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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  Finally - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By Brad Bachman - January 10 - 9:56 am

  Finally an import that I fit in. I am 64" and have finally found an import with plenty of leg room for me. Not to mention that the 2011 Kia is well appointed and fun to drive. I miss the power of my 300c but not the poor fuel mileage. Oh yeah it has a great panoramic roof. Look forward to driving the Kia everyday. The Kia I bought is the 2011 Sportage EX

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  Excellent Vehicle - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By RBCOL - January 8 - 6:43 am

  Very comfortable, lots of power, no noise from the outside, good gas mileage.

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  SOUL(D)! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Zach - January 8 - 12:03 am

  OK I love this car (my new car). I bought a soul! AT about a week ago and I love this car. I get looks and complements all the time on it. (your driving the hampster car) lol It has everything I wanted and needed in it for the best price ever. I highly suggest this car to any parent looking for a great car for there children that is safe, reliable, and has a sporty look, but yet it great on gas. This is the car.

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By DesertRose - January 7 - 9:56 pm

  No longer had need for a 4WD & rising gas prices caused me to switch to an econo car. Was very pleasantly surprised when I saw the Spectra up close, I expected a cheapy econobox but we were impressed w/the styling and quality. The most comfy seats ever for my low back. Just bought w/3300 mi on it so its too soon to comment on reliability but thus far I am very impressed.

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  The real deal! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By carlos27 - January 7 - 11:07 am

  Had my Kia Sorento EX V6 for 1 month. Engine is great, very quick! The suspension is the problem. If you are considering it, please take a spin in one, go over some bumps, even the reflectors in the road, you will not like it. The suspension is too tight! It is an SUV and not a Corvette. I hate the suspension. I called Kia to try to deal with it and they say that is the design of the car, no other SUV handles rougher road as bad. REALLY look into it before buying the car!! If I had to do it all over, I would not buy it again!

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  Not a "Throw-Away Car" - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By jmc - January 6 - 6:23 am

  My wifes sister-in-law told her that Kias were cheap "Throw-Away cars." After 15 months and 30,000 miles this so called "throw-away" car with a 5 year 100,000 power train warranty has put her Ford minivan with a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty to shame. Her minivan will be thrown away long before this Sportage.

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  My Kia Spectra - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Larry - January 5 - 5:06 pm

  Even though I have only had the car for a few weeks, I found it to be a very fun car to drive. The fit and finish on this vehicle is better than I thought it would be. The seats are very comfortable compared to our Kia Optima. At 63 I find that there is plenty of head and leg room in this car.

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  This car sucks - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Kayla - January 4 - 3:22 am

  Ive only had this car for two months and it has broken down 3 times. Once while I was in the middle of diving and the other two times it just wouldnt start. The brakes suck and the side mirrors never stay set. I have to reset them every time I get in the car. Kia dealers are annoying. They told me I needed a new computer which would cost about $4000 so I towed it home and jumped it because they kill r my battery and it ran just fine. All it needed was a coil pack. Please dont buy this car ever.

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  Gas Mileage SUCKS! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By westca - January 3 - 5:38 am

  I purchased the EX Premium package and love the panoramic dual sunroof, heated steering wheel, colled and heated seats and the rest. The car does sound like a go-kart (as others have posted) and I am very upset with the 21 mpg (mostly hwy) gas mileage after 2000 miles. Dealer said I need to break it in more, yet I do not read that in the owners manual and wish that was disclosed to me before my purchase! Reading reviews it seems this low gas mileage is a common issue, and hopefully KIA or EPA will do something about it! False advertising and a lemon!

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  Good Car - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By afp98823 - January 3 - 4:06 am

  Out of all the horror stories of previous reviews. I must be a lucky one. My Kia has 88,000 miles. It runs great. No interior accessories broken. Everything electrical works. 4WD work. Heater works great. A/C works great. Everything works great. The only thing I am disappointed of is Gas Mileage. (Whoever heard of a 2.0L 4cyl getting 17mpg city?)