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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  I love my new car :-) - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By adamsmith2306 - July 23 - 11:10 pm

  I needed a safe, reliable, fuel efficient car, and needless to say I got it. I get about 33 mpg, great space for a small looking car. I have a black 06 spectra sx 5 speed stick shift, w/tinted windows, rims, and a spoiler. It looks very sporty. I love my car and would highly recommend it to all

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  great quality and great mpg for money - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By glen - July 20 - 1:50 pm

  I was skeptical at first and concerned that i might not get 30 mpg. Have only had short time but first fill up 29.5 mpg and second fill up 32.2 mpg in mixed driving. Drives very smooth and handles well and looking forward to great mpg once it breaks in.

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  KIA Sephia-Pretty good - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By cody92 - July 20 - 12:24 pm

  I had one of these for driving to school and work. It wasnt real fancy, but thats fine because if I wanted luxury I wouldve bought a cadillac or something of that nature. The KIA Sephia is a simple commuter car, nothing more or less. Its got a basic 4cyl and doesnt have a whole lot of horse power but itll get you where youre going. My Sephia was undyingly reliable and never put me in a pinch after all the abuse it took from me learning how to drive manual on it and generally just driving the thing like I stole it. I reccomend the KIA as a first car or for anyone who needs a commuter thats reliable and gets good MPG.

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  My Little Kia - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Amaranta - July 20 - 3:00 am

  Its been a year and so far I havent had any problem with my little Kia. I recommend this car if you are looking for a fun and not too expensive car.

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  Our New Kia Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Al. K. - July 19 - 10:00 am

  We only have about 1100 miles on our new Kia Amanti but we love our car. Everyone we know and strangers all say What kind of car is that it looks like a jaguar or the front headlights is that a Mercedes what is it. WE sure do get a lot of stares and long looks. We have to say so far everything is really great about this new Kia Amanti,but of course we havent had it very long but if it holds up well and runs as great as it does we will be even more happier about our purchase of this Kia. We had a Honda Accord before this Kia and to tell the truth we werent even thinking about a Kia let alone even knew what they looked like.At Taylor Cadillac we bought this New Kia and it is a great car.

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  over all good - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By AEROBURTON - July 19 - 10:00 am

  like the ride and comfort interior well laid out. Like the van overall but needs more rear storage room. one problem I have and they have not been able to fix is runs rough at idle ?? waranty has been great they fix ed every thing we have asked except rough idle.

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  The Little Rio That Could - 2002 Kia Rio
  By RoNiN - July 19 - 12:46 am

  This is a follow-up on this car. In short, I bought it early summer 2008 USED with 69K on the odometer. Its coming up on 100000. By the end of this year itll be beyond that. Things Ive replaced so far are four sets of tires about 5 oil changes and a right rear wheel bearing that was going. Other than that, this car is still going. I live in Florida and without AC youd die out here. I have not had to refill the AC unit yet. Its still going strong. One of the best AC units out there. Im going to put tint on the windows this winter and see if thatll make a difference. Im still on the original brake pads when I bought the car.

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  Good car but had problems - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Chezjuan - July 16 - 11:40 pm

  I like the body style, passenger and cargo space, and power of the 2007 Kia Sorento, but I have issues with the quality of the car. Not only were there two recalls that affected the safety (front seat airbag sensor, stop lamp switch) but my car had several engine problems. Also, the OEM battery would not hold a charge and had to be replaced within 6 months.The biggest problem was that the car would refuse to start intermittently - the engine wasnt getting fuel. To get it to start, I would have to pull the fuel pump relay and replace it, then the car would work fine. After a year of trying to fix that (under warranty), the car started cutting out when driving so I replaced it.

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  Great car - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Richard - July 15 - 11:26 am

  I recently picked up the forte SX. I guess there is a very limited number of leather packages out there and I could not pick one up. But I did get the sun roof. This car is great. Awesome feel when driving. Takes corners pretty tight. Engine has enough go for what I need. Car looks awesome with the 17 tires.

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  Simple, but nice - 2009 Kia Optima
  By Hopeful skeptic - July 14 - 5:20 am

  Recently purchased an 09 LX Optima, used, with less than 12k on it. I test drove this car simply to say I "shopped around." There was not a real intention to purchase a Kia. However, I found myself more satisfied with it than the Accord, Camry, and Malibu, all of which I had driven in the same afternoon. It doesnt really stand out in any one category, but does all things well. Controls are simple, but well placed. Nothing feels all that cheap, like I expected. Fit and finish is on par with the Honda and Toyota, notably nicer fit than the Chevy. The whole car is simple, but very well done. Hopefully the long term impression is the same as the first! Oh, $4k less than comparable Honda/Toyota!