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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  Quite Good - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Katytx - April 18 - 1:03 am

  Our KIA has performed well since we bought it in August, 2004. However, there has been an issue with the rear seatbelts. The Initial latch on the center(rear)seatbelt has been found to be faulty. Also, the rear - drivers side seatbelt failed in an emergency stop involving our 3 year-old. Our dealership promised to fix the problem, but we have yet to see results. Its been about three weeks since reporting the problem to them. After doing some research, we have found that previous models of KIA vehicles have had serious problems with their seatbelt functions. We strongly urge others to do their research and make sure their dealership will promptly fix any defects to their vehicles.

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  WORSE CAR EVER...RUN AWAY! - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Angelica - April 18 - 12:00 am

  I will never in my life ever recommend ANY Kia car to anyone. This car was an absolute nightmare from the hour after I purchased it. Car had a busted radiator, which was fixed the next day. After that it ran smooth for about a good two weeks, then I had an electrical problem. Imagine riding down the highway at night going maybe 70 mph and all of a sudden every light, the interior, head and tail lights all of a sudden going dark? Yeah, it was that bad. Then it had a idling problem...finally I forced the dealership to trade it in for something much better. I would have paid $4,000 for this car, its not even worth $40!!!!

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  Happy Happy - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By Dave - April 17 - 6:46 am

  Had the Sportage a little over a month now. Taken one long-distance trip. Great handling, smooth ride. Good fit and finish. No initial flaws. Converted from a PT Cruiser.

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  A lot for the money - 2004 Kia Rio
  By samwise - April 16 - 10:00 am

  After a lot of searching for an inexpensive and economical car, I feel that the Kia Rio Cinco can not be beat. It turns on a dime, gets 31 mpg, excellent sound system and the A/C is COLD. All around its a bargain.

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  Skeptical until.... - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By a3photogod - April 16 - 10:00 am

  I bought one. Only have it 3 days. LX 5 speed with Sport Pack. What a blast! My wife was set on a minivan until she saw the Sorento and drove it. She sums it up best when she said, "I didnt know Kia made such a nice vehicle". Do what we did. Get the Sorento and a roof carrier at Sears for $150. You now have the room of the van, but the finest mid-sized SUV under you. Shifts like a truck, ride is great, we absolutely love it. Ruby red metallic looks hot, styling is awesome, too many features and extras to mention! Great value! If you are considering one, go drive it, you will love it! What a SUV is supposed to be. Thank you KIA!!

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  Love my Lexus look-a-like! - 2007 Kia Sorento
  By Tami - April 15 - 7:50 pm

  Ive had my Sorento for 2 weeks now and I love it! Its so much fun to drive. Theres plenty of room, however the vehicle itself doesnt feel too big or "trucky". Its handles great and the styling inside and out is awesome (take a look at the Lexus SUVs, aside from the emblems theyre almost identical to the Sorento).

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  Been a great little car - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By libertyswanson - April 14 - 7:45 pm

  I bought my 2002 Kia Spectra in 2006 with 60k miles on it. It now has over 220k. Most of the work as been regular maintenance. I just put in a new head gasket and my clutch is starting to pop. It has been great in the snow (I drive a 100 miles a day in Colorado). And has always started. Ive replaced the alternator (no big deal), scheduled timing belts, and front wheel bearings. The back struts are gone and there are a lot of rattles developing. The arm rest is very uncomfortable and my wife hates the seats. But it has been very very dependable. Gas mileage right now is about 35 to 38 mpg. Im moving up in car class, but have daughter turning 16 and it will be a good first car for her.

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  Ive had 2 and theyve both been great!! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By rjordanski - April 14 - 2:20 pm

  Before I ever owned one, I would have told you (ignorantly, of course) that KIAs were like YUGOs of yesteryear... you know, "you go, but you dont come back." Anyway, I needed some money real quick to get my daughter to college, so I sold my Nissan Maxima. But, I still needed something to drive so I found a 2000 Kia Sephia for $1000. It wasnt the prettiest car Ive ever seen, but it has done a good job of getting me from point A to point B. Have not spent much money on it at all and have had it 2 years now. Liked it so good that when our old van pooped out, we bought a 2nd one!

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  Best Budget Minivan - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By BenInKorea - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Uninformed reviews say this is Sedona’s first year. It has been manufactured in Korea as the Carnival for over five years. Most kinks are gone. A lot of research went into this one. We bought a Blue 2002 EX with ABS, Moonroof, Cloth seats, and one-tone finish for $21.8K. We took it from Omaha to St Louis for a week and back and loved it the whole way.

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  1st kia - 2010 Kia Sportage
  By mike - April 13 - 3:26 am

  Excellent, i was a little nervous of buying a kia, but now i am very happy i did. absolutely love it. Lots of power with the V6, gas mileage of around 24 mpg, it only has a 60 liter tank, in city i average 650 km to a tank. really good for a V6 4wd SUV.