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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  Beauty is only skin deep - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By subwaybuff - July 23 - 4:48 pm

  This car is a piece of junk! I have had it for about 3 months and added only around 300 miles. The check engine light came on at 3 miles. dealer reset the light. Light is back on. Today (9/23/11) within 2 miles I had sudden acceleration twice . The only way I avoided an accident was to put the care in neutral. The biggest mistake I ever made. Sure it is a beauty but I can take a pig and give it a bubble bath and dress it in fancy clothes but it is still a pig. Id unload it but I"d be upside down big time and no wheels till I pay it off

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  good as ad - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By marty - July 22 - 10:00 am

  best ride i have owned or leased (86buick,890lds,92caddy,96villager,2000b lazer,comes with all bells&whisles,feels good ,drives good ,looksgood.

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  Satisfied User - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By boombats - July 22 - 10:00 am

  Very satisfied ,wanted a 4 Runner but bought instead for cost.Didnt want a wimpy crossover SUV because of lack of real 4w/d.Excellent fit & finish in & out. Great styling,nice interior.Ride a little choppy but its a truck.Easy to drive and fun.Power is good but sure would like the 245 h/p like Honda.Cruises great & no problem passing or entering highway.

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  Kia Soul solid little car..... - 2010 Kia Soul
  By andy r - July 21 - 4:33 pm

  This car we bought the base model in grey for around 13.5 k . We have put 20000 miles on the car. We have a house near a major ski area so much snow driving was done in this car....... we bought a rack and tlue cargo attachment for rack which knocks our mph down a bit....... Overall a good little econo car get about 25-30 mph with roof cargo bin. add 3 mph without. IS very noisy in passanger area ..... just crank up vol. on stereo , Overall we are happy with car.....fits a lot of stuff for a little car !

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  Horrible! - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Angela - July 21 - 6:33 am

  Worst car i have EVER had. My 95 sat urn was better than this w/ 160,000 miles! My grandfather bought me a 2004 Kia Optima LX in June of 2006 for my graduation present. I LOVED the car when i first got it. Now i HATE it. I have to change out my headlights at least once or twice every three months. The belts on this car always break. The hoses dont last long AT ALL. My struts are always needing replaced. I always keep up on the maintenance on this car.. but it seems like i have spent MORE on this car for repairs than what my grandfather bought it for. I will NEVER EVER own another kia in my entire life. Stay away from these cares.They are crap!

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  Id buy another one in a heart beat. - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By joel41 - July 21 - 5:04 am

  I cant say enough positive about this car. I bought it as a demonstrator with 10,800miles and paid $220 more than a 10 year old Honda CRV with 110,000 miles on the same lot. Head and leg room as well as visability is better than my Dodge Caravan. Rear seats lay all the way flat which is great for hauling and camping. Doors open all the way which allows to load a box the full size of the door in the back (unlike my dads Buick. With the V6 engine, there is more than enough spunk to get up to spead on the freeway. On a country road, I had it up to 110 mph and was still accelorating. It can be "fun to drive" when I want to.

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  My research paid off. - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By thgoldsboro - July 21 - 2:23 am

  The style and color are unique. I find most other SUV exteriors boring. I am very impressed with the acceleration the longer I own the vehicle. The ride is a bit rough on the small choppy sections of road. I absolutley love the interior. Very practical space, cubbies and niches. A very usable environment without any wasted space. The back seats folds level flat. I had a hard time finding that feature in any other comparable SUV. Climate system is powerful, cools fast and maintains a constant temperature. When placed on cabin air, outside smells and smog go unnoticed. My best experience however, was the dealership. Always treated well and there is never a question of the coverage.

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  Great SUV but one problem - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By kr2880 - July 21 - 12:29 am

  The car looks and handles great on local and on the interstate. However, when I am waiting at a red light with the SUV in drive, there is a definite vibration that you can feel through out the car. I have had the car checked by Kia service including the District Service MGR and have been told that this is normal for the SUV. For an SUV with a sticker price close to $36000, I didnt expect a vibration to be considered normal! Hopefully KIA will come up with a fix!

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  Love them both (My SX and EX) - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Big Dave - July 19 - 6:20 pm

  I actually own two of these cars ... one 06 SX 5 speed and an 05 EX auto. I gave it 10s based on what you get for the money. Im a big guy (63" 270) and I fit with room to move thanks to the seats. My wife and I do a lot of traveling in it without feeling cramped. The engine is rev happy and fun to drive. I drive my SX pretty hard and it always handles well for me. The older EX had a few minor issues (fuel door, speedometer) that were fixed very quickly and we haven’t had any problems since. Its a very solid build overall and wont give you with that cheap car feeling. Its way more car than what you pay for. This is great driver and really has what you need in the real world.

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  2002 Optima - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Swinedog - July 18 - 1:00 pm

  The car was very reasonably priced. I have had problems with the keyless entry. It was eventually repaired. It took the dealer 3 tries to fix it ... the manual provided by KIA was in error and referenced the wrong part number. The dealer was good and provided a loaner while they figured out the problem. I had attempted to replace a front turn signal ... it is not something easily done by a consumer. The transmission has always slipped ... it has been brought in on multiple occasions and they flash the onboard computer. The problem has never been completely resolved.