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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  Impressed with Kia - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By Felt32 - August 22 - 10:43 pm

  I wanted a fuel efficient, inexpensive vehicle, with all of the up to date features (such as cruise control, CD, aux outlet) and I got all of that in this Kia. My only regret is that I had waited until the end of the year to get the Kia Forte!!

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  Love my new car at a great price - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Alexis - August 22 - 12:06 pm

  Have loved my new Kia so far. I traded in my Galant that I absolutely loved because the insurance was too costly for it. Got this car brand new, 8 miles on it when I took it off the lot, and have slowly fallen in love with it. Would have probably loved it quicker if I hadnt been in love with my Galant that I didnt really want to get rid of but had to. Great pick up and go for a 4 cylinder car, have read the reports about it being noisy when picking up but havent found that to be the case. Great turn radius when I get lost and have to take the U to get back on track. Would reccommend this to anyone looking for a new nice car at great price.

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  Nice Van - Highly recommend. - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By linuxking - August 21 - 3:33 pm

  Bought this 2006 in 2011 with under 40K miles on it. No problems - easy to work on. I change my own oil and just flushed the transmission fluid by myself. I was hesitant to buy with all the bad reviews - think most posters just got lemons - I had a Mercury Sable that had all the problems described in the other posts.

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  I love my Soul - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Bubba - August 21 - 8:06 am

  My Kia Soul is a great little car I traded in my 2005 Sorento for it . I had decided to get something a little more fun...I am surprised at how well the Soul handles. The car is very comfortable and has a "tight" feel to it. Lots of headroom and visibility. getting about 33 mpg. The rear seats fold down and up easily gives me enough cargo space. People definitely give it a second look. Four a little 4 banger automatic with air it does surprisingly well on the Eway...You dont feel like you are riding low Definitely a good buy if you are looking for economy and dont want to sacrifice quality.

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  Rio5 not well known but a good car - 2008 Kia Rio
  By rs - August 20 - 11:16 pm

  I bought this car as a commuter car. It is great. I get 34 mpg combined driving. It is cute, the girls love it. I did not buy it for that though. It made sense to me a good value in a nice package. I drive a lot and was driving a big truck, the monthly payment and gas for this car is cheaper than the gas for my truck. I read many reviews on the internet and reliability is up there too. For a sub compact it is quiet. Lots of features for the money. It has a small engine but has enough power to get me up hills at the speed limit. Im very happy with it.

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  Best Value for Your Money - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Mike - August 20 - 8:43 am

  This is the first car that I bought. I bought the Forte new and had the car for almost 6 months now. I didnt run into any problems with it. I have the EX model with cloth interior. The inside & outside appearance of the car doesnt look cheap. It is sporty looking which I like. I can keep up with bigger cars on the highway. The engine is pretty powerful for a 4 cylinder. I was surprised. The car has great stopping power if you need to stop fast. I was looking into getting a Corolla and a Mazda 3 but they were both a lot more money & I didnt like the smiling grill on the 2010 mazda 3. Forte looks better. I got a lot more for my money with the Kia Forte. I am very pleased with my purchase.

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  No Dealership In CA - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By BONG - August 20 - 2:16 am

  driving this vehicle for a year is not that good because for the first two mos of driving, i noticed the popping noise from driver side or when you hitting pot holes and turning.after a year, the a/c compressor has a knocking noise and need replacement and they need to order the Dont buy kia when you are in california or dont go to california when you have this kia cars..They dont have participating dealer in ca.......parts.when you turn L/R/maneuver or backing, you need extra effort.

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  Great car all around! - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By human - August 19 - 10:46 am

  I never thought I would consider a Kia. But on paper, this car beat everything else in its class so I thought it was worth checking out. After the test drive I was sold! The ride is smooth and solid and the interior is quiet. Easily the best bang for the buck especially with the $1750 rebate. Image conscious drivers will have to pay thousands more for a similar performing car. "Reliability" = 9 because I havent owned it for too long. "Fuel Economy" = 8 because Corollas and Civics have better MPG ratings.

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  Best compact car for the price! - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Larry - August 18 - 1:37 pm

  The price for the base model with popular package (+$1000) is well worth it. The #1 reason that I chose Kia is that they do not use the CVT transmission that all of the other brands in its class does. The 1.8L engine has plenty of power even with the air conditioner on high and with passengers. The interior is very nice for a base model and the popular package gets you a lot, including backup camera, Bluetooth, etc. Trunk space is best in its class. If you can get a 2016 with the PP for under $18K you will not regret it and remember the transmission! CVT s wear out at around 70,000 miles and cost around $7000 to replace (they cannot be repaired) perhaps this is why Kia chooses to not to use them because of their 100,000 mile warranty, KIA uses the dual clutch transmission. The hand controls are very ergonomic which helps keep your eyes on the road. Kia does not deal with Takata Airbags (look up Takata Airbag Inflators) I cannot express enough about staying away from any auto that is equipped with the CVT transmission. Kia along with Mobis (a German engineering company) have engineered great autos.The Cons: I only have only 1 and that is when driving the Forte all you see is the road which is great for an experienced driver, but for a beginner they are bound to miss judge resulting in hitting curbs etc.

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  Great little car! - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Sandra W - August 18 - 2:53 am

  Ive had my Spectra 5 for one month and continue to be impressed with it. I have had not one issue thus far. Whether in the city, on the highway or even on a gravel road, the car is comfortable & much fun to drive. It handles extremely well, the sport suspension is great. So much bang for the buck, its surprising that there arent more of them on the road.