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 WORK KIA - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By JERSEY TONY - September 3 - 1:30 pm

  Just purchased this truck after extensive research and review reading. Truck is great. Visibility is outstanding. Styling is sharp. Vehicle handles like a car. Only down side is the transmission is definitely gear wrong. Shifts to quick, but what I have found is kia has done this on purpose to help stop people like me from flooring it and wasting all that gas. When truck gets going it has balls. Features that come standard are extensive. Kia good job! I would buy this in a heart beat if I had to do it all over. Such a fun car to drive.

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  BMW, Lexus, Lincoln or Kia? - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Kevster - September 1 - 10:00 am

  I needed a new SUV and started the old search/compare deal. I test drove all the brands, and then finally Kia. For me, luxury and price were the issues. Dont get me wrong, the BMW is nice and Lexus is smooth as silk, but when I compared the features in my EX luxury model with those of the others, I just couldnt see spending the extra 10 to 30K. Research aside, I have to say that my Sorento purchase is the smartest thing Ive done in years. I just love this car, its comfortable, drives well, has OK gas mileage and I didnt spend a mint to have the status of a certain logo, cause honestly, thats the only differnce in the Kia and BMW X-5. Really.

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  Love my Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By dkvia - September 1 - 6:04 am

  I purchased my Amanti new in 2004. It now has 169,000 miles on it. It has been a great car. Regular maintance has kept it running perfectly. Putting it in the shop tomorrow for a oil leak & power steering exchange, $600, cheaper than a new car. I WISH Kia was still making this car! Been looking for used Amanti with low mileage to run for another 10 years.

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  2013 Kia Rio5 EX - 2013 Kia Rio
  By wjaamod - September 1 - 5:39 am

  I bought my Rio with 73 miles on it. Ive only had it for about 2 weeks, but so far Im loving it. The Eco feature is hard to get used to, but its a really neat thing once youre accustomed to it. Its got a good amount of pep to it, actually. I love how spacious it is inside. Im over 6 feet tall, and I can sit in the backseat (and front) very comfortably. The little features like the folding side mirrors are great. The inside and outside dont feel cheaply made at all. I am thoroughly impressed with Kias work on this one.

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  Seriously its a KIA! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By JordansKoup - August 31 - 3:00 am

  Look I am a die hard Nissa/Infiniti lover, but I was tired of my 07 Versa. This time around I researched forever and narrowed down to the Nissan Sentra SR and the Kia Forte Koup. I bought the EX koup. I love 2 door cars and ultimately that was the deciding factor in the purchase, well that and the warranty. I drive quite a bit and wanted something that I would be happy driving all the time. So far not one disappointment with this car. Now I know its a KIA and that may be hard to stomach, but please give it a try. You will not be disappointed. And really if your buying it for a race car, dont its not and neither are any cars in a compact class. These class of cars are not Ferraris!!!!

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  Lots of features for budget family - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By billcsho - August 30 - 6:10 am

  I was looking for a car to replace my 13yr old Saturn wagon with more passenger and cargo capacity and a moon roof. We set a budget of $20k and had our eyes on the Mazda5 for the past several years. Recently we realized the Rondo to be the only direct competitor of Mazda5 that fulfilled our requirements. It has good mpg for my daily driving mostly on local. Highway mpg is slightly lower than expected but should be improved after breaking in. The V6 has good acceleration and is very quiet. The second row is roomy even with someone sitting in the 3rd row. With the $4K cash rebate, we got it loaded with options (leather, moonroof, 6CD/MP3, etc) and still within our budget.

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  Great Vehicle! - 2017 Kia Soul
  By Coy - August 29 - 8:32 pm

  Great Vehicle for My Granddaughter.

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  It really grows on you - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Allan J Birmantas - August 27 - 2:23 pm

  I have rated this car before (see mickeyrom), but since I have put a few thousand miles on it, it has really grown on me. All the bugs are now out of it and I have finally found a dealer who has a great service dept., so I am glad I bought this car. MPG in city remains poor, but in every other way it has met or exceeded my expectations. Once I figured out how to use the steering column adjustments, I easily and comfortably fit my 6 ft frame into the seat. It actually has more driver space than my 97 Town and Country. I would strongly recommend this brand and this model to friends.

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  love my new car - 2016 Kia Optima
  By hope robinson - August 26 - 5:24 am

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  fun - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Joan Rives - August 26 - 2:00 am

  Fun to drive, Easy to park, the view is outstanding, radio/cassette/cd very nice, leather seats and 6 captain seats, plenty of room on the inside, sun roof is a plus. All controls are easy to get to and read. Cruise in steering wheel.