The interior leather seems to be very durable and should up up to many years of use. The premium stereo system sounds good, though loading and unloading cds into the 6-disc changer is very slow and cumbersome. Exterior lighting is very bright, both headlights and tail.

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  No Brainer - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Mike - January 9 - 8:40 am

  We bought this car with a considerable rebate, and to date it is an excellent value. Outside of a couple of minor trim issues on the inside, and malfunctioning of an interior warning light which were promptly fixed, the car has been no problem whatsoever. The car looks nice, is comfortable, and does what it is supposed to do. With the warranty, it is a no brainer.

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  One major problem..... - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By penguin103 - January 8 - 5:18 pm

  I love almost everything about my 2011 Kia Sorento. Its very roomy, comfortable, tons of standard options and very functional. Also averaging about 23 mpg, which is better than I expected. The biggest downfall, so far, of my Kia has been a transmission issue where my car will automatically downshift into 4th gear and stick in that gear until I turn the engine off. Its done this twice and my wife is now scared to drive it. I just pray it doesnt shift into 1st or 2nd gear at 55+ mph.

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  improvements - 2008 Kia Rio
  By varmit2 - January 6 - 12:36 pm

  just bought this car, i had previously bought a 2002 model for my daughter to attend college, never drove hers much, hers lasted so well, that i decided to buy one for myself, I am overall pleased with mine so far, but motor is a bit noisy when accelerated moderately, and suspension is a bit choppy at times , have just got 800 miles on mine so far, but it getting right at 35 mpg and this beats my dodge ram 1500 14 mpg to death. I believe that i can get used to the Kia small quirks.

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  Very Happy with this car - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By jacee - January 1 - 10:39 pm

  I bought this new in Feb. 2007 with only 4 miles on it. In 5 years I only had one breakdown. The starter went out last year about 50k. I did not try to use the warranty just had it replaced. I have kept up all maint.. Including the expensive timing belt and water pump. That was 1600 but I also replaced the battery and serpintine belt. Anyway the car is not a hot rod but will get you out in traffic. Gas mileage is best at 55 to 60 mph. Drove it on hwy at 75mpg and gas mileage plummeted. Still get about 21 city/hwy. Drive well, very comfortable and love the storage capacity. I am at 66k miles now still no problems.