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 Vehicle so far - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Fred - October 27 - 10:53 am

  Purchased in July, thanks to cash for clunkers, and So far I love the Sportage. We got the Smokey Brown color and constantly get compliments. We lug around our 3 kids with the oldest being 14 and they love it as well. It is suprisingly roomy. High safety marks,amenities you find in much pricier vehicles, and a great warranty are just icing on the cake.

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  Great minivan - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Eric Hougland - October 27 - 10:00 am

  Preforms well, has plenty of power from either a stop or when one might pass on two lane road. It fits our family well for all our needs and the family dog. The warrenty tells me that Kia is confident in their product

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  Absolutely LOVE this car!! - 2012 Kia Forte
  By sarbronson - October 27 - 12:14 am

  I bought my car two weeks ago and I am so happy with it! I have four kids ages 13-4 including a car seat and we fit comfortably in this car!! My transaction was clean, and simple and I cannot recommend this car enough!

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  No more sports cars - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By JA Lewallen - October 26 - 11:23 pm

  Since I have always driven sports cars, this was a drastic change for me! But definitely a change for the better. I really liked the looks of the ones I saw on the street, so decided to drive one. I couldnt believe the comfort and the smooth ride. It handled like a dream.Getting in and out is a breeze and now I actually have room for groceries!

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  Fun car with lots to offer - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By SStar - October 26 - 11:07 pm

  Ive owned my Sportage for about a month now and I am in love. I had a 2007 Mazda3 for 9 years, so this car to me is luxurious and an upgrade in every way. Having the extra packages makes me feel like I have the SX for the EX price (minus the turbo too, obviously). Its a really fun car, looks different, I feel like I dont need to use a muscle. Its just everything I ever wanted!

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  Its money in your wallet - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Blackstealth - October 25 - 7:53 pm

  I bought a 2006 Kia Spectra manual, ABS, sunroof, black. For a foreign car its great. Of course it is small but everything else is great. This car is the greatest on turns buta little slow on the go. The dealer though ripped me off!

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  EXCELLENT CAR - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By PAUL - October 24 - 2:33 pm

  Love this car. Plenty of power with the V6 engine. Drove to Pittsburgh from New York and then to upstate Saratoga NY. Averaged 25 mpg on the highway with the air conditioner on full blast. A real fun and easy car to drive. No real complaints to date.

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  Another KIA with poor MPG... - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By padriver1979 - October 23 - 9:17 pm

  My wife and I purchased a Spicy Red 2011 Kia Sorento LX AWD in March 2010. The vehicle has 16,000 miles on it and we have yet to see over 20 mpg on a full tank of gas 50 city/50% highway. The original sticker said 21-28. The EPA changed the ratings for the 2012 and 2013 Sorentos I believe but not the 2011 models. Why? I contacted my local dealership and they said that the AWD 4 cyl should not even be sold in two cities--SF and Pgh due to the amount of hills. I would hate to see what the V6 gets if a 4 cyl is getting 20 in mixed driving conditions. In 2012 we leased a 2013 Optima LX thinking that perhaps Kias MPG on sedans would be better. False--19/20mpg. Buyer beware of Kia!

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  Kias are GREAT - 2004 Kia Optima
  By dbstory - October 23 - 6:03 pm

  I traded in a brand new Nissan Sentra to get this car. The dealer went out of their way to put me in this beautiful silver V6 with power everything. So far my only problem is the battery is dead in my key FOB already. I can live with that -- the car came with two FOBS.

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  Excellent Little Car! - 2002 Kia Rio
  By April - October 23 - 5:03 pm

  This vehicle has made me consider never buying an American car again! I love my little Kia Rio and have never had any major problems with it except routine work. I have an hour commute to work, so I needed something with better gas mileage, and this certainly has it. Having never driven a four cylinder before, I was worried that I wouldnt like the slower pick-up. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how fast it could go to 70 or 75 on the freeway. Also, for such a small car it is awfully roomy (This is coming from someone who is 510 keep in mind)