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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  Best Valued Commute Car! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By themagicfarmer - June 5 - 6:07 pm

  Bought my 08 Spectra (with 18K on it) from an official Kia dealer about a year ago. No disappointment so far. The car has all necessary functions, basically powered everything, Air conditioning and so forth. Its built cheap but in a simple and neat fashion, plus designed with safety and accessibility in mind. Spacious, drivers seat, back seats and truck, every where. Kias service center is excellent too. They perform everything necessary, and never charge for pointless services, like mandatory car wash if serviced which many Honda dealers do. Its the type of shop you want to rely on. (my dealer is located 3 mins from where I live, Im happy!) To sum up, isnt it an ideal commute car?

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  First Impressions - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By carltonguest - June 5 - 10:00 am

  Styling and design is excellent, my wife loves it. Very comfortable and handles and drives great. Good performance, of course mileage is not that great. I dont know what these folks (CU, others) are driving when they say that the ride is too rough, truck-like, mine is certainly not. Check engine light came on at 100 miles, dealer quickly fixed. Nice job overall. Everyone is very impressed by it, especially when they ride in it.

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  Hating my gas Milage - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By dynomite - June 3 - 1:56 pm

  Overall I love my new 2004 Amanti. I love everything about it. All but my gas mileage that is. I am continually going down in gas mileage. All the way from 19.4 when I bought it (33 Miles) down to 15.2 (2200 Miles). My dealer states it will get better but gets worse every day that I drive it. Would have purchased an SUV for this mileage I am getting.

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  Love our SOUL! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By JPotter - June 1 - 3:43 pm

  We have had the Soul for little more than a week and we love it. Supposed to cater to the younger set. Well I am in my upper 60s; so guess what? The car may not ride as smoothly as some of your luxury cars but it has all the bells and whistles they have and cost THOUSANDS less. So far no complaints. Also I am a first time foreign car buyer.

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  good CHEAP car - 2007 Kia Optima
  By junktier - May 28 - 11:30 am

  bought my Optima used with 7700 miles, 1 year and 16k later zero problems. gas mileage in town is all right at about 23 mpg but out on the highway gets 33 on average.

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  Kia s best investment - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By kevin suarez - May 25 - 2:00 am

  My experiences with the new kia sorento are great.Since the day me and my Wife test drove it and did some reserch we went back to buy it. Since that day we have no regrets. It was the best decision in our lives for our family.we took long trips and short trips 2 miles to 1500. miles and it still feels the same.Its well disigned exterior and interior are beautiful and makes it the best suv in its class.

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  Capacious and Comfy Cruiser - 2014 Kia Sorento
  By jlgolden - May 24 - 2:02 am

  Ive had my Sorento V6 AWD for eight months, and accumulated 20,000 miles. Front seat comfort (aided by heating and cooling) for long trips is superb. The overall handling, acceleration, braking, ride comfort...they all add to a relaxed experience behind the wheel. This car is easy to drive in the crowded city, and its a great highway cruiser.

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  Satisfied - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By krmc - May 23 - 8:33 am

  Ive had my 12 Sorento for 6 months now. My daily driving is roughly 50 miles to and from work. A stop at the babysitter, mostly highway. I get 22-24 MPG depending on the insanity of traffic. We recently took a family vacation from PA to RI and driving conservatively we got a hair over 30 MPG. Driving home we drove more aggressively and still got a little over 28 MPG. The only negative I have to give is each side does have a blind spot and you can easily side swipe someone as my husband and I both have nearly done. It would be nice to have a V6 but the only time I really wished for it was on our vacation getting through some tight areas.

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  Great Car - 2002 Kia Optima
  By zyllanes - May 22 - 2:00 am

  The Optima is a great car! Ive had only minors problems (drivers side window does not open) but overall this car is very durable. Its V6 is powerful on the highway and can get you past other vehicles pretty quickly. It has a sporty feel to it and the steering is precise. The cabin is very spacious, making it comfortable on long road trips. Overall, you cant go wrong with this vehicle. The Kia Optima is a very solid car!

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  Dead battery - 2010 Kia Sedona
  By Lisa Pratt - May 22 - 2:00 am

  My company purchased a 2010 Sedona. When we keep the emergency flashers on for more then 10 minutes without the van running our battery goes dead. I brought it back to the dealer and they found nothing wrong. A battery does not go dead within that short period of time. The KIA company have done nothing to resolve this problem after numerous complaints, I would not recommend any one to purchase a KIA even though it is the sister to the Hyundai family. Can you just imagine being on the side of the highway and your vehicle breaks down, you keep your flashers on and when the tow truck arrives, he has to jump your battery and fix a flat at the same time. Buyer Beware!