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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  Dont trust their warranty - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By suckered - April 7 - 11:40 pm

  They have two maintenance schedules. No one tells you that you are under the severe schedule until you need the warranty. Transmission failed at 38K. Kia wont cover because we didnt have the transmission fluid changed at 30K per the severe schedule. Normal schedule says look at fluid and replace if needed all the way to 105K. No customer support! No dealership support! A private transmission repair shop states that the fluid is fine & that the failure is due to part failure. Kia doesnt rebuild transmissions, they replace the whole thing and keep many in stock just for this reason. I think Kia is trying to avoid a recall. Wish superman would come to our rescue.

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  When you really need a car..... - 2001 Kia Rio
  By darinordino - March 31 - 10:00 am

  Weve gotten what we expected out of our Kia Rio. It has been reliable through the first 8000 miles, so thats a good sign. Features are very good for a car that cost $11,400 out the door - A/C, multi-adjustable driver seat and armrest are nice features for an econobox. The interior space is a little cramped when putting a car seat in the back. Most surprising feature: Very low interior noise. The sound on the road sounds like a much more expensive car. Overall, if you dont expect a whole lot you may be nicely surprised at how far your dollar goes in a Kia.

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  Eye Candy leaves you with a sour taste! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Ginger Kita - March 30 - 2:00 am

  2011 Sorento EX with sun-roof and convenience pkg. V6. 3,500 mi This vehicle had a bold, yet classy exterior look.Very appealing from most angles and in most colors. Dark Cherry is still my favorite and glad I chose it (even though you lose some contrast with the various black trim (ie. fog lmaps). Interior is very nice even with cloth seats. Modern and classy (Plastic dash and arm rest could use better materials). Radio is Fair. Sun-roof broke within a few uses and makes annoying vibrations and rattles. Breaks are weak and can be grabby. Transmission has horrible down shift at ~30 mph.Suspension is terrible like a go-cart! Several vibrations and rattles inside. Ride decent on smooth roads.

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  Run Away Fast!! - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By RUN AWAY!!! - March 26 - 9:26 am

  When will the nightmare that is my car experience with a Kia end? We bought this car used. It only had 23,000 miles on it and had heard it was a very safe car and a good deal. My advice, if it is cheap, its cheap for a reason! Since owning this car three years ago, we have had to repair the brakes every year without fail. Replaced the rotors twice, the front bearings, failed wire in seatbelt and airbag, serpentine belt (along with every other belt in creation), power steering (ouch$) and the alternator. Of course all after the warranty was up and guess what, if you buy it used, you dont get the powertrain warranty! We were not told this info. So any faulty parts we must pay for. Run away!!

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  Rear suspension problems - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By jamie - March 11 - 4:46 pm

  I have only 38,300 miles on my 2007 Kia Spectra and last week developed a wobble in my left rear tire. A bolt apparently vibrated loose and after six days in the shop with nothing done I am told that it is not under warranty because this problem is "Human error." I have never had an alignment on the car yet that is what is being blamed for the problem so Kia has decided that they will not cover the repair. The tech stated that this part "Never comes loose on its own" so "I must have done something wrong." I am furious with Kia and will never purchase another car from them if they do not make this right. I have 2 warranties on this car and this is the response I get from them.Shameful service

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  Overall pretty disappointed - 2011 Kia Soul
  By addriiannaa - February 18 - 4:25 am

  I bought my 11 kia soul plus in a manual trans in june-11 At first it was a nice car, loved it..until driving it everyday it began to annoy me. The door panels were easily scratched, and stained by water which you had to SCRUB to get the marks off..opened the door in the rain and theres now water marks on the seat from RAIN.But my biggest bother is how noisy the car is, road noise and mostly ENGINE noise, it WHINES VERY LOUDLY on the highway or anything over 40mph and makes it difficult to enjoy the drive. Not a zippy car at all, boring to drive. Trading it in for an 11 optima or something a little more worth its value for what ide like, comfort, style, and fun to drive..

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  Great Car - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By Dorine - February 15 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car 4 yrs ago, with 55K miles on it. I drive over 100 miles a day and it has never gotten stuck in snow, it starts every time and only left me stranded once (needed a torque converter). Its a great car, has been hit by deer, broken into, and hit while parked, its only let me down once. Its time to move on unfortunately as it is needing a lot more attention simply because of the miles I drive, it now has 156,000 miles and keeps on going.

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  Never Again - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Skip Geisaka - February 10 - 10:23 pm

  1st two months of ownership van was in dealers shop 4 times. Right window would stick midway up. One lube, two motors, one passenger side switch replaced. Next bubbling in paint under side windows and rust under rear logo. At 2 years 3 months and 28000 miles the alternator failed and battery died. Two weeks later going on a trip van overheated and left us stranded on side of road. Towed to dealer and they claimed upper radiator hose clamp came loose and hose came off? Poor quality control and workmanship. Never again.

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  a disappointing surprise - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By harold - February 5 - 12:13 pm

  Needed a new engine when 11 months old. Clock ran 10 min fast. Headlights needed replacing every year. With 60,000 miles on the new engine it needed new coils for $1800 and was dripping oil in the garage. Lots of noise recently--needed new manifold pipes. Traded it for a Honda CRV last week. Truly a disappointment. A 10-year warranty did not cover anything but the new engine.

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  A bad choice - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By J - February 3 - 2:53 am

  I bought this SUV new 3 years ago, and liked it. However recently it started stalling when I tried to stop at traffic lights. A Kia dealership could not figure out what the problem was. The situation happens from time to time but nobody can fix it! Its a dangerous car.