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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  KIA RIO PINGING BAD?USE PREMIUM GAS --ECO MODE OFF! - 2012 Kia Rio
  By worknman - June 26 - 7:08 am

  Our Kia developed a severe pinging issue running regular gas especially with the ECO mode on. The Kia Forum website states that Kia is running a series of ecm ( engine control computer ) software patches to solve this issue. Many people on that forum have had the patches done and these patches have largely only helped for a few weeks before the bad pinging came back. I finally decided that I didnt want to destroy my engine no matter how great the Kia warranty supposedly is. I started using PREMIUM - NAME BRAND GAS AND TURNED THE ECO MODE OFF. After four gas tanks full of this, our Kia is running and shifting better and smoother then it ever did new. more below-

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  Get What You Give - 2005 Kia Rio
  By grinddesigns - June 24 - 3:23 pm

  Follow your owners manual like it is a Bible. You must change your engine timing belt at 60,000 miles ! Please do not make the same mistake that I did. If you search the Internet about this you will find 1,000 other people saying this, trust me change that timing belt at 60,000 and you wont be sorry. I never had a problem with this vehicle that was not because of my own negligence. If you change your oil regularly, keep an eye on all of your fluids, and be sure to change the timing belt at 60k, this car will be worth the money. This was my first vehicle and I learned costly lessons from not following the regular maintenance schedule so I advise you to follow most of it to a t.

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  My Spectra Wagon - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By John Parish - June 20 - 4:03 pm

  I bought my Spectra wagon because they were having a sales drive here in Dallas. The car was far more than I expected. The fit and finish were flawless and the attention to detail in assembly were very good (none of the electrical was taped, but encased in tubing). I drive 80 miles to and from work 6 days a week and the car is fun and comfortable to drive. The ergonomics are good (I weigh 240# and am 5 8" tall and the car fits me just fine). All and all, I am very pleased with my purchase!

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  Kia Forte SX - 2011 Kia Forte
  By rgebbia - June 20 - 3:39 pm

  Have had this car since July. Have 7300 miles. Car is loaded with Nav, sunroof, leather, Sirius radio, rear camera, etc...Its comfortable inside, good drive on the highway, handling isnt bad but the Jetta I also tested didnt handle any better surprisingly. It has great acceleration for a 4-cylinder, non-turbo and the 2.5 engine is what makes the difference. My only complaints so far are the suspension and the gas mileage. I do mostly highway driving and am only getting 26 - 28 mpg. Also, I feel every bump, big or small in this car. Great value for the money and will be a good car to hand down to the kids but not sure I would purchase another.

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  03 cinco - 2004 Kia Rio
  By rocshaafl - June 19 - 10:00 am

  the car has some major rattleing problems with the back hatch and the cobby hold next to the overhead lights

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  the car is OK - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By felix15 - June 17 - 2:00 am

  i have a 2500 ccm CRDI diesel with 140 hp only in Germany .. its OK :-))

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  Update to original review - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Cathy - June 15 - 2:43 am

  I believe I reviewed this car back when I bought it 3 years ago. We still like it. When all of the seats are in there isnt much space, but I typically only need one of the back seats in, so we have plenty of space. Its very comfortable, even on a trip. I have heard lots of complaints about road noise and vibrations which I never notice because I am too busy listening to the radio . We have been back to the dealer a few times for for some annoying little things like broken cup holders and a seatbelt sensor that stopped working (the seat belt worked fine). We drive the van pretty hard I have replaced two tires, but brakes, spark plugs, etc. are still going strong.

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  Many Problems - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Shirley - June 14 - 12:06 pm

  The car is pretty but there are problems such as vibration when putting on brakes and wheel veer to left, too much noise with windows down to hear radio, bluetooth dont work with all cell phones, when you complain about the problem they have a answer, as though youre crazy. The prices are higher than advertised. I give it a thumbs up for looks and a thumbs down for smooth ride it hits every bump in the rode.No trunk space I love the Sirius radio but it goes in and out.

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  2003 Kia Sedona EX - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Doug - June 12 - 2:40 pm

  The South Koreans have nearly hit a homerun with this one! Good build quality, fit-and-finish, looks, comfort, and rock solid value all make the Sedona minivan a good choice for todays families. There are just a couple of refinement issues, but they are negligible. The one thing that DOES suck, though, is the mileage. Youre doing well if you get 22 mpg on the highway, cruising at a constant speed on flat land. Trouble is, we have LOTS of hills/valleys here in Cincinnati, so mileage here tends to be awful - normally around 15 mpg in the city. The 3.5-liter V6 has plenty of power to get us up those really steep hills, but its a thirsty engine. Overall, Im pretty happy with my van.

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  My First Kia - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Mommas Baby - June 9 - 1:36 am

  I bought this car brand new with only 41 miles on it and I thought lets see what all the rave is about. After having the car a little while and putting 2,100 miles on it, I must say that I like it. The 3rd seat is kind of tight but overall I like it.