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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  piece of &%$#...... - 2005 Kia Optima
  By joel29m - February 8 - 2:59 pm

  ive been getting work done on this car since the first year we had it! problems: 2 batteries, timing belt, condenser, lights, 3 thermostats, motor mounts, valve cover gasket leaks, oem car stereo, air bag, tension pully, and rear seatbelt. bought it in 2005, and getting rid of asap!!! got into it with the dealer about the warranty, and it only has 89,000 miles and had more ##@# done to it than my 91 corolla by 80%!!!!

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  Great Family Car With Lots of Goodies - 2012 Kia Optima
  By nomis68 - February 8 - 10:17 am

  I came to this 2012 Optima from a 2010 Mazdaspeed3. With a new son the Speed3 just wasnt doing it. This Optima is the real deal! The ride is smooth in my opinion and the handling is tight. The cabin looks great in the SX. I love the Infinity sound system, it sounds GREAT for a factory system. The iPod interface works great and the Nav. system is about as good as it gets. The panoramic sunroof is just plain cool. The heated and cooled front seats will come in real handy here in St. Louis. The backseats are almost as comfy as the front ones, back seats being heated is pretty sweet. The style of the exterior is awesome, slick lines, LED taillights, xenon headlights. This car ROCKS!

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  I kind of like mine - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Clayk - February 8 - 10:00 am

  Granted, the body is cheaply made and the paint is very poor, But I did not expect much for the price. I bought it for disposable transportation. It runs very well, is comfortable adnfairly roomy. I drive the living daylights out of it and it has never given me any problems. i did replace the very bad original tires and spark plug wire, but other than that, I change the oil, put gas in it and go.

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  Aching back - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By mark chrisopher - February 8 - 10:00 am

  The "adjustable" seats are very uncomfortable. An extended drive (30+min) leave my back aching. The seat belt buckle digs into my thigh. The plastic interior is shoddy. The car never settles into 5th gear but keeps on winding...very irritating.

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  Best value compact sedan - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Choon I. Lee - February 8 - 10:00 am

  This new Spectra rocks. I needed a small econmic car for commute rather than driving my Suburban everyday. I got the most for my money compared to Mazda 3, Civic, Corola, and Elantra. It cost thousands dollors less with lots of standard features like side curtain air bags. This is a very important safety feature for me because I have two kids. It handles good on the freeway and the engine is powerful enough for the size. The body design looks good and the interior offers a large passenger space.

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  Kia Sedona - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By PAL - February 8 - 6:36 am

  Its nice to drive and solid. Consumes more gas and getting only 14 mpg. Brakes are very bad and make a weird sound within 10 miles. Tires are very bad.

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  Borrego EX V6 - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By Sand Man - February 6 - 7:33 pm

  I was coming out of a Leased Chevrolet Silverado and wanted to find a good buy on another lease. This was the ticket. I love the ride, pick up and the towing capability. I have had the SUV for a year and have yet to see another one on the road. I like that. I test drove the V8 but it has some lag in the take off. The V6 doesnt have any lag. It will put you back in your seat. I dont drive it hard just nice to know that the power is there when you need it.

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  One Year Review - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Carlos L. Ortiz - February 6 - 2:00 am

  Excellent small cheap car. Great city milleage. Exceptional air conditioner system and nice stereo. Very reliable. Already over 15k miles, and have only had to do oil changes. Spending only about $40 a month on gas, or less. Still using same original tires and brakes. Very peppy engine, good for the hills.

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  And The Winner Is - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Gary - February 5 - 1:35 pm

  Seven Month Update: Per my original review, the 2017 Sportage is exceptional in every way. If you enjoy driving and you are in the market for a compact SUV there is just nothing else in this price range, that uses regular unleaded that even comes close to delivering the pleasure of driving the Sportage. Every morning, 7 months later I still look forward to taking it out on the road. The car has a beautiful silhouette that I just never tire of looking at. Seats in the EX are extremely comfortable. The car is easy to park and has plenty of hp to get you on the highway safely. The car is super quiet at least compare to my previous Honda CRVs. The safety features and camera that come with the EX Premium Package work flawlessly as does the whole multi-media interface for easy connections to your cell phone or Ipad. The vehicle is rock solid not a squeak or rattle anywhere. Buying a car is a totally subjective thing but if like myself, there is or was a reluctance to try a Korean car as opposed to an American or Canadian made Japanese vehicle......I think with 2017 the entire Kia line up shows a depth of quality, performance and design sophistication that Honda, Mazda, Toyota and Subaru just dont feel they need to step up to. Would highly recommend that you include both the Sportage on your test drive list. I’m going into week three with my 2017 Sportage EX with AWD and the EX Premium Package and just enjoy the heck out of it. I had crossed shopped the Kia with the Honda CRV and Mazda CX5. Other then gas mileage, the CRV is lacking in every category from ride quality, to handling, to quiet on the road, to the electronics and design language. In terms of design, Honda’s approach is to add 4 pieces of fake chrome and call it a mid cycle refresh. I happen to have had a 2016 CRV rental for 10 days and found the CVT yet another Honda attempt to convince us that it was worth sacrificing any pleasure at all in the driving experience for gas mileage and it just ain’t so. I’m a 6 time Honda owner including 3 CRVs and if the Kia delivers on the reliability I’m hoping for, those will probably be my last Hondas. The Mazda CX5 Touring with AWD was seemingly a less expensive and attractive alternative to the Kia in spite of it being 4-year-old technology, at least until you go just a bit under the skin. Check out the 61 complaints on the NHSTA website for the 2016 CX5, most of which focus on catastrophic failures of the transmission. In fact, look at blogs across the world including New Zealand and Australia, its a worldwide problem. And borrowing right from the movie Fight Club, the Old GM Handbook and Ford Pinto Directives, Mazda has taken the position that its cheaper to put their CX5 customers in harms way then to retool and fix the problem. All a Mazda Representative could say about the transmission failures was: the problem usually doesn’t happen twice to the same person. If that wasn’t enough to discourage me, there are the strange interior ergonomics of the vehicle with the cup holder placement too far back and thus impossible to use for your GPS, the poor rearward visibility and the location of the armrest. I also drove, to my great disappointment, the Hyundai Tuscon which at least for 2017 had probably the worst, under powered, turbo engine Ive ever experienced. I cant believe that anyone in Hyundai top management even bothered to drive the car before they green lighted it. You hit the gas, Nothing happens for 2-3 seconds and the the vehicle begins to move. A total disaster of an engine. The Sportage reminds me in a general way of the Audi Q5. It drives and feels planted like a German car. When you close the doors it sounds like a German car. Its nice to know that Peter Schreyer and the engineers he works with instilled more then a look into the vehicle. All the electronics and infotainment work well and are user friendly. The back up camera, rear traffic avoidance and blind spot monitoring are great. Sound quality on the radio us better then expected. Rearward visibility is excellent. At least on paper, the Magna AWD system with locking differential is probably the most sophisticated and capable on the market other then the Quattro and Subaru systems. So all in and all, I’m very pleased with the vehicle and enjoy driving it.

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  Still Happy! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Gary - February 5 - 1:33 am

  After 2 years and 40,000 miles, I still enjoy driving to and from work every day in my Kia Sorento. My wife also bought a Sorento 9 months after I bought mine and she really likes it too. Both vehicles have been reliable so far and they handle very well on the road. I recommend the Sorento for anyone who wants an SUV but is on a budget.