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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  Check everything - 2017 Kia Forte
  By jerry - March 3 - 6:34 pm

  The center armrest is to far back. The automatic driver window is not set up to go up automatically, To many unnecessary features (Turn signals 3,5,7.)Just use the signal and then turn off. The worst lack of feature "NO CD PLAYER".I dont have an I pad and dont plan on getting one. So , NO DISKS.....No daytime driving lights that go on when you start the vehicle. It has to be a manual operation. Radio is not easy to set up and hold desired stations.

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  Downsize for a reason. - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Joe Shary - March 2 - 8:55 pm

  I wanted a coupe as I live alone and dont need a lot of car roominess. Sold a money draining 2012 BMW M3 (extremely poor fuel mileage and California prices for fuel along with Nevada Dealership mechanics not able to routinely repair problems while under warranty along with $900/yr license tags). As of now I made a great move. Car performs as expected and being over 70 yrs. old is just what is needed - economical transportation.

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  well worth the money - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By justjim - March 2 - 6:36 am

  A lot of extras on a highly capable 4x4 for a very good price. A Lexus 330 for at least $10,000 less. And a great warranty.

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  decent car considering the price - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Dirk - March 1 - 11:40 pm

  Bought the car used in 2004 with 50K miles on it. It was really cheap, and so Im fairly satisfied with it since it proved to be pretty dependable. The brakes are very squeaky when cold, i.e. just after starting the car, but they behave normally after a mile or so. Minor annoyances so far were a faulty battery cable connection, and a defective spark plug wire that cost about $100 to fix. Wouldnt hesitate to buy one again.

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  Got what I paid for - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By meare1 - February 26 - 4:27 pm

  Used to have a Dodge Caravan, compared to that JUNK, this Kia is MUCH better. Yes, it has had the trips to the dealer, (2) for warranty related work, but compared to the NON-warranty trips I had with the Dodge, I would NEVER buy Mopar AGAIN!! Not a bad van for the money. I bought it used with 24k and have since gone past the warranty and just bought new tires for it.

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  Wait and see - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By F Smith - February 26 - 2:00 am

  I bought a 2002 Sedona EX in May 2002. I love the way it drives. It handles well and is tight and solid. However in the last five months the dealer has had the car almost as much as I have. For several different evelectrical problems. So far they have replaced the alternater, radio, keyless entry receiver, and the power seat switch. It took three visits to the dealer and a total of 8 weeks. They provided a rental car so I didnt loose anything. But at this point its going to take a while to build any kind of confidence in the car. I hope I dont have anymore problems becuase I really like the car, and dont want to get rid of it.

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  Excellent good-looking car that is value for money - 2012 Kia Rio
  By sunbomb - February 24 - 8:42 pm

  For a customer profile like mine (already own a minivan, looking for commuter car) this is a great option to have. The car itself would probably satisfy a lot of other profiles, but it is smack in the middle of my demo. Cargo space is not that great, but that is not why I bought this car. I bought this with the convenience package which included UVO (a cool addition) and the rearview camera. No need for nav if you already have a smartphone. Car handles beautifully and very little of the harsh rides associated with sub-compacts. Really like the looks and the interior. A lot of reviews have commented on how the interior does not look as cheap as other cars in the class.

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  Scarry to drive Optima - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Customer - February 20 - 4:23 pm

  We have this car for two years and have constant problem with passenger air bag sign not turned off if passenger about 150 lbs is present. No problems with passenger of 200 lbs. NHTSA has 32 complaints for Optima 2006-2008 for the same problem with couple of injured persons, but the only thing Dealer and KIA representative suggested is "passenger need to sit exactly in the middle of the seat, only in upright position, no legs crossed, no leaning on one side or another.If problem occurs, stop the car and restart it". Seems as just an excuse for malfunctioning and dangerous design flaw. Quite scary to be a passenger in this car, no proper company response to the unsafe design flaw so far.

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  love escaping my Escape - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By lisa G - February 13 - 3:46 am

  I escaped my mistake . I love my Sorento. Have 2200 miles on it so far. The ride and fit are so much better than my 2003 Ford Escape. I feel much safer in this SUV. It sticks to the road better. I do wish it got better mileage. But its a small trade off. The sound system is pretty good to. I have added behind the seat pouches for my kids. The sunroof leaked the 1st week I had it and the dealer fixed it with no hassles at all.

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  Kia Sportage 4 Dr Base - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Jim - February 13 - 3:43 am

  Love my Sportage, fun to drive, decent power for 4 cylinder, enjoy standard shift, mechanically sound. Gas milage around 19-20 city, 26 mpg highway. Do not like cup holder location, AM/FM cassette radio could be better. Overall pleased with vehicle, plan on keeping for another 100,000 miles. Changing timing belt and water pump at 103,000 miles as preventative maintenance.