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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  Great Road Car - 2001 Kia Optima
  By GG - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Great road car. Good power. Had problems with wind noise on the drivers side window. Fuel sender had to be replaced twice. Check engine light came on twice but was due to not having the fuel cap tight. This is a well performing car, especially if you do a lot of long distance driving.

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  Great deal - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By dobjob - October 9 - 10:00 am

  We just bought our new Sedona and are delighted with it. We paid 22k for an EX with leather, sunroof, homelink and ABS. We got the 0% financing for 3 years so thats an added bonus.

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  Love my 2008 Sportage - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By Joan - October 8 - 11:03 am

  There isnt a more reliable vehicle. Ive had the car for eight years and never had a problem after more than 90,000 miles. No GM car Ive ever had can match that record. No car payment for the past four years and only cost has been regular oil changes. In eight years, changed the battery once and the tires once. Would buy again but the new model does not have the fold down front passenger seat. Thinking of buying a Buick Encore which does have the fold down front passenger seat but not confident it will be as reliable.

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  Overall.... - 2005 Kia Optima
  By BabyBlue - October 8 - 6:13 am

  Well, I love my Kia. However, I was recently in a car accident, about 2 days ago actually. I hit a semi-truck, his fault, but it happened, the car has remarkably held up, no air bag deployed, which is a major concern of mine. However I received only minor injuries and was released from the hospital. The safety of this car is outstanding! Too bad I had to find out the hard way. On a regular basis, the city mileage is averaging about 20 miles to the gallon. Interstate is awesome! With an average of about 30/32 miles to the gallon! Comfortable, FUN and a car I can be proud of!

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  1 year in - 2012 Kia Sportage
  By daw3 - October 7 - 9:46 am

  Well its been 1 year since taking owenership of the Sportage and I will admit no issues, except fuel ratings, lack of power for passing. Overall Im staisfied with the car, but again I feel somethings are lacking. Ive been reading all the reviews from owners and I must agree with some, but for the money where are you going to get such a fun car to drive. Honda, Toyota, Subrau are all over priced with the standard equipment you get with the Sportage. Im retired now but there was just something about the car, and I wasnt ready for a cookie cutter Nissan or Buick. I purchase a flat black mat for the dashboard since there really is a bad glare from the sun that just hits you right in the eye

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  Everything as promised. - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By thefive - October 7 - 8:50 am

  Ive had mine for 9 months and no problems what so ever. Taken it on a couple of 1200 mile road trips. It is as it is promised to be. The exception is the gas milage. Even babying wasnt able to get what was advertised. Other than that a great vehicle.

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  Kia Got it Right - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Damned_Right - October 7 - 2:00 am

  The soccer mom meme doesnt apply. Theres nothing "mini" about this van. It is as solid a beast as any pick-up truck, IMO. The versatility is amazing, converting it from a hauler w/ the rear seats down and the mid seats folded fwd, to a comfortable transport for seven. Everything is where it needs to be - cup holders, nooks, comfortable seating & decent mileage. My only gripe is AM radio reception which is limited to only local broadcasts - no distant stations can be recd where any other radio would, easily. Not sure if this is just my Sedona doing this, or others have similar issues.. Would be curious to know, if it can be fixed. Note the newer Sedonas no longer use in-glass antennas.

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  Try it - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By STEVE - October 7 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle is a nice compact package the only thing it needs is a we bit more power I would highly recommend they re-engineer this vehicle with a turbo or a 6 cylinder

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  Price and warranty - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Jim - October 4 - 10:46 pm

  Have had it for 3 weeks. Its solidly built, feels planted on the road. Gas mileage just o.k., 34 once and 29 once. Only have 1400 miles on it. I like it. People need to realize its an economy car. If you want all those gadgets so they can cause trouble for you, go pay 3-4 thousand more for a more upscale ride!

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  Great bargain! - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Roger D - October 4 - 2:00 am

  Sharp styling inside and out! A NEW car at this price is a breath of fresh air! Awesome warranty! Yes...there are few shortfalls but show me a car at this price that doesnt. Its great bang for the buck. Mine is a silver RS with a 5 speed and I added a rear spoiler with a built in LED brake light which really finishes off an already smart looking car.