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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  why pay more - 2003 Kia Optima
  By Bob Hoskins - June 14 - 2:00 am

  why pay the outragious prices of new forign luxury cars? when you can spend less and own more. and have a much longer warranty.make sence, did to me thats why i also bought the optima se. it is the best deal i ever received.

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  Lots of truck,little price - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By xlr8hard - June 14 - 2:00 am

  This thing is great. Ive had it a year now and have not had any problems, though I read some pretty bad reviews. Maybe I got lucky or they had unreal expectations of this truck(yes it is a truck). It has plenty of power considering the way people actually drive. I mean, I find myself leaving cars behind when starting off from a light. The automatic does have power problems due to its gearing. The 5spd is fine. In slippery conditions not having tons of power makes it easier to control wheel spin and keep traction.

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  fun new car experience - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By duane.p - June 14 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned one other new car A 1997 mazda protage and and was disapointed with the mazda before the new car smell was gone. the kia spectra is a better car as far as Im concerned I felt scared at 80 mph in the mazda but the kia Ive had to 105 mph and felt safe the mazda got poor mpg until 13,000 miles the kia has been very good on gas 28mpg to 33mpg from day one 87 miles on odometer and $7600 less.

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  how can you compare - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Bob Hoskins - June 14 - 2:00 am

  how can you compare other mini vans to the sedona? others are thousands not 1,2,3,4,5, but upwards of $6000 or more.and the warranty is unmatched, that 7/100,000 has deductables and other restrictions you need to read the fin print. sedona you get what you see. exelent vehichle.

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  exelent - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Bob Hoskins - June 14 - 2:00 am

  this suv drives like a car is also very comfortable. the look is fantastic.

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  WHAT A DEAL! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Bob Smith - June 14 - 2:00 am

  As many have said, the styling, solid feel, attention to detail and man many extras made this the best choice out the field of competitors. I did find that I knew more about this vehicle than most of the sales staff or managers where I shopped. Armed with knowledge ( thanks to Edmunds.com and some others) I managed to purchse my KIA for UNDER invoice my a substantial ammount. The Dealer split the hold back with me which is 2 percent of the MSRP on this vehicle. Better catch them on a good day to get that thrown in!

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  Snappy - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By griz - June 13 - 6:33 am

  We bought this car as a commuter car. Drive 25 miles daily to work. It is so comfortable and fun that we now use it almost exclusively. Took it on vacation this year and drove 2600 miles in 2 weeks averaging 36 mpg at 67 mph. At 80 mph it averaged 31 mpg. Snappy does not like 91 octane gas but does best with 87 octane.

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  Great car - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By George - June 13 - 2:13 am

  A great little car. Took a long trip with it, handled all kinds of road conditions well. 4 cyl had no problem with steep grades on mountain highways. We dont have 3rd seat, that would make a difference in power.

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  2008 kia spectra owned 10 years now - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Joseph Hall - June 12 - 5:52 pm

  I bought my 2008 Kia Spectra from the dealer with 2 miles on it in april of 2008. I am pretty sure those 2 miles were put on by me in my test drive too. She now has 101K miles on her over 10 years and I can safely say this is the best car Ive ever owned. Despite what the reviews seem to say here, my LX does have ac which has never once needed to be repaired, only recharged once. As for maintenance I have only had to do regular service, and, as long as you treat the car well, youll most likely never have to do any advanced repairs for a long time to come. This car is amazingly reliable and affordable. It also has more climate control settings than your average car that costs twice as much, with 9 fan speeds and many more temperature settings than any other car Ive driven. I love it and have come to rely on it.

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2001 Kia Spectra
  By stevecobb12550 - June 12 - 9:32 am

  I bought the Kia used at 18,000 miles, and then drove it for almost 150,000 without a problem. Gas mileage was about 33 mpg highway, and it was rock solid. Sure, the sheet metal is so thin that you could dent the car just by breathing on it, and the rear defroster was useless, but the car was a real trooper. Hatchback was very useful, too, I could load all kinds of things in there. The only mistake I made was not changing the timing belt, and it broke at 145k miles, ruining the engine. At 145k miles, the CV joints needed replacing, and so did the struts, but it was a great car.