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:

• 

  Rio - 2004 Kia Rio
  By mickshapiro - June 27 - 10:00 am

  Its been great so far! Milage, comfort, design, all very good.Ive owned concordes and intrepids that had the luxury upgrades that seem to have more problems AND the warranty was not as good!

• 

  What a Great Car! - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By DAVID - June 26 - 2:03 pm

  This car is unbelievable. It is the best car I have ever owned and I have owned some pretty expensive cars. It has a very smooth ride and wonderful luxuries. It is very roomy and has a big trunk.

• 

  MY Kia - 2008 Kia Optima
  By kiaman - June 26 - 10:30 am

  When researching all the cars in the same class as my Optima I know I got more bang for my buck over every other car.

• 

  super ride and economy - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Art Katser - June 23 - 6:53 pm

  As the price of fuel goes up, my attitude toward this car goes up appropriately. Its fun to drive and my Spectra5 looks as great as it rides.

• 

  One year later - 2009 Kia Optima
  By Big John - June 22 - 10:03 pm

  Basically no complaints except tire grip on snowy roads is severely lacking, when trying to go uphill from a stop. Never had this problem with a Rio. After servicing the transmission it began to chatter when slowing down. This shouldnt be happening with an automatic transmission. Went to the local dealer for all service, (not Charlies Kia), not happy with the service personnel. Theres a gasoline odor getting into the cabin intermittently but the local dealer says they cant duplicate the problem. Car still gets 32 mpg HW and hugs a dry road excellently. The original tires are about half way worn out and look worn evenly across the width. Theyve been rebalanced once.

• 

  I love my new KIA Sportage! - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Stephanie Smith - June 21 - 8:20 am

  I love my new 2005 KIA Sportage!!! It drives like a dream! It turns tightly and doesnt ever feel like it is leaning when you turn. It has great pick-up and smooth shifting. I love all the storage and the upholstery and carpeting. The standard alarm and keyless entry and sunroof were great bonuses! Best of all is the 10 year 100,000 mile drivetrain warranty and the 5 year 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty! How can you beat that?

• 

  2013 Kia Optima EX - Purchased with 16k miles - 2013 Kia Optima
  By Chuck Hotaling - June 20 - 2:23 pm

  Excellent value and good fuel economy. Acceleration is strong for a 4 cyl vehicle. Handles good, although power steering at times feels weak. We got our care for $16,500 on Dec 2015 with 16k miles. Purple/redish color with tan leather seats.

• 

  Best PHEV - 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid
  By Chris Doan - June 19 - 11:17 am

  Ive owned BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz in the lasts 10 years and have been shopping around for a PHEV for months. I was considering and test driving the Ford Fusion Energi, Chevy Volt, Totoyta Prius, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Huyndai Sonota Hybrid, Tesla Model S but finally traded in my Mercedes for a KIA Optima EX PHEV for its styling, infotaiment system, technologies, range, price/value ratio, long warranty. This car met all my expectations: stylish, smooth/quiet/comfortable interior, reasonable EV range. It did deliver the 29 all EV range as advertised. Ive installed a 240V outlet and used an inexpensive level 2 charger I bought from Amazon.com for less than $250, it charged the car from empty to full battery in less than 3 hours. Well done KIA!

• 

  After 1 day, nearly perfect - 2016 Kia Optima
  By Scott - June 17 - 12:06 pm

  I purchased my Optima SXL last night. I feel like I stole it. With the $2500 rebate, I paid under 29k for the car. Yes, you read that correctly, UNDER $29k. Thanks to a GM who honored a price shown on his website that the salesman claimed was a mistake.. But after I contacted the GM telling him that the salesman told me the online price from another dealer is always a lie, then when their price was $10 less, I called them out on it.. and so they basically had to eat their own words, or practice a bait and switch on pricing as they accused another dealer of doing. That turned out to be my gain! The tech on this car is incredible. I ding the car a little because for some reason there is no Homelink garage opener in this car. I will have to decide if I want to keep a transmitter in the car, or opt to pay for dealer installed option review mirror with Homelink. There is a little bit of turbo lag, but other than that, the car is very quick. Steering is a little softer than I am used to, as I am coming from and Acura. Acuras typically have very tight steering. All of the feature on this car are awesome.. Huge sunroof, heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, and all of the accident mitigation built in is awesome. This car feels very high end and very expensive. I am surprised this is a KIA. I didnt think I would EVER own one, but here I am. Even the 10-spoke chrome wheels look almost identical to that on the Jaguar XJ. The attention to detail is great. Little bits of chrome in all of the right places.. illuminated outside door handles when you approach, and red painted calipers. I am still shocked that I bought a KIA and even more so to say after 1 day, that I LOVE my KIA. Ill do another review after I have had the car for a few weeks.

• 

  Sorento ex - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Linda - June 15 - 10:20 pm

  I really love this car. I was very hesitant to even consider a foreign made auto, but I was stopped next to a sorento Ex at a red light and couldnt take my eyes off. So I immediatly rushed to the nearest dealer to test drive. It is very smooth to drive, and exceptionally roomy. The exterior is aero dynamically designed. I purchased the 2-tone ex model. It is just amazing how many options are standard equipment. Kia has done a superb job. The gas mileage could be better, but it is a small price to pay when safety is involved. Wheel base is short,makes for a slight uncomfortable bump over speed bumps, etc, but overall, this is a fabulous car. All I need now are arm rests