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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  Eight for the moola - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Boberto - September 12 - 11:23 am

  I use this puppy to haul the ole race car around and man does it do the job. The car weighs in at about 4500 lbs and this thing drives without even knowing its there. Even with the high mileage I was surprised to see it never hurt my fuel economy. I would recommend this little engine that definitely could for anyone towing light campers and needing that 4wd to help get to those out of the way places.

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  ALL things considered, Youll love it! - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By Rick C. - September 12 - 8:53 am

  We were in the market for a mid-SUV. We saw EVERYTHING on the market out there! Considering ALL THINGS when buying a vehicle, the KIA was a no-brainer for us. No, its not a BMW or a Mercedes but then thats not our market. We wanted bang-for-the-buck and the Sportage delivered big time. I own a Lexus and I have more fun with my wifes Sportage. We got the std 5-speed manual 4 cylinder, it wont win the Autobahn but then we had real expectations. If you need zero-to-60 in 5.2 then get something else. If you want a comfortable ride with ample features at a value price then off to the Kia dealership you go. FYI, good values usually get more expensive with time. The word will soon get out. Hurry!

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  cute little car - 2010 Kia Forte
  By lady T - September 12 - 12:56 am

  I bought this care as a belated Christmas gift. It handles the road well. The bluetooth is too noisy. The passenger airbag light stays on. I carried the car back twice, but it is not corrected yet. Overall I enjoy it

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  Just plain fun to drive - 2012 Kia Sportage
  By bearow - September 11 - 7:41 pm

  It is just "plain fun" to drive my 2012 Kia Sportage. Ive had it for about 2 months and have enjoyed everything about it, including the gas mileage (avg = 26, interstate = 29). I will always love and keep my GMC Z71 for the heavy work, but at 13 mpg it had to move over for the Sportage for day-to-day driving. I like the way the Sportage holds the road, feels "in-control" & a little sporty. Ive tried the all-wheel-drive out on our Florida beach sand and it performed well (I dont recommend going 4-wheeling in the mud, but you can take it off the Hwy for normal activities without worry of getting stuck). Great value for the dollar - its a solid & fun ride!

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  kia sedona 2004 - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By chirs - September 11 - 6:26 pm

  I bought my minivan at 45,000 miles and starting 3 months later started having problems. It literally took 5 trips in for service to figure out why it was stalling out and I had a rental that they paid for at one instance for 2 months!!!!! Now Im having trouble again and it looks like a transmission issue as well as rusted out cooling lines. I would NEVER by a kia again. It is a poorly made car.

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  Kia Soul u gotta luv it - 2010 Kia Soul
  By onelegsoul - September 11 - 4:10 pm

  Just bought my Soul Sport Black (Shadow) with the sun roof. I luv the car and everything it comes with. The bluetooth is just great and the sound system rocks. You must remember the price of this car (I paid 18,900) and everything that you get, what a deal. It rides great and I have no problems with it.

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  Love my Soul - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Sara - September 10 - 5:23 pm

  I love my "Little Big" Soul. It looks small but has great room inside. I love the fact it is "different" looking than most cars on the road. Handles great.

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  Love my little car! - 2013 Kia Rio
  By Jimmie - September 9 - 10:08 pm

  I bought this car with 6 miles on it and commute 80 miles per day. Almost 4 years and 78k later, I am still in love. The only dislikes naturally go along with the Kia brand...road noise. Once you get past that, this car drives like a much more expensive one (as long as you dont think you need to accelerate like a race car driver) and is a great buy. I get an average of 36-38+ with a combination of highway/city miles AND adding the spare time (most new vehs removed this so increase gas mileage - it doesnt have a big enough impact to be without it on this model!) Only normal maintenance has been performed and I run conventional oil in it....looking forward to seeing how many miles I can get out of my little girl!

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  Exceeded Expectation- Everything Well Thought Out. - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Bryan Banks - September 9 - 4:17 pm

  I have owned 65 + vehicles- luxury to economy cars, high performance cars, SUVs, and Minivans. The Sorento has gotten more things just right than any vehicle I have ever owned. The push button start works perfectly, headlights give you the right options, controls layout is excellent, the ride/handling balance is very good and the engine and transmission perform flawlessly in sync. The engineering to get the amount of space and passenger capacity in a vehicle only 187 in. in length is a real accomplishment. Most other competition is 7 to 10 in. greater in vehicle length. With this space efficiency, comes weight savings and the strong V6, so it has good performance for a vehicle in this class. We got 24.7 mpg on highway trip. At this point of 2,500 miles, we could not be happier with our decision.

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  Kia Spectra - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By maui - September 9 - 10:16 am

  I have owned my Kia for 2 years and have been very pleased with the handling and driving capabilities of it. I am satisfied with the service provided and would recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for a 4 door sedan, with all the toys, for an affordable, reasonable price. I am less pleased with the ride but feel that better tires than those initially provided would improve this. Overall, this car has been a wonderful addition to our family.