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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  Surprised Me!!! - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By baby_c_1989 - September 7 - 10:59 pm

  I bought my Kia with 80k (or something like that) a year ago it now has 108k miles on it and is still going strong. I was really worried about buying a kia but I needed a cheap car right away! I was surprised when I bought it, she told me it was still under warranty until 100k (WOW!) She had all her maintenance records and it seemed she had some issues with the car the first year or two she bought it. Since Ive had it the only out of pocket expenses have been oil changes and tires. I have had NO mechanical difficulty with this car it has been extremely reliable as our only means of transportation. I am no considering buying a new kia when its time to buy a NEW car.

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  Bulb issues constantly - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By spiegel - September 7 - 5:03 am

  I have had my Sorento for less than 3 years now and I have had to replace 11 bulbs between the low beam, high beam, tail lights, and brake lights. Each bulb averages $35 at the dealership to replace. If it is within 1 year, they replace at no cost. Of the 11 bulbs, 9 have lasted 14 months, which is not covered by the dealership. Something has got to be wrong, and they claim nothing. BULBS DO NOT GO OUT LIKE THIS!

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  great suv - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By jrodri - September 5 - 10:00 am

  great to drive,smooth,very stable,comfortable,stylish,good over all lenth,nice height,and a very good pick up on acceleration

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  sedona ex - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By road_master70 - September 3 - 2:00 am

  only had 6 weeks. got a good buy on this van. very comfortable seating, fairly quite ride, a lot of standard features. rear climate control doesnt have a temp. selector, it is either hot or cold.(very poor design) engine runs well (3.5 L) but has a inherent vibration which is a bit disapointing. overall rating 8

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  The Kias are Alright - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Sam/Hain - August 29 - 10:23 pm

  As of this writing, the Kia is a good little car. A smooth ride, and cheaper than the competitors. (Learn to love that word folks, its great.) As a commuter, I give a thumbs up.

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  Transmission - 2009 Kia Optima
  By dholder35 - August 27 - 3:31 pm

  KIA needs to make a better transmission. This is the second Kia Optima I have owned and the transmission always seems to go out. The service department will always say you need a transmission flush, but then after the warranty runs out the transmission will quit working and I have to pay for the transmission to be replaced. When I apply my brakes the transmission will down shift hard.

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  LOVE MY NEW 2016 FORTE LX - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Joshua Evans - August 26 - 4:15 pm

  I bought my 2p16 forte lx after driving my moms car she had just purchased. I cruised in ir a few times and two weeks later I went and bought mine...only she has the AT am I have a manual. LOVE DRIVING THIS CAR!!! I TURNED THE ECO OFF AND ZOOM IM OFF AND RUNNING!! I would recommend this car to anyone who wants comfort and style without breaking the bank!

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  Still runnin after 8 years - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By ASHBURN VA - August 25 - 4:43 pm

  I had been considering purchasing a 96 Camry used car but happened to see this Kia on the way to buy the Camry. The winning point was that the Kia was less than the used Camry and had an great warranty. Eight years out I have had no major problems with the car. The cv boots for left and right wheels had to be replaced in Aug 08 but it was covered under the warranty. Its a great commuter car. I have only taken it on long distance trips three times. Seats are very uncomfortable. All things considered its a good little car. Had I purchased the Camry I would have over 125k miles on it.

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  beware - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By trash man - August 24 - 4:03 am

  One of the first questions i asked the salesman was how did the transmissions hold up on towing!!!!! He said great havent had a problem... Well at 12000 miles even before we hooked a small pop camper to it we had to have the tranmission replaced, and from there 6 more trips to the dealer for shifter problems, eng light came on due to a trans problem....and oh yeah forgot this 18000 miles had to replace all 4 crappy YOKOHAMA tire on it!!! I think you guys can get the gas mileage up too

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  A good dependable ride! - 2008 Kia Rio
  By RossM - August 18 - 10:43 am

  I bought this as my first "new" car and I like this little buggy. I am a sales rep and so am on the road a lot, it handles well and is fun to drive. It is pretty good on gas. I would say average for a car this size. I put a huge ski box on the roof and it gets a bit worse of course. I use it in the winter around Alberta/BC with good winter tires and its great, plowed through 1 foot of snow on mountain roads more then once. I have taken it on logging roads for hundreds of km, driven it to California, Vancouver Island and more. It feels like a Honda or Toyota in terms of build quality, pretty solid. Shifts nice. Looks Euro. A great car.