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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  THIS CAR SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2008 Kia Rio
  By pinkpanda - November 30 - 6:57 pm

  this car has had problems since 1 year after buying it brand new i have had transmission promblems about 5 or 6 times and they say its something else the service people mess up stuff that i have to take back to have them fix the still havent fixed my transmission they are very rude and i would not tell anyone to buy one of these cars they will screw you over on the warenty and when its over they will finally tell you whats been wrong with your car the whole time so that you have to pay for it they need to do there job or go out of business

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  DO NOT BUY! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By buc - November 26 - 2:46 am

  What a piece of @#$%! We bought the vehicle for $25,000 and had $13,000 in warranty work done on it. It was in the shop over 60 days.

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  Kia2013 Sorento - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By fasteddy201 - November 17 - 6:58 am

  This model with the smaller 4 cy engine is SERIOUSLY UNDERPOWERED. I took my first long trip with it last weekend and it got scary a couple of times. When I needed get up and go it wasnt there. Get the larger 4 cy or a .6 Also it doesnt take the bumps very well..very rough ride on moderately bumpy roads. Im already thinking of getting rid of it and I dont have 3000 miles on it yet.

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  2005 KIA Sorento - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By nb25 - November 11 - 3:30 pm

  My vehicle has been in the shop almost 10 times in the last year and a half. Fun vehicle to drive but I am really tired of taking it into the shop for problems. The Kia service center at my dealership is also AWFUL! I left a message last Monday with the service manager in regards to some carpet that he had ordered for me in June (yes I have a nice hole in my carpet in my brand new car!) and I still have not received a return call. Not to mention that I have been waiting almost 4 months for them to replace the carpet.

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  AVOID AT ALL COSTS - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By TIM - November 3 - 7:30 pm

  Gets 21 miles to the gallon. Stalls at stops/near stops. Have taken it in 2 times to be fixed, and they are unable to do anything about. Have had numerous other problems in the past 1.8 years. Generally, a poorly made vehicle. Am now getting rid of it.

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  Its a car - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By watobot - October 31 - 8:47 pm

  Slow but practical. The automatic transmission is probably one of the worst ones Ive ever seen. Ive had mine for almost 2 years, and its never left me stranded, so its more reliable than you would expect from a Kia. If you put the back seats down, its surprisingly big inside. Interior isnt worth mentioning.

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  dont ever get one!!! - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By md4dmse - October 14 - 10:00 am

  This is by far the absolute WORST vehicle I have ever owned!!! Has spent more time in the shop than it has in the driveway in the last three months, and wasnt much better before that. Things that broke were window motors, signal light, back seat latch, cup holder, three catalytic converters, and had to install a new motor at 36000 miles!!! 36,000!!! To top it all off, it still broke down within 400 miles of the new engine install. Do yourself a favor and steer WAY clear of this one.

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  KIA = GARBAGE - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By efw904 - October 12 - 10:43 am

  This vehicle has had more issues than I know what to do with. Mostly electrical problems. It has been to the dealer for A/C issues 3 times. Eventually having the entire dashboard ripped out and a new harness put in. I have to buy headlights and taillights all the time. So bad that I keep a spare set in the car at all times. It experiences loss of power all the time and the transmission does not engage when in reverse sometimes. The car has had all maintenance done on or before its due. Factory radio also died right after buying it. Service departments are are the worst. Above all the resale value is absolutely horrible. If you buy one, enjoy it b/c you will be stuck with it. Absolute garbage

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  So Sad Sedona - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By familyof7 - October 12 - 5:53 am

  We bought the Sedona with only 14 miles on it hoping it would be a vehicle to depend on should my husband ever get deployed. Lo and behold I was moving home from NC to UT and it died at highway speeds just before Albuquerque NM. Weird I thought for a van that only has 17000 miles on it. Turned off the key turned it back on drove a mile or two and again...it died. I about got hit by several semi trucks that travel the I-40 west. This is not a reliable vehicle. It was towed three times before they found the problem and that was because we sat at the dealership and told them how to fix it. They replaced four blown fuses, fixed a throttle cable recall, and ended up replacing computer.

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  Better off with a pedal bike - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By Bruceryan - October 11 - 8:40 am

  At 49,000 miles the engine is still running (barely) but none of the 4 windows work, A/C has gone warm, cup holder broken, engine makes a lot of noise, and just about everything plastic on the interior is on the verge of breaking. This car is built too cheaply, its not even worth the cheap price tag. Ive only had the thing for two years and I take care of my vehicles. I would have been better off buying a pedal bike.