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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  Spectra not a favorite - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By Rootzy - December 26 - 10:00 am

  This car had multiple problems right after buying it brand new. I sent it to the shop three times for exhaust problems. It is cheaply made and the interior is drying and cracking. All the air conditioning vents broke and fell out about a year ago.

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  the review - 2004 Kia Rio
  By papridegurl - December 20 - 2:00 am

  It is the worst

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  Cheap, Plastic Headache - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By ssinec - December 7 - 10:00 am

  I have had my 2002 Sportage for about 6 months now and have about 9000 miles on it and its already falling apart. I had to have the rear door and lock assemply repaired, which have never worked properly. Ive had the front windshield replaced, which split down the middle. The front bumper has come unattached on the driver side due to cheap plastic screws that held it in place. The cup holder has broken. The passenger window will not go all the way up. Take my advice, do not buy this SUV! Its just a cheap, plastic headache with a cheap paint job and poor construction.

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  Never again - 2002 Kia Rio
  By commdeus - November 28 - 2:33 pm

  This was an awful car to drive. It was uncomfortable, had little power, no acceleration, and started breaking down about a year into its life. The paint job was of poor quality. Corrosion started in its 4th year despite biweekly washes and bi-annual waxes. I was only too pleased to return it after its lease ended. It has put me off Kia all together.

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  dont buy a kia - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By cmlmal08 - November 24 - 2:00 am

  Bought a kia used it had 37k & remaining 5yr/60k warranty In 6 mo and 15 k it needed a new trans The Kia dealer refused to work on the car b/c I didnt have proof of maintenance on the trans at 30k b4 I owned it. they wouldnt take care of the work for me. after a call was placed to kia consumer affairs they informed me that the trans had already been replaced at 35k. Now at 58k my car is back again b/c a rod blew right throught the engine They are trying to get out of covering the car under the warranty Needless to say I am not driving this car again after it is fixed and in my lifetime will I ever buy a Kia again

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  I bought a lemon 2 - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Carhen69 - November 9 - 9:33 pm

  I bought my car in May of 2006 brand new off the lot for $17,500. After Driving the car for a couple of days I noticed a terrible vibration coming from the front of the vehicle. The steering wheel vibrated so bad that I hated driving this car. When I mentioned this problem to the dealer I was told that the engine was just to big for the car! I have had the car looked at by 2 different dealers in the last year and a 1/2 since I owned because of many issues, ranging from poor gas mileage, vibration and loss of power. My car has now been in the shop for over a week and am now being told that YES there is a problem but they simply do not know what it is. They are working to resolve....

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  2000 Kia Sephia LS - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Daryl - October 31 - 10:00 am

  This car has been a nightmare. Its been continously plagued with problems involving the transmission, a bad crank in the engine, and minor trim complaints. The dealer has no interest in taking care of warranty concerns after theyve sold the car. Theyll stall, misdiagnose, and threaten service fees. The Kia Corporate is no help either. The 1-800-333-4KIA is only useful to have the car towed to the nearest dealer. DONT waste your money on a Kia.

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  KIA Sportage: The best reason to walk. - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Coderifous - October 31 - 10:00 am

  In the shop 3 times within the first 33,000 miles - I missed my lemon law by 2 months. Twice for the transmission, once for the clutch. Id love to take credit for being a poor driver and damaging it myself, but its just not true. I drive it like a granny car and it still died on me. The transmission is dead right now and needs to be replaced. Covered under warranty? Nope. KIAs one slick customer. They could have found a worse place for the cupholder, like on the windshield. Its fine when its not holding a cup, but you pop it out and it blocks some of the interior controls, and also the AC vents. This comes in real handy on a hot day.

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  Dont Do it - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By Gen - October 30 - 5:53 am

  I got a brand new 2002 Kia Spectra. And b/f I was off the lot a headlight was out, it should have been an omen. The windows never worked right, and there was a weird knocking when it rained. And, the alternator was going after only 6 years. Last week, the transmission just went out! We were not going anywhere. $2000.00 worth of repairs on a car with only 136000 miles on it. I have a Subaru Impreza with 196000 miles on it that is 13 years old that is still working great! I only got 400.00 for the car b/c it was just so broken down! My two cents is if you want a car that will give you your moneys worth, buy a Subaru. I had only paid the car off one year b/f it died. Never again!

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  KIA go back to making Bicycles - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By msiriodis - October 27 - 10:00 am

  Not worth the Money, service is null and even the service provider told me that we live and learn when I told him the car I had purchased.