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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  Soul + with 68K miles - 2011 Kia Soul
  By soulmanencore - December 20 - 6:29 am

  I purchased this vehicle new in late 2011 and have been very pleased. I commuted from southern WV to northern IN weekly for 9 months logging 1K miles per week. The car has been great in snow, mountains and all sorts of driving. I have been extremely happy and average about 28.9 miles per gallon for the types of driving that I do. I researched the Soul for quite sometime and was impressed by the low initial cost, the fuel mileage and the safety ratings. The Soul has lived up to all of these ratings and I am extremely happy with the car

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  Thank God I got out!!! - 2001 Kia Rio
  By TYLERALLEN1120AOL - December 20 - 2:00 am

  I BOUGHT MY CAR IN MARCH 2001 BRAND NEW! WHERE DO I START. LETS SEE.....WE ARE UP TO 25 TIMES IN THE SHOP AS OF TODAY! ENGINE LIGHT, AIR BAG LIGHT, LOSS OF POWER GOING 55MPH. YA WHAT ELSE DO I SAY. I HAVE A LEMON!! AND TO PROVE IT, KIA IS BUYING IT BACK. I HAVE A FEW THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE CAR, NOT ITS ENGINE, BUT I LIKE ITS HANDLING AND IT DRIVES FUN!!WHEN IT WORKS!!! BUT THE ENGINE IS, I DONT KNOW SOMETHING IN MINE WAS WRONG??? I WENT THROUGH 3 WATER PUMPS, 2 O2 SENSORS, ALL NEW ELECTRICAL WIRES, YOU NAME IT,ITS BEEN DONE TO THAT CAR. WOW! ANYONE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS?? LAWYER PLEASE!! IT HELPS!

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  service is as important - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Alani(BrightHeaven) - December 19 - 8:13 pm

  I made a cost effective purchased Nov. 2008. And until Jan. 2010 driving Sedona LX with get up and go on freeways and hills were more than expected. Jan. 2010 Alternator stop working but with excellant warranty and service I was back in my Sedona in a week. My sisters new car (other brand) had problems within a month. Shortly after purchasing my Sedona I was viewing it from a restaurant window against other vehicles and noticed how really impressive looking (color=white) it really is.

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  new to rondo - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By herb46 - December 19 - 7:50 pm

  i have owned many kias,currently a new amanti,and i have to say that many people with negative comments need to contact kia corporate !they will make sure your problems are resolved ! anyway,roommate needed to get rid of very old & tired olds ciers,so we went to my kia dealer,test drove a 2008 rondo lx-v6 with 41000 miles.all i can say is very nice ride !

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  Thats Normal for this Car - 2013 Kia Soul
  By sadjudy - December 19 - 5:35 pm

  Just got this car 2wks ago. During a rain storm I noticed condensation in front headlight. When the sun came out it cleared up. In order for it to be fixed, Kia has to examine it and they will not except the photo I took. Posted this and pic on Kia Soul Facebook. Had several responses, they have the same problem and Kia told them this is normal for that car. My 1st car hesitated at lights and turns. again several Soul owners said Normal for this car. I was proud to be a Soul owner, but not now. This is a small problem, and if my car was a couple years old it wouldnt bother me, but again this is a new car. And Kia wont do anything to satisfy a customer. This is my 2nd Soul & last 1.

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  Yes, I bought a KIA - 2009 Kia Optima
  By donald09 - December 19 - 5:33 pm

  My wife and I have only had our Optima for a couple of days. It is everything that the data says it is. We took it out for a fun run to see how it performs. We put on 140 miles and used approximately 4 gallons, 35 MPG. I couldnt get the wife to quit playing with the SAT radio, she loves it. I felt it was easy to handle in a curve, the visibility was great, the instruments were easy to read and access.

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  Economy Does Have To Be Uncomfortable - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By goldenauragirl - December 19 - 7:53 am

  I was used to a 6 cylinder and expected the car to be a lot less peppy. I was pleasantly surprised. I drove the 2 smallest cars from every Japanese and Korean automaker before I settled on this car. I found the interior of the Kia to be very comfortable.

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  Great Car! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By jck1962 - December 19 - 12:00 am

  I love this Car! I saw this car advertised in the paper and it quickly caught my eye, then i saw the price and was like wow! after a quick test drive and the usual 4 hour negotiation with a trade I drove it home and that says a lot because I loved my Nissan xterra just not the gas it was costing me for my 50 mile round trip to work.

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  trucks except dealer stinks - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By hsanantonio - December 18 - 11:46 am

  I love this truck. I used to own a US built, but that will never happen again. The performance is great. After changing to a k&n filter, the truck handled a long drive of 3k miles. I owned a Sephia before and loved the reliability of it.

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  Kia Sorento - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Blair - December 17 - 11:13 am

  I test drove numerous SUVs and for the price, there is no comparison. The Kia is an excellent choice for value and styling.