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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  My worst car ever - 2007 Kia Optima
  By IdahoFallsLisa - November 2 - 6:36 pm

  I have had nothing but problems with my 2007 Kia Optima. The warranty is useless as you have to jump though hoops and pay crazy costs just to keep up the warranty. They recently replaced both my engine and transmission and the car runs awful. The dealership says that they have performed all the work that Kia would re-imburse them for.

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  Great car except back seats do not work - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Lisa Reilly - October 14 - 11:18 pm

  The rear seat latch does not work. Had it repaired three times because it kept breaking. We just past 60K and the seat is stuck down. KIA wants to charge us $900 to fix a defective seat. We can not even sit in it and can not get it upright. Corporate fixed it before for free since this is a KNOWN DEFECT but now they say tough luck. Never buying a KIA again!

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  Blown Motor with just 105,000 miles on it. - 2012 Kia Optima
  By David - September 14 - 4:29 pm

  I bought my 2012 Optima LX brand new. Kept up with oil changes and used it almost exclusively for commuting on the highway. Without warning the motor started knocking and squealing on the freeway and then died. Had it towed to KIA who said that the engine needs replacement. Since I am 5,000 miles beyond the 100,000 mile warranty they will not cover anything and gave me a quote of about $7,000 to replace the motor. Although I absolutely loved this car, this is unacceptable. It appears that I am not the only person who has experienced blown engines with the Kia Optima. Now I have a car that is only half way paid for and I have to come up with 7k to fix it. I will never buy a Kia again.

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  KIA Motors Unfair to Consumers - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Pirate62 - July 28 - 2:00 am

  I bought a KIA and had the thing for 1 year. An electrical fire behind dash destroyed car. I called KIA and asked them to correct this issue. KIA refused.

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  Go have 10 root canals! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By dean_o - June 26 - 10:19 am

  This was the most painful vehicle I have ever owned. We bought it used, and with in the first month had to have 2 transmissions put in. What kind of car needs that? The interior is just an awful design. The alternator went 3 times! The front wheel mounts on both sides were shot. The seat belt buckle broke, come one. The cruise control worked went it wanted too. And for 3 years the check engine light was on and after numerous checks by mechanics no one could get it to turn off and stay off. If you have a choice of someone giving you a Kia Spectra or having to pay for 10 root canals... take the root canals!

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  BEWARE!! Dont buy a Kia Optima - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Bev - May 4 - 8:36 am

  We purchased our Kia Optima 12/26/07, big mistake, not to long after we started having trouble. Started out with the trunk opening up either going down the road or while it was parked. Hesitation driving between 40 & 55, then the lifters started making noise. Cruise control came on for no reason, & the list goes on. We took it to the dealer many times & they just told us that they couldnt duplicate the problem so nothing was wrong with it. We finally took it to a certified mechanic & found the problem in a couple of hours, that the service department where we bought the car didnt/wouldnt find. Resale value is in the dump. Its not worth the money.

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  Never buy a Kia...Worst decision ever - 2012 Kia Optima
  By Michelle - April 20 - 1:41 am

  Kia Optima sucks!! At 55,000 miles engine seized and we were forced to replace it even though there was a warranty but Kia ALWAYS finds a way out of paying as can be seen by the reviews. Now at 90,000 miles car transmission or Turbo is going out so car is now going back into shop. Two weeks ago wire harness broke some how and severe several wires causing the brake system to go out! And if you call a Kia dealer all they will tell you is how great the Optimas are and why they would own them.... I offered to sell him mine on the spot, even told him that since his mechanic replaced motor that car should be perfect right??? There needs to be a mandatory recall o these cars immediately before someone is killed!!!! I want mine gone already!!!

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  DO NOT BUY - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By hwoodward - March 2 - 1:36 pm

  I bought my Sorento in March of 2010 and started having problems with it in May. I have had it in the shop 41 days and counting since then. It will stall going 55-70mph and lose power until you stomp the gas again. Kia has been horrible to us and now they have the vehicle and are not providing us a car to drive because and I quote "this is only a nuissance not a safety issue!" I am a mother of a little boy and they may not care but I do care if something happens with my child in the car. We have turned the case over to BBB and am praying for the best. Do not buy if you want reliablity and service after the sell.

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  Bad experience w/ Kia vehicle & service - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Laura - February 6 - 3:36 am

  I bought Kia Sedona 2007 due to my past good experience with products from Samsung and I was fooled by 10 year 100,00 miles warranty. The vehicle broke down within 1 year and took them 4 months to find what was wrong. Before they found out the root cause, they blamed me for putting a wrong type of gas in the tank. They told me that their vehicles do not take gas from Costco, Wal-Mart or Quick Trip. This 10 year, 100,000 miles is not the sign of their confidence on their products, but a fake cover over their bad quality products and services. I almost had heart attacks dealing with their people. I hope you do not have to go through what I have gone through.

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  KIA means Killed in Action - 2013 Kia Sportage
  By gj8 - February 6 - 2:20 am

  The 2013 was recalled for the FCV. The new software upload killed the performance of my vehicle. My son, whos built turbos since 1995 says this:This new Software seems to keep the turbo’s waste gate open too much during Wide Open Throttle causing the turbo not to “Spool Up” all the way resulting in boost loss, and obviously power loss. My question is, why update the software, instead of replacing a potentially faulty part that part being the FCV or Fuel Control Valve? Oh yeah, it’s cheaper than re-engineering of the faulty FCV, and replacing it with one that does not have a design flaw, better and even more expensive is, why not replace it with a tried and true fuel pressure regulator. This car is owned by a woman who used to race cars....I know the difference in turbo boost and loss.