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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  Problem Child - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By hyundai_91 - September 25 - 9:26 am

  Purchased a Sportage new, 10 Service calls in the first 6 months of ownership

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  Using the Warranty a Lot!! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Tired of the hassle - September 15 - 2:00 am

  We bought this van when due with our second child. We have had a lot of challenges with it so far, and are currently working on getting out of it. Ive used the roadside assistance 3 times for a dead battery and had it in for service to replace the cam seals. The darned thing was leaking oil at 5000 miles! The car has not started on 3 separate occasions, which stinks when youre pregnant and relying on it! I would not buy one again, nor would I recommend it to friends. When it runs its a nice enough van. A bit loud, but basically a nice, albeit unreliable van.

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  kia sedona 2004 - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By chirs - September 11 - 6:26 pm

  I bought my minivan at 45,000 miles and starting 3 months later started having problems. It literally took 5 trips in for service to figure out why it was stalling out and I had a rental that they paid for at one instance for 2 months!!!!! Now Im having trouble again and it looks like a transmission issue as well as rusted out cooling lines. I would NEVER by a kia again. It is a poorly made car.

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  The service is the problem not the car - 2003 Kia Optima
  By Leann - September 4 - 10:00 am

  I have made 4 visits to kia service centers and for a simple problem with the belt squeeling. I supose today it will be fixed after the car had to be towed.

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  Dont waste your money - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By sandersfam - September 2 - 10:00 am

  We have had one problem after another with this vehicle since driving if off the lot! First, the turn signal housing went out completely and had to be replaced. The back-up camera has never worked correctly and is finally being replaced after several trips to the dealership service center. Now, the service engine light is on and the engine is missing out or dying altogether - in the middle of traffic no less! Weve never gotten the gas mileage (not even close) as advertised or on the sticker. Now, today, we get notified of a safety recall due to wiring and possible fire hazard! This is our first non-Chevy purchase and our last!

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  Sedona: Not the quality I expected - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By badexperience - August 15 - 1:03 am

  I researched minivans for 6 months prior to buying a Sedona. I really wanted a van that would last me for several years. We purchased our van from the dealer in Feb. 2004. Our problems began about 6 months later. It started randomly locking its doors. My husband was locked out once with it running and had to run home 3 miles to get the spare key. The air conditioning would every once and awhile turn hot and the car would randomly not start. They replaced the computer chip for the locking mechanism, the alternator, and the radio (it would also randomly go on and off). I have had the vehicle serviced under warranty issues approx. 7 times since Dec 2004. I am frustrated with this vehicle.

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  do not buy - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By johnson kia - August 12 - 10:00 am

  no pick up, poor gas milage.. dealship does not honor warranties, turn knobs for seat poositioning in poor location unable to use, car excellerates while at stop

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  Do NOT BUY! - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Eli - July 5 - 3:13 am

  I bought my Sorento new in 2006. Within 2 months of driving it off the lot, I had to replace a tire. At the 3 month mark, the check engine light began coming on repeatedly. In 4 years, I have gone through 2 and a half sets of tires, several tail lights and headlamps. NOW, my air compressor went out and the dealership wants $800+ to fix. Although this is an affordable car initially, it will cost you in the long run. It looks nice, but is not fuel efficient and it makes random noises when you are driving. I regret trading my Corolla for this. I will be getting another Toyota ASAP!

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  So happy to be GONE! - 2010 Kia Rio
  By stinalynn - June 4 - 3:14 am

  I bought this car because at the time, I had no choice. I needed a cheap car with a good warranty. Well, you get what you pay for! I had a small fender bender, hitting a car at 10 miles per hour. It resulted in a total breakage of the ball joint. My husband, an ASE certified master technician, took one look and could not believe the poor quality (he is convinced it broke first, causing the accident!) It was great on gas, but thats about it. I just got rid of the thing, for a beautiful Mazda crossover, and Ive never been happier!

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  no power - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Bill - June 3 - 9:46 pm

  stay away from the 1.6 liter engine, the power is similar to a 10 speed bicycle and the mileage is terrible for such a small engine. The 2.0 isnt much better, only barely adequate power, and the mileage is even worse. Whats with the all black interiors? HOT as a pizza oven in the warm weather, and sorta claustrophic. A more nuetral color would be nice. And the rear visibility STINKS. Hard to change lanes and parallel park BECAUSE YOU CANT SEE!!!