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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  There Great! - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Cyra - July 4 - 4:16 pm

  I purchased my Rondo in March of 08,and am elated with my purchase. I always owned American made prior to this but I have to say that I love this Rondo. Have put over 18,000 miles with no problems. Went on 2 trips, one in the Ozark Mountains, I4 and transmission did exceptional with plenty of power and smooth downshifting when needed. Love the roomy interior and seating position.

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  the optimal optima ! - 2016 Kia Optima
  By ernest biddle - July 4 - 2:26 pm

  balance of performance ,handling and comfort.........just about perfect!

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  Has been great for us - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Deanne - July 3 - 2:56 pm

  We love our Kia Sedona van. It handles well and is very comfortable...granted it has a bunch of bells and whistles. We have had relatively few problems and if I were to purchase a van again...it would be a Sedona. The gas mileage in town is not great but I like it on the highway. I especially like the tire monitoring system, the back seat folding down, the back windows able to go down and how much power I feel I have versus our Grand Caravan we had prior to this.

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  Outstanding car for the money - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Larry Hofmeister - July 3 - 10:00 am

  Bought this as a leftover 2002 model and have been absolutely delighted with the purchase. The car is comfortable, quiet, tight and just plain impressive for the money. This is the 3rd Kia Ive owned and Im still very pleased with value for the money.

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  Best little car we drove - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Rod - July 3 - 5:50 am

  We test drove many cars in this range, the Matrix, the Vibe and a few others. This one beat them all out and continues to impress us. 28 mpg on trips. Low entry cost and with a V6 as well. Seating for 7 so we can take extras and plenty of little storage spots. But also it is quite peppy and handles like a dream. A very welcome car after the Dodge Grand Caravan.

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  2010 Kia Forte Sedan SX - 2010 Kia Forte
  By 1joeyoung - July 3 - 4:13 am

  In several online reviews, the clutch is mentioned as a negative. I agree that the clutch is definitely "Different" in the 6spd Manual, but I think thats the way it is in many cars. While shopping, I drove a MINI, Civic Si, Genesis Coupe, all manual. Every one had different clutch characteristics. Aside from that, I really like the Forte. It has great exterior styling for a compact car, and nice interior arrangement and surfaces for a car of this price range. The seats are comfortable and the upgraded cloth of the SX feels more durable than the standard cloth seats. The trunk is surprisingly large for a car of this size.

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  Good inexpensive car, and sporty. - 2002 Kia Rio
  By EMT_Rob - July 1 - 10:00 am

  I bought a Kia Rio Sedan in light gold. The car looks catchy on the outside, while offering for the money, a decent, but no too powerful engine, good interior ergonomics, and overall great handling. You have to patient with the 96 horsepower engine getting up to speed, but take your time driving, and this sporty little car will get you around with good gas mileage and comfort for its class. Smoother ride than the comparable Toyota Echo.

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  One sweet import. - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Devin - June 29 - 11:30 pm

  After looking at Civic, Corolla, Cobalt, Mazda 3, and Spectra5, it was a pretty easy choice. Cheaper, more features, better warranty, and a hot looking car to boot. And its always nice to be able to pull up along side some little punk in a Corolla or Civic, and blow him away off the line. They dont seem to appreciate it as much as I do though....

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  Great vehicle for low price - 2009 Kia Sorento
  By schun - June 28 - 11:46 pm

  I bought this SUV to haul stuff that wont fit in my Accord. Love the roomy back seats that my 62" son-in-law can fit it comfortably. The back seats can fold down flat so I can put a large flat screen TV in the back. Great that Im seating high so I can spot pot holes before I hit them. The 10-speaker MP3/CD player sounds great(although I cant spot where all of them are). Its a fun vehicle to drive, plenty of zip when I want it. The cruise control on/off switch on steering took a little while to figure out, but work great for longer rides.

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  Fabulous vehicle - 2016 Kia Sedona
  By Peter - June 28 - 1:20 pm

  Had for over one year, two huge road trips. On 12,000 mile trip at the moment. Getting 24.5 mpg. Looked at Pacifica, didnt like. Turning circle much better on Sedona, didnt like transmission knob. Sedona can be shifted manually, was great in the Colorado mountains last week. Sedona looks and operates more like a SUV than a minivan. Zero problems. Update January 2018: The Sedona still has not had one problem. It has nearly 29,000 trouble-free miles, and has averaged 23.9 mpg in all types of driving. For some reason car reviews knock the Sedona for bad mileage. Lead foot maybe? Normal driving gets excellent mileage. Plus its quick. Car and Driver clocked it at 7.4 seconds 0-60. I had an upscale 2015 SUV as my last car and it didnt handle as well as the Sedona, was less comfortable, had much less cargo space, had poorer visibility, and on and on. To me, the minivan makes a lot more sense than an SUV -- unless you plan to go off-road, which few people do. There are other good minivans to buy, but I wouldnt trade my Sedona for any of them. Plus, it has the best warranty in the car business. Easy decision, at least for me.