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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  02 Kia Optima - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Chris Gallant - April 26 - 12:16 am

  Overall, I really like this car. It has good power and handles well. Comfort and design are good. I only wish the gas mileage was better, but I guess that is the price you pay for the power. Big trunk. Changing headlight bulbs is a pain, and my power mirrors went out.

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  auto critic - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Richard Kalinowski - April 25 - 2:19 pm

  i purchased a 2014 Sorento v6, and drove it for over a year, and really enjoyed the vehicle. Then i saw the lines on the 2016, and thought it was a big improvement on style, so I traded up. First time I used the GPS it took me to the wrong location. I also found that the font size could not be changed on the Navigation, and a lot of the street names did not appear, so it was a big mistake paying for that feature. I also liked the blind spot lights on the mirrors, but in 2016 they are smaller, and dimmer, and in sunlight almost useless. I could not believe that something that worked so well was changed drastically on the 2016. I mentioned this to Kia by phone, and the attitude was very poor. I did get the 4 with turbo, which is ample for me, but like someone else mentioned, the mileage is not that much better then the 6. The only other problem that has happen twice, is after starting the car, radio would not work, until you stopped the engine, and restarted. I have not had time to check with the dealer on that issue yet, but will on next visit. Yes on a long trip this summer, it was a pleasure to drive across the country.

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  Cannot Align? - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By tommywebb - April 25 - 8:36 am

  When I got the car it needed an alignment, should have made them fix it then. We loved the car. We paid cash for it. Well.........I took it to get new tires and an alignment in Oct. of 07 and the alignment tech told there is no camber adjustment on the KIA so he could not align the car. WHAT? He then proceeded to tell me I had to buy an aftermarket kit and it would cost $200 to install so my car could be aligned. I thought they were just fishing for money. So I called the dealer and sure enough I had to buy an aftermarket kit. WHAT?I bought a car you cant get aligned! KIA said it adjusts, the dealer and the tech says no. Now I am stuck with a car I can never get aligned. Never buy another!

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  Not bad - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By legend - April 23 - 11:36 am

  Just inherited this van from father-in- law. Its got everything you want in a minivan. Only thing that bothers me is the somewhat heavy steering feel and interior squeaks from the rear of the car. It turns out squeaks are coming from side plastic panels. Airbag light came on but thats probably an easy fix. Other than those two things cant really complain

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  I love my Kia, BUT it has its problems - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Gayle W. - April 21 - 2:03 am

  Ive had very little problems with my Kia, minor things at first which were fixed under warranty. My complaint is the rotors went out at 27,K miles, I dont think this is NORMAL. I had them turned, but it didnt help, so I had to get new ones, cost me almost $500.00 to get this fixed. The old ones are all rusty looking and Im upset. Im going to contact Kia and complain.I also have terrible paint chips which seem to happen over night, my fenders look bad.Its as though the paint is "soft". I think Ill complain about that too. My Dad was a mechanic so, I do understand the general workings of a auto.

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  One Great Van - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Odyssey No Way - April 17 - 10:00 am

  I love my new van. I used to own a 00 Ford Expedition. It was a gas guzzling nuisance. I test drove the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Crysler T&C, Ford Windstar and the Mazda MPV and was pretty close to buying one of those but was never enthused about any of them. I cam across Kia because my mother bought a Volvo and Kia was right next to it. I figured what the hech and went to test drive one, I signed the dotted line that day. Loved it the first time I rode in it. Price was never the reason I purchased since my two previous vehicles were at the 38K mark. I just loved it!

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  KIa Forte 5 EX 2011 - 2011 Kia Forte
  By alfa0 - April 15 - 12:55 pm

  I have Kia Forte 5 for 1 months, I loved hatchbacks before I had VW Golf so I wanted to try Kia.... I didnt read the reviews before I got my car. It is rough car. Every time I get in to not even surface it seems to me that car is going to break down cause of rough and noise inside. Poor gas saving. I like those toys inside for standard trim and fun to drive. If I knew that this car is so rough Id never buy it.

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  Continual Electronic Failures - 2012 Kia Soul
  By ohmysoul - April 15 - 9:31 am

  I purchased my 2012 Kia Soul with all the extras, my first brand new car in 25 years. The added features only work part of the time which is majorly disappointing. I have complained several times and the dealer admitted there were problems and replaced the system, TWICE! All my music was wiped out. Ive had the music go haywire while driving going between one song and another almost causing a wreck. The sun roof sometimes wont open and the backup camera sometimes wont come on. I was in a car accident that wasnt my fault and my blue tooth would NOT call 911! After all repairs the system completely locked up and I could not make or receive calls.

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  Rondo LX Excellent Value - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Ed - April 15 - 7:46 am

  I recently purchased a used 2008 LX Rondo V6 with 9,700 miles. I sought a vehicle that was a good value, had a practical aspect for light duty hauling, and that would be reliable with decent gas mileage. I have been happy with the Rondo and it has mostly met the above criteria. Bonus features that I found are that the V6 has good pickup and handles around corners well. Also I am 65 and about 210 lbs. This car provides excellent headroom and decent leg room. I like that the driver sits up fairly high with good visibility too. Overall, there are better vehicles in this category Id say, but they will cost you significantly more. This is a reliable vehicle at a good price I believe.

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  This thing wont die! - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By eagleboyrox - April 11 - 8:23 pm

  I have an 05 Sedona and this van is surprisingly the most reliable van I have ever seen. Kias cars are crap but this van has 306,234 miles on it right now and still runs like the day it came off the showroom floor. The engine is so quiet you cant hear it run and the transmission still shifts like it should. I love the room inside and the seats are easy to remove. Ive even hauled my jetski in it a few times! I keep the oil changed with 10 w30 Mobil 1 synthetic. That may also account for the great gas mileage I get in this van. It only uses a quarter tank up and back from my house to my mothers house which is about 80 miles away as long as you keep the mph fairly steady. Keep that in mind.