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:

• 

  Love it! But tall people beware - 2016 Kia Optima
  By Donna Hart - December 12 - 3:26 am

  The front seats are padded and comfortable, but the bottom is not long enough to support your entire leg if youre tall (Im 58")

• 

  Good for 67" driver - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By brons2 - December 9 - 10:56 am

  My last two vehicles were an 04 Titan and an 06 Spectra5. The Titan was awesome but awful on gas. The Spectra 5 was awesome on gas but too cramped. When I took the Spec5 in for its 30K I got a rental Rondo and I traded in the Spec5 that day. Im happy with the Rondo. Power is decent with the I4. The auto is slow to downshift. I use the manual shift feature a lot. Mileage is decent, 26- 27 hwy, best is 31.5 MPG @ 65 MPH. Comfort is really good for me (67"). The interior is extremely spacious and useful. I mainly carry myself and my bicycles around. I can stack 2 bikes in the back with the front wheels detached. I usually get a new car every 24 months but this ones a keeper.

• 

  Favorite car in 40 years of driving - 2002 Kia Rio
  By querflote - December 3 - 10:26 am

  Bought the car when it had 10 K miles, one year old, one previous driver. Since then have put 140K miles on it, with fewer problems than any other car I have ever driven. Replaced timing belt at 60 K and 120K. Has no AC (bought it in PA). 5 sp manual transmission. Fun to drive, plenty of acceleration in 1st and 2nd. Manual everything (windows, etc. ) means that nothing ever breaks, and no little things need repair. Incredible highway mileage, even at 65-70 mph (40-43 mpg). Had to replace gasket for trunk lid. Not a car for 4 large adults - better for 2 adults, 2 kids in back seat. Great value for the money I paid. Am expecting to put another 100 K miles on it.

• 

  2012 KIA Sorento LX AWD - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By lamplighter30 - December 3 - 5:25 am

  Due to a blown headgasket in my 02 Liberty I had to move up my plans to buy a new car. I had been looking at the 12 Sorento for a few months. I am a very tall person, no way I can fit in a sedan, I have more than enough leg and head room, seats are very comfortable, excellent visibility front and back, 2.4 GDI engine, more than enough pickup to be able to merge into highway traffic. Have to wait for the winter to be able to evaluate the AWD system. Already took a 150 mile trip, estimated 26 mpg city/highway driving. Still too early to do a detailed evaluation, Ill do another post if anything changes.

• 

  Drastic change puts it in perspective - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By LakeTravis - December 2 - 5:40 pm

  I traded in a Suburban for a Spectra, so the shock value alone took some getting used to. Overall, this is a great little car. Mechanically engineered well, great gas mileage (I averaged 34mpg the first weekend, 300 miles of mixed use), looks pretty decent parked next to a Nissan or Toyota. The "carpet" is more like some sort of fuzzy cardboard, well see how the rest of the interior holds up over the next 3-4 years. Overall, for the price I dont think you can beat this car in terms of warranty, safety, features, and performance. Sticker on mine was $17,250 - drove away for $10K after trading in a 1996 Suburban with 230K miles. Yeah, I keep them for a long time!

• 

  Love my KIA - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By hc - December 2 - 4:36 am

  My passanger doors are difficult to open for children & tend to stick. And a few big blind spots because of the rear head rests...however I love to drive my KIA I traded it in from a Voyager & the POWER is awesome! I got the cloth seats, didnt want the leather, but got every other option including the sun roof..the seats are comfortable, the sound system is as my 8yr old says AWESOME. I would buy another tomorrow if I could.

• 

  Satisfied So Far - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By rach13 - November 30 - 9:06 pm

  We purchased our 2011 Sorento a few weeks ago. Driving conservatively, getting around 25 mpg in town. Spacious interior...husband is 64 and fits comfortably with adequate head room. Appealing looking interior & exterior. Ride not as smooth over rougher roads. Occasional rattling in rear area...not able to identify. Click sound from dashboard, behind radio when slowing down & hitting 5 mph. Dealership stated that the click noise is due to a "relay" which allows a driver to move from Drive to Reverse. The sound is a little frustrating/irritating to me but may not bother other drivers. Overall, the vehicle appears to be a great purchase.

• 

  SEDONA SATISFACTION - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By MITTOWE - November 29 - 10:00 am

  I AM SATISFIED WITH CAR AND THE VALUE PRICE.

• 

  You must have soul to buy a Soul - 2011 Kia Soul
  By Jack Schwartz - November 28 - 6:51 pm

  Great vehicle for running errands around town. A lot of room for what looks like a small car.

• 

  Good Enough to Drive - 2010 Kia Soul
  By A.W. - November 28 - 12:46 pm

  I like my Kia Soul.It is a nice car It gets me from point A to Point B. Problem is has large blind spots almost got into two accidents in two different ocations I really had to move my whole body just to make sure there is no one beside me in order to get into the choosen lane.I also feel the road bumps :( those are my experiences with my Kia. Its cute,But..... they have there flaws.