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:

• 

  2 months and already MAJOR issues?? - 2012 Kia Soul
  By rs33983 - July 10 - 11:56 am

  The headrest are EXTREMELY uncomfortable for a 60" person. Less than 2 moths old and in service for 3 different items. A bad vibration on interstate. The power door locks malfunctioning. A rattling noise at warm start up in the engine. Very disappointed.

• 

  I think I made a mistake - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By MaybeAMistake - July 3 - 10:00 am

  Like others - we purchased the Sedona because of the price. My wife and I have had it in the shop at least 3 times for the air conditioner. Now, the steering column makes a clunky noise. They ordered a "new steering column". Then... THEY SOLD OFF KIA - the next nearest dealer is about 90 minutes away. Im not feeling too good about the purchase. Also, the windshield cracked and cracked quickly.

• 

  Disappointed. - 2003 Kia Rio
  By addii - July 1 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car second hand from a guy who drove mostly highway. In the few months that I have owned it The hatchback has locked up several times, the drivers side door only works half the time (meaning I have to climb out the passenger seat). The car has stalled on me in mid-intersection. The engine light came on and car started to lug, had to pull over it lost all acceleration. The engine constantly revs and drops back down making it impossible to get to the speed you want easily. The back right window will not open from drivers panel. Overall Im really unhappy with this car and regret buying it.

• 

  Extremely Disappointed - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By James Appling - June 28 - 6:23 pm

  I now believe I made a mistake buying this vehicle. I thought it was going to be a great investment. Not so. The gas mileage is poor and there is this extremely annoying wind noise on the drivers side. based on other commentary, it would seem that it can not be fixed. Yeah, the vehicle does not look great but we bought it for the features and the price. We are very disappointed and are looking at our options of getting something else. It does not handle particularly well on the road. It has a tendency to float and I can almost see the gas gage move. Like one other guy said, I guess you get what you pay for.

• 

  Will never buy Kia again - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By shawna - June 28 - 10:00 am

  We bought our Sorento 2 years ago with 46,000 miles on it, since then we have had nothing but problems. The clock never worked, and the radio never worked. We have brought it in for recall repairs a number of times. Now at 63,000 miles the engine started rattling, the warning lights came on, and it wont steer. It is our family vehicle and we only average 11,000 miles per year.

• 

  Constantly in the shop - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By wspd16 - June 27 - 2:06 pm

  This is my first brand new car. Unfortunately also the worst. Problems stated at 3000 miles. Engine light is on almost every time I bring it in for any type service. All 4 power window motors went. Transmission problems, engine problems, wheel bearing problems, 4X4 problems, Defroster takes forever to clear front wind shield, cup holders broke easily. Vehicle had much more down time than its worth. Service department had to repeat their work two and three times before vehicle would run right for certain repairs.

• 

  brake problems and gas pedal problems - 2006 Kia Rio
  By karen - June 25 - 5:36 pm

  Purchased because of the cost and size along with good mileage. I have had 3 brake cylinders replaced in less than 1 year two of them on the same side and still my brakes are squeaky and at times making noises that I have never had before in any vehicle I have ever driven. They seem unwilling or unable to diagnose the real problem. I am very disatisfied with the car. Problems with the gas pedal sticking 1st thing in the morning and they are unable to find the problem with that as well. Im unhappy with the car.

• 

  Appealing Value, Poor Quality. - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Florian - June 20 - 2:00 am

  2004 Kia Optima LX 4-Cylinder Automatic: Dashboard Rattles along with steering wheel when car is on idle, and this is at only 8230 Miles on the Odometer. Trashy loud Engine, No ABS (even as an option), Vague Steering Feel. One of the poorest re-sale values on the market. Easily purchase the Suzuki Verona over this, its smoother has a comparable warranty and has more features for roughly or the same or even lower price, Korean cars are just not up to Japanese Standards. A Used Camry or Accord would also be smart. Dont let the Warranty fool you, how inconvenient to have the car in the shop.

• 

  Back Again - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By bobby83 - June 11 - 3:22 am

  I wrote one of the first reviews on this car in Jan 2010. At that time, it was great. Since that time, I wish I never made the purchase. One fine day, all of the oil leaked out due to a bad seal. After 3 attempts to repair, finally got fixed. Now, about every five to six days Im blessed with check engine light for a misalligned cam shaft or crank shaft. How nice. And the rattles that have developed - about six as best I can count. The seats rattle, the rear hatch rattles. the dasboard rattles. And the ride is noisy when driving on anything other than smooth roads. Pulls to right, had fixed twice, to no avail. Bloothooth - no good. Gas milage is bad. Never again. Goodbye.

• 

  Steering and Milage are Horrible - 2013 Kia Optima
  By whd13b - June 7 - 10:19 pm

  First I must start with, the car looks beautiful. Remington Red is a real show stopper. Seats are super comfortable and interior spacious. Needs more storage compartments. Gas wise, horrible. Im averaging 23 mpg, and Eco changes nothing but the way it drives. Moving on to steering. Refuses to stay on center while driving. Pulls to the left, then when straightened out, goes to the right. Back and forth, but always over steers to the left when on a center plane surface. Very exhausting when driving on the straight run highways off highway, almost caused a few accidents veering into the opposite lane while taking my eyes off the road for a split second to turn AC on or equivalent. Bad!