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:

• 

  Point A to Point B - 2001 Kia Spectra
  By Scott9674 - January 25 - 2:00 am

  From the outside you think wow, what a sporty ride? NOT The 125hp 5speed manual is very disappointing. I have drove automatics with smaller engines that are peppier. Going up a hill with the A/C on..forget about it. I realized I wasnt getting a "sports" car but come on Kia the gas mileage isnt terrific and the car weighs a little more than a cow here in IA and this is the best you can do? The interior is decent and clean. If you are over 6 ft be warned. After 40k miles no major happenings.Great car for a college student who just needs A to B trans. That is about all you should expect because that is all youll get.

• 

  We get our new engine next week. - 2004 Kia Optima
  By cramer - January 25 - 2:00 am

  Weve had the car for three months, three weeks and 7800 miles. So far: Two check engine light issues, one moulding around the windshield issue, and one check engine, overheat, and oil light issue... resolution offered by dealer is new factory assembly line engine. Est. 10 days for installation. Needless to say, we are uneasy about the overall reliability.

• 

  Kia Rondo 2008 - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Windy Kia - January 24 - 7:13 pm

  Our 2008 7 Passenger Kia Rondo has been making a wind noise coming out of the driver side window since we bought it. It sounds like there is air leaking in the car. Kia claims they cannot fix it and it is intended to be this way. They also claim that all 2008 Kia Rondos make this air leak noise. Aside from this issue we have been happy with the vehicle.

• 

  What else did KIA decide to go cheap on?? - 2012 Kia Optima
  By robs777 - January 16 - 11:13 am

  We leased this car in 2012 and as of 2014 we find out that KIA decided to make OE tires that are only 30k tires! So now we have a leased car that we are having to replace the tires on before we return the lease. What are your thoughts America? Would you buy a car from a company that has no more concern for their customers than that? Also I am wondering what else KIA decided to cut corners on??

• 

  Simple but excellent - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By Simple - January 10 - 5:30 am

  Turn on the ac, it slows, but that is usually to weak drivebelts. Easy to fix, even for a DIY mechanic. A simple design, but fragile interior and exterior. That in turn means its also easier to fix. Parts are a bit expensive, but what isnt, right? Love the idea that it sounds like the day I got it, the opening of the throttle after so many thousand of miles. Its great, performance is alright, but the fuel economy is amazing. From PHX to LV, three times, without a single compliant, in one week. Great car! Considering the Kia Koupe in the near future...

• 

  Minor incov. make BIG PROBLEMS - 2001 Kia Optima
  By pJ - January 7 - 2:00 am

  Had to take in my car several times for electrical issues, moldings etc. Also received letter from Kia a year later stating the vehicle did not have a 70 hp engine as intially advertised when the vehicle was bought. The letter stated it had a 65 hp engine. Has depreciated and can not compare to similar models in its class do to HP and other factors. Engine ok...slow on start for V6. Will not buy again.

• 

  Fuel Pump - 2012 Kia Optima
  By slh2 - December 23 - 6:00 am

  Not too bad of a car other than road noise is pretty loud. It sounds like air leaking in the windows but they say there is nothing wrong with the windows. My fuel pump went out and it was $700 to fix (not covered under the warranty). The tires that come on the car are terrible in rain. I have had to use Synthetic oil since my 2nd oil change because it was low on oil. I am really not happy with this car. I have 80,000 miles on it now and I drive 100 highway miles a day. It doesnt seem like it is going to last as long as my 2003 Toyota Highland that has 299,000 miles on it and never replace the first think except tires, brakes and spark plugs. The toyota was an excellent vehicle!!!!

• 

  money pit - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By disappointed - December 13 - 7:16 am

  I bought this car with 38,000 miles on it. The check engine light came on as soon as the 3 month warranty was up. Ive replaced the transmission and the check engine light was still on as it was after the 3 times I changed the catalytic converter. Doesnt accelerate going uphill and slow merging into traffic. The inside is cheap plastic.

• 

  Dont waste your money - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By billg - December 12 - 9:20 pm

  This is the 2nd Sorento we purchased. The first had a thumping in the drive shaft, after three replacements and a redesigned one and many other leaks and issues Kia bought it back. Mistakenly, I though it could be one bad SUV in a field of good ones. The second has leaky seals, a broken oil pressure sensor and now the rear differential went out in it, all at less than 15,000 miles. We take excellent care of our vehicles, my other truck has over 200K miles. Yes, the warranty is good, but what is the point if vehicle is always in the shop. Please do not waste your money on this SUV.

• 

  2004 Kia Spectra - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By kwitcherbytchn - November 30 - 5:20 pm

  This is my second new car. I bought it for the warranty. And now I regret it. The gas mileage is horrible. Im lucky to get 25 mpg. I had a Saturn and was getting 31 mpg. The trans kicks when accelerating, it makes funny noises on and off.