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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  Interior Needs Do Over - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Kia Mom - December 30 - 6:23 pm

  My new Sedona is a great car for the money. So far, much more reliable than my 2000 AWD Caravan. But the interior needs a little more thought in the layout. It is a great handling car and much more fuel efficient.

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  Whod have thought??? - 2013 Kia Optima
  By longbeachjim - December 29 - 9:30 pm

  Im almost 50 and have owned many cars...Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Volvo, Acura, and am probably a bit of a car snob. I never would have thought Id own a Kia, but had long been drawn to the exterior design for the fact that theres nothing else on the road that looks like it. So, I went to the dealer for a closer look. Wow! Interior design is outstanding! Quality is amazing, and more features than my loaded Acura TL had! Im seriously in love with this car... Beautiful, stylish, excellent fit and finish. The steering is a little touchy, and took me a bit to get used to. Otherwise, theres not a vehicle out there that delivers more bang for the buck than this bad boy.

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  Go ahead & laugh - 2006 Kia Rio
  By Kim Wilson - December 28 - 8:33 pm

  Everyone seems so hyped on having the latest & greatest vehicle without regard to cost, mileage, etc. It seemed that bigger was better. How I proved them wrong. My Kia Rio is very peppy, auto insurance cost-effective, makes it to the gas pump every two weeks on $15.00 a fill, has a 10yr/100,000 warranty and has a great big trunk to put all my shopping in! And I can park in the compact car parking spaces! I have never had a mechanical/performance problem whatsoever in the three years Ive owned, since purchased new.

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  Great Car! - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Cheryl - December 28 - 6:40 am

  I just recently traded in my 2003 Kia Spectra for a 2004 4 cylinder XL car. Im impressed with the quality Kia makes. I like having the bigger car with the same gas mileage.

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  Great for the price! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By chris271 - December 27 - 7:10 pm

  I purchased my 2010 kia forte LX (with the 5 speed manual) late last year as a brand new car. I was looking at it as well as the honda fit and ford fiesta and liked it because it was much bigger than the others for the price. While mine doesnt have power windows or locks, it still has the bluetooth, ipod connect, etc. It rides ok but you can feel all the bumps. The build quality is ok, ive had some issues with the mirrors needing replacement for noise. with the 5 speed it has plenty of power. the seats are very comfortable, but the interior materials do feel a bit cheap.Its a very aggressive, nice looking car. For the price you cant beat it, for just under 13 grand it was a great buy

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  2001 Kia - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Megan - December 27 - 3:56 pm

  My Kia Optima is one of the worst cars that I have ever had. The dealership failed to inform me that if the car transfers owners then the warranty will only be good for 50,000 miles. My car was at 55,000 miles when my timing belt went out on it and blew the whole motor.

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  You get a lot of bag for the buck. - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Ron Harris - December 27 - 2:00 am

  We looked at the economy Chevy minivan and the LX Honda Odyssey and we still could not afford to buy them (even with a GM family discount). We needed a vehicle that could carry two children and ALL the stuff that goes with them. Once I read about the Sedonas crash testing and that it was affordable we decided to test drive one. It was perfect for what we needed. Finally, a company out there realized that there is a market for a affordable minivan for budget minded families. Thank you KIA.

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  total ten - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By e.c.magruder - December 27 - 2:00 am

  it has every thing that a family would want.a good paint job nicely deorated intirior,great radio system plenty of seats,lots of cup holders it looks as any other mini van on the road.we like it...

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  Never again - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By anti-kia - December 26 - 11:13 pm

  The Kia was the right price at the time for a college student. However, in driving the vehicle it was not worth it. The trade in value was only 3000 after a year and a half of driving. I was upside down by 6000. The interior was cheap and all the buttons were chipping paint. The exterior paint could be scratched with a finger nail and then rust immediately. The drivers seat broke and some metal rod was sticking out into the middle of your back. The check engine light kept coming on and the dealer could not find anything wrong. It turned out to be the exhaust system causing the problem. The cover for the speaker broke, as did the weather stripping across the hachback trunk.

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  Bought new in 02 and now have 96k miles - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By tomerikac - December 26 - 10:14 pm

  Needed a mini-van with 2nd baby on the way so traded in my old "00 Sportage, found a great deal, and after 8 years only problems were the alternator (replaced under warranty) and air conditioner, repaired for about $400. Unfortunately, we have continually had problems with the air bag light. One Kia mechanic even told me "Dont worry about the light, it works fine!" Overall theough, we are pleased. Average about 20mpg highway/city driving. Lately Ive noticed a "rough" shift between 3 and 4 gear and am thinking Id better get it in before the warranty expires.