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 upsized mid level suv - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By rich - January 4 - 8:54 pm

  looked at several others including the Honda crv and the Subaru forrester and couldnt believe the additional size and value in this car. I have 2000 miles on it since it was leased and I love it. the interior materials are not cheap but very soft and rich looking. the controls while incorporating touch technology still have a lot of buttons and dials which I personally love. great sounding satellite radio and the noise level from outside is minimal. I have the 240 horse turbo and was concerned with the low milage epa estimates for the car thinking I would be lucky to get 22-23 miles per gallon. I changed the selection for the engine to echo mode when I drove it home and it has been there ever since. I have the awd and I have consistently averaged 25 + miles since new. I have not had any lack of power in this mode and will continue to leave it there. back seats very roomy and had three adults back there going out to eat the other night with no issues. back storage area very large also. another nice feature which I havent had to use yet is the locking hub mode for deep snow etc. great car at a wonderful price.

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  Great Commuter Car - Thumbs UP! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By billddrummer - January 3 - 11:13 pm

  Bought this vehicle seeking reasonable price point and good fuel economy. The car delivers both with excellent results! I have daily multi-destination commutes and put nearly 600 miles/week on this vehicle among 3 drivers. We routinely get 30+ miles/gallon in mixed driving, and the car is comfortable for all of us, ranging from 55" to over 6 feet. Seats are wide enough for middle-aged spread, and pickup in lower gears is exceptional. No complaints from this happy owner! Check this out before buying a Honda or Toyota Corolla.

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  Wow, We love it - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By satterlee - January 3 - 12:10 pm

  It is a pleasure to drive. Comfortable ride and precise steering.

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  Honda, Toyota, and Nissan-----LOOK OUT!!! - 2012 Kia Optima
  By mojonphx - January 3 - 9:10 am

  This car is amazing, after dismal repairs on my 2009 Honda Accord EX-L, I gave in on my frustrations and traded in the car for a brand new 2012 Kia Optima EX with Tech and Prem packages. The car is so much nicer than the Accord and a pleasure to drive. I have already put 3k miles on the car in one month because it is so addicting to drive and it turns heads wherever I go and people always ask "Thats a KIA?" I highly recommend it and dont pass it by because it is a KIA, the brand has made drastic changes and it definitely shows. My Honda Accord was my third and last Honda and I will not be going back.

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  2016 Forte - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Carolyn - January 3 - 4:25 am

  Put on comfortable shoes, take your umbrella, and take your time and enjoy your shopping.

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  Great Vehicle for the $$$ - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Happy camper - December 31 - 2:00 am

  When I started looking into the SUV market I had never considered KIA. Korean made....how good can it be? A visit a to a local dealership and a test drive soon convinced me. I was very impressed with the overall quality of the vehicle. It is very well made, offers a great ride, comfortable, 5 star crash test rating, awesome sound system. The performance in snow is outstanding. It is not the best vehicle on the road for fuel economy however. Then again you are lugging around slightly over 4300 lbs so it is about as good as you can expect from a SUV of this size. It is not a Lexus but then again it is not 40K plus. Simply put it is a Great Vehicle for the $$$.

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  AWSOME - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Azmale - December 30 - 1:13 am

  I just recently bought this vehicle and it has been the most fun to drive being a valet by day i drive many high end vehicles and this is so much bang for the buck the V6 is powerful the ride is wonderful ive already put many miles on it and i plan to put alot more on it!!!

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  Excellent SUV - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By bevro - December 28 - 1:36 pm

  Just bought this car the end of August. I have now reached my first 1000 miles. I have had no problems with this vehicle in any way. Great on gas. I do mostly highway averaging 35 miles per day. 1 full tank of gas has lasted me all 7 days, and even have enough fuel to get me through the rest of my week. No problems with interior and exterior. So far, this is the best car i have owned for some time. I get huge compliments from family, friends and co-workers, even the big boss. No regrets yet.

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  Update after 10k miles and 7 mos. - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By rocknronnie - December 27 - 11:30 pm

  Update on my Sorento. The Sorento has lost a little luster since new. I have yet to experience the common strut noise, however if anyone has a rattle noise coming from driver side roof area, remove the left rear grab handle on roof and see if it goes away. Worked for me. HVAC blower fan bearing is making noise now. Just installed a trailer hitch. With only four bolts, twenty minutes later I was done. Mileage continues to impress as engine breaks in. So far so good, I am starting to wonder if the Borrego would have been a better choice.

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  3rd update - 2011 Kia Optima
  By donnie71281 - December 26 - 2:56 am

  Ive now had my EX-Turbo for 13 months. Just hit 8,000 miles. I still love the car as much as I did the day I got it. Not had a single problem with the car. I have no complaints with the fuel economy at all. Yes, the Nexen tires are noisy, but once those are changed the car is extremely quiet. Makes our Accord sound like a wind tunnel. I would buy this car all over again. No regrets.