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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  Its Okay for the Price - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By 2yrKiaOwner - July 27 - 2:00 am

  Bought used with 14000 miles; now have almost 45000. No major work; only brake replacement and regular maintenance. Vehicle was noisy on highway but when we put wider tires on it, the ride and noise improved tremendously. Gas mileage is not as good as my husbands F150 V6. The little 4 cyclinder works too hard; would have been better with a 6.

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  Does Kia really listen to its customers? - 2012 Kia Optima
  By dbenson62 - July 27 - 1:18 am

  I just purchased a 2012 SX Turbo in Corsa Blue. I have already had people pull up next to me and tell me what a beautiful car it is. I love the power, styling, all the controls and more. I had a 07 Impala and the leg room in the back seat was awful. power was sluggish and not many options. I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of leg room in the Kia along with all the goodies to play with. I only have 175 miles on it so far, just breaking it in so I cant say much about the gas mileage. It is quiet on the road and down the freeway. It is just a fun car to drive. We use to laugh at people that drove Hyundai and Kia, you cant afford a real car? Now we own one and love it! Its rated well

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  Great Car - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Chris - July 26 - 12:10 pm

  Traded in my Chrysler 300C for this SUV because I bought a house and wanted cheaper payments. This car is outstanding. Rides like a car (smooth), decent power and looks great. The fit & finish is excellent, AC is powerful and the radio rocks! I think it looks better than its sister...the Hyundai Tuscon. The only negative is its name...Kia. I really like this car and the pro reviews have been positive. Only time will tell if the reliabilty is there...the warranty is great and I purchased an extended warranty as well. The car has a fair amount of understeer so zipping in and out of traffic at 80 mph when Im late for work is a little nerve wracking. I cant wait for snow.

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  Excellent value for the money - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Dawn B - July 26 - 7:56 am

  I must admit I was skeptical when my husband first brought this home to me. I have been greatly surprised and pleased with it. The equipment on it for the money was a very good value and the factory stereo has surprisingly good sound. It has a good amount of storage for things like sunglasses and cds. This baby will turn on a dime, and after 53,00 miles handles well, and drives and rides well compared to higher priced cars. 2 trips from Kansas City, MO to Fort Knox, KY and a trip to Akron Ohio and all Ive had to do is change oil and tires. No mechanical issues at all which surprised me. A great little car for the money.

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  Great Car - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Chris - July 26 - 6:03 am

  Traded in my Chrysler 300C for this SUV because I bought a house and wanted cheaper payments. This car is outstanding. Rides like a car (smooth), decent power and looks great. The fit & finish is excellent, AC is powerful and the radio rocks! I think it looks better than its sister...the Hyundai Tuscon. The only negative is its name...Kia. I really like this car and the pro reviews have been positive. Only time will tell if the reliabilty is there...the warranty is great and I purchased an extended warranty as well. The car has a fair amount of understeer so zipping in and out of traffic at 80 mph when Im late for work is a little nerve wracking. I cant wait for snow.

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  When I can start it, Ill review it - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By buggrrl - July 26 - 12:06 am

  My 2008 Sedona was purchased new less than a month ago and has fewer than 500 miles on it. It is in the shop now for the second time because the battery goes dead 4 times, requiring roadside assistance each time, and has been there for 5 days now without a diagnosis. I truly love driving this van, but am starting to think I made a huge mistake purchasing it. I havent even received my license plates yet and its been in the shop 6 days already! Thankfully, the dealer is a gem and doing everything they can to help me.

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  A fine value! - 2017 Kia Forte
  By E. Wiatrek - July 25 - 12:25 pm

  The 2017 Forte is a beautiful auto. The kicker is the 5 yr. basic warranty vs the 3 yr warranty on most other makes. The car drives well, looks great, feels solid, and is highly dependable. The only "distraction" Ive encountered is the "lag" in acceleration when trying to moderately increase speed at around 40 -- 50 mph. Theres a significant dead zone. Other than that, I see nothing but a great deal and happy ownership with my Forte 2.0 liter purchase.

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  Not the Best! - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By meh - July 24 - 4:56 pm

  I bougth this thing used. I read reviews before I bought it, and I ignored them, thinking it cant be that bad. I was wrong. Problems after problems with this thing, I blew out the front dif, gas leaks, slow acceleration, no power, and just before I traded it in, it would only start once in a while... piece of junk.

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  Great Car for The Money - 2005 Kia Optima
  By LarryP - July 24 - 7:43 am

  I am very impressed with the quality of this car. Only have 6K miles on it but NO problems at all. This car has all the bells and whistles and compared to comparable cars, cannot be beat! After lots of research and driving the other brands, this car was hands down the best bang for the buck. Will definitely consider another Kia, especially the Amanti.

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  Great Car - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By dmac - July 23 - 9:40 pm

  While looking for a small SUV, we settled upon the Kia Sportage. I was very impressed with the various standard features and the surprising amount of interior room. The warranty is not bad either!