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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  My Kia - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Jeromy - November 24 - 2:30 am

  I bought mine May 7 and have put over 7k miles on it, I love the way it handles and drives, and that there is enough storage to put whatever I need in the back. My only problem and concern is that my front spoiler fell off during my test drive and I am still waiting on the dealership to figure out how to reinstall it and keep it on the car. My dealers service is really bad and I will not go to them even for the smallest things, like an oil change. Overall on the car, as my girlfriend would say..... IT ROCKS!!!

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  Bought it used - very happy with it! - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Luvitt - November 24 - 2:00 am

  Came home tonight in a virtual white-out with 50 mph winds and 1-2 ft drifts!! This is my 1st 4x4, so obviously, I was very impressed after seeing no less than a dozen other vehicles off the shoulder. Yes.....MOVE THE CUP-HOLDER! Otherwise, I cant say enough about this SUV. Very quiet & smooth riding - turns on a dime! No rattles, tight construction, and lots of room (unless youre Arnold...) Cant figure out why everybody wants an Escalade at a Kia price! 2.0L Engine (made in Japan) is nimble & responsive (5-spd manual), better gas mileage than the Geo Metro I came from. Guess I just got a good one.....wife bought a Hyundai Elantra same day!

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  Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By sorentobill - November 24 - 2:00 am

  I am surprised by the solid construction of the KIA, the ride is above average, the interior is comfortable. The dealer and the sales rep were great to deal with and the car is great for the price.

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  unbelievably good value - 2011 Kia Optima
  By ssekdad - November 23 - 10:07 pm

  I bought this car in early July and drove from Chicago to Colorado and back in August so I already have almost 5000 miles on this car. I love almost everything about this car so my complaints are really nit picky. The city gas mileage isnt great (15-20) but we got almost 33 mpg on the trip to Colorado where we averaged over 70 mph. In Eco mode the transmission seems to downshift abruptly when you are decelerate. The routing on the GPS and the POI library isnt great so I am continuing to use my TomTom GPS unit. Other than that I am thrilled with the car. The workmanship is top notch, its extremely roomy and comfortable, the panoramic sunroof makes it feel even more spacious.

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  Very Nice Ride! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Very Nice Suv Value - November 22 - 11:26 pm

  Recently purchase d05 LX. Color outstanding blue sparkle gray this vehicle has 25000 miles on it. It was a leased vehicle very well maintained. Everything spotless. Have driven similar SUVs and this by far really ranks up there for comfort and performance. 6 cylinder kicks a little punch to it. Gas mileage is definitely the only thing that might be a little weak. But it still is better than a bigger truck or SUV. And looks and comfort are awsome. Lexus lookers stare at it. I laugh. Smiling now.

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  Love my Kia - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Valerie - November 21 - 8:50 pm

  Compared to the other car in its class I was highly impressed with the features and price of the Sportage. I have had it for a couple of weeks now and I LOVE IT. The ride is comfortable, there is barely any road noise and I am getting good fuel economy. For all the standard features that you get it is well worth the investment. I also like the fact that my insurance went down.

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  I love my Sorento! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By jslee - November 21 - 1:53 pm

  We love our Kia Sorento. We couldnt be happier with the value, warranty and style. The 4WD has come in quite handy in this nasty Ohio weather we have had as of late - it handled wonderfully.

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  Better than expected... - 2013 Kia Optima
  By joseph70 - November 21 - 12:43 pm

  This car delivers. Everything that it says it does...it does. The power is quick, responsive and really makes the car fun to drive. It handles with the precision of a European counterpart. I have been impressed with the features that are offered inside the cabin as well. I would have never pictured myself in a Korean car as I have been a Japanese owner all of my life. The quality and fit of the car have really sealed the deal for me. I am not sure if I could recommend a car more highly. Kia has been excellent with all the maintenance and follow up. It has been better than expected.

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  I love it. - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Nicodemus - November 20 - 7:13 pm

  My wife and I bought our Spectra5 after falling in love with it at the dealership. It has not failed to meet our expectations. It is reliable, runs like a dream, has great power for its class, enough room for 4 comfortable adults, handles well in corners at speed and performs well in city traffic. Cornering is helped and body roll minimized by the stock (yes, stock) strut tower brace, and the sport-tuned suspension performs as advertised. There is plenty of cargo space, especially with the rear seats folded flat and the rear deck removed. The engine sounds nice and the car is reasonably quiet. I have nothing bad to say about this car at all.

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  I love my 2004 Rio - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Jeniecew - November 20 - 2:50 pm

  I just want to start off by saying that I previously owned a 2002 Kia Rio Cinco, I bought the car at 73,000 miles at 81,000 THE ENGINE SEIZED up I was so angry because I still owed $5000 on the car. I contacted Parker Toyota and to make the longs story short they wrote off the balance on that car and got me into my 2004 Kia Rio with only 13,000 miles. I have had awsome luck on this car granted I have only put 9,000 miles on it in 13 months, but it has never let me down. It drives great in the snowy conditions and gets great gas mileage. I have not experienced any problems when using the AC and let me tell you I live in Eastern Washington and we get a little bit of ALL the weather conditions.