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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  Kia Sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By beano1 - January 25 - 2:00 am

  I have had this van for over a year now and I love it.Only problem was a defective heater fan and it was replaced.Have had excellent service in NH. where I live.

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  We get our new engine next week. - 2004 Kia Optima
  By cramer - January 25 - 2:00 am

  Weve had the car for three months, three weeks and 7800 miles. So far: Two check engine light issues, one moulding around the windshield issue, and one check engine, overheat, and oil light issue... resolution offered by dealer is new factory assembly line engine. Est. 10 days for installation. Needless to say, we are uneasy about the overall reliability.

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  Cant believe what you get for you buck! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By April - January 25 - 2:00 am

  The first word that comes to mind is class. How in the world do they put all of that class in this SUV and still make it affordable? The ride is smooth and quiet. Theres so much room in the back seat - adults are as comfortable as kids! I think its wonderful that an automobile company realizes that even us middle class people like to ride in style.

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  Kia Rondo 2008 - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Windy Kia - January 24 - 7:13 pm

  Our 2008 7 Passenger Kia Rondo has been making a wind noise coming out of the driver side window since we bought it. It sounds like there is air leaking in the car. Kia claims they cannot fix it and it is intended to be this way. They also claim that all 2008 Kia Rondos make this air leak noise. Aside from this issue we have been happy with the vehicle.

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  Great little compact utility, paint sucks - 2011 Kia Soul
  By dewdrinker87 - January 24 - 2:34 pm

  This is exactly what I was looking for. I got tired of sitting on the floor in little cars but didnt want to drop a fortune on an SUV. I get decent gas mileage (see suggested improvements). The engine is surprising zippy for what it is especially having a four speed. The interior is quite comfy, the seats are firm which I like. The only small issue I have had is the drivers side door plastic has begun to rattle but Im going to get that fixed next oil change under warranty. Compared to my old vehicle (2006 Chevy Cobalt) its so much better as far as quality goes. I use to look at the uneven door gaps on the Cobalt and just grimace. Huge negative is the paint. Poor durability... Rock Chips!

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  Great Sedan - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Manuel - January 24 - 10:00 am

  The Kia Optima is a well built sedan. Economical and fun to drive. The model I drive is an SEV6. I did not get the optional ABS but the car handles braking very well and handles very well overall.

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  Excellent family car but not for everyone - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By dondon - January 24 - 3:03 am

  If you are looking for a fuel efficient great cargo family car, Rondo will serve you the best. Nonetheless, driving is no fun. Four cylinder seems little weak but doable. Bottom line what the hack great car for family and small to mid size delivery but for fun, go get some other car. I have no mechanical problem so far almost 2 year now

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  Optima has been a good car - 2003 Kia Optima
  By wsm - January 23 - 4:10 pm

  We bought our 2003 Optima just after getting married in 2003. We werent particularly looking for a Kia but due to the rebates Kia was giving at the time we settled on the Kia because it had superior options and a price we could afford. After 7 years of ownership we are ready to upgrade though and unfortunately wont be buying another Kia. Heres why: Cons: we paid 18000 for the car and today we can get about $3500 if were lucky. Depreciation on this car is terrible. Belt squeals nonstop and dealers cant figure out problem. Always had transmission troubles that again dealer cant fix. Pros: Super reliable, fuel system problem at 30000 miles and door problem at 120000 but otherwise Reliable!

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  KIA Voids the Warrnaty where ever possible - 2013 Kia Optima
  By Liz Walsh - January 23 - 9:40 am

  Bought a brand new 2013 KIA and the engine failed with just 43k miles Trust me KIA goes out of their way to not honor the warranty Plus their service departments are so understaffed that it took weeks just for them to decide not to honor their warranty they wanted 7k for a new engine and said it would take 5 weeks to fix What a complete joke We called every KIA dealer in the DFW area and the one we took it too in Lewisville was the only one who said they could look at it in a week. And this was before they knew it was an engine problem. Why should a customer have to wait that long just to find out whats wrong with the car? What is the average customer supposed to do when they dont have enough staff to fix their vehicles? Took the car to a local person who will fix the car for 3.2k and have it done in a week. I will never buy a KIA again research carefully their engines fail often and they will find someway to void the warranty. Also they charged $118.00 just to tell us they wouldnt fix the car They have a "goodwill" program that the mechanic said had never once been accepted by KIA

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  great little car, but..... - 2009 Kia Rio
  By bigkev - January 23 - 4:26 am

  this is our second Rio shopping trolley. best value and size in its class by far. Fuel consumption is disappointingly high and the transmission had to be replaced the morning after we got it. Fine now and these things happen. Tyres are utter crap and noisy as hell. Otherwise its a good mum and pop runaround, and provided you are patient with the lack of acceleration you sort of get attached to them. For the price and 5 year w/tee, plus low service costs its a winner.