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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  Very Impressed - 2003 Kia Optima
  By shorerider - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I think this is a great car for anyone who was, like me, wanting to get into a Honda Accord. The handling is superb, it rides like a luxury car, but for a lot less. Plus, it comes with great creature features. Its defnintely a comporable car to the big boys!

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  Kia Rio - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Jlemma - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Outstanding little car. I drive this car daily. I am in sales and drive about 15000 miles a year. I have as yet to have a problem with this car. Fantastic stock stereo/CD player,

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  My Lemon - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By SheilaMarie - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I have put more milage on this vehicle taking it back and forth twice a month to have it repaired, than for any other reason. The dealership, is wonderful -- they are a great bunch of people and I would buy another vehicle from them as long as it wasnt ever another Kia. This is a Lemon. It is a piece of junk and I have evoked the lemon law on it and am just waiting on a reply from my attorney and the manufacturer.

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  my kia - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By kiamine - March 8 - 2:00 am

  very comfortable to ride in , looks good from all angles,very roomy, seats recline all the way back.roomy trunk. just a nice car.

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  Well worth it - 2004 Kia Optima
  By laidbakman - March 8 - 2:00 am

  The ride is smooth. Was very pleased with how comfortable the ride is in the ex v6. This car has sufficient power to merge or just to get moving on interstate. You dont realize how fast until you look down. My kids think the sound system is super. Cannot beat the warranty just have to make regular service appointments but tht is with any car. I would absolutely recommend this car to anyone. The EX V6 that is.

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  Satsifaction - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Cathy Andrade - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Comfort,style,Good handling. Great Pickup and speed. Lots of room. Great on long runs and traveling.

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  Suprise KIA - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By sako2019 - March 8 - 1:46 am

  We bought a 2010 Rav4. Recall, poor customer service and poor comfort drove us to reevaluate. The Sorento surprised both my wife and I. Very comfortable stable and powerful platform. We love all the standard features. They all seem to be very smart, just what you need but not a lot of gimmicks. Time will tell how well it all holds up.

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  Excellent choice for small cuv - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By JSA - March 7 - 6:41 pm

  Great car in every respect. Kia lies about mpg. I consistently get 36-38 hwy (manual calculation), not the 30 mpg Kia promised. Its comfortable for long trips and the piece of mind when driving it is priceles. Best of all its the best looking cuv out right now.

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  Go for it ! - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By jmankowski - March 7 - 5:20 am

  Been driven a year and not been to the shop!

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  My Kia Spectra - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Mayday - March 4 - 10:00 am

  An over-all wonderful vehicle. Excellent price and runs with the big dogs. Why pay thirty-thousand dollars for a luxury car when the Kia Spectra is equal to those cars if not better? Any vehicle will get you where you need to go, so why not be the smarter consumer and pay half the price for an equal amount of standards? And with gas prices soring, the Kia Spectra is perfect on gas. So when you cant see around that big SUV in front of you, just remember that soon they wont be able to afford gas and that will leave you on the open road to try out some power! My next new car will again be a KIA!!