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:

• 

  Bless My Soul, What A GREAT car! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By jack from the plains - December 11 - 1:53 pm

  Im not the demographic at 50ish years old. Or a hamster (see commercial). But I wanted a comfortable, safe, well- designed car with a great warranty and price. I did the research, test drove others and after 90 days of ownership am still THRILLED with the choice I made. Great city drive and for a highway that doesnt have bumps.

• 

  Great Engineering - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Ernest Dockery - December 10 - 10:20 pm

  KIA has their engineering down pat. I had no problems until after 100,000 miles and then the car seemed to start coming apart. First the windshield wiper control arm came apart then several of the sensors quit working and lastly the bolt on the harmonic balancer sheared causing me to get a new engine. I love the way the car drives but the reliability stinks.

• 

  2012 Kia Sorento - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By heydes - December 10 - 8:22 pm

  I am in love with this vehicle. We get a lot of looks and people commenting on how nice the car looks. I am very happy. I like the option of the third row. We only have two children and the car works out well for our family. The second row is a little smaller than I would prefer.

• 

  Rocket Van! - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By DrJones - December 10 - 7:26 am

  1st time van owner. Plenty of room, I actually enjoy pulling out the captain seats to vacuum it out cuz its huge in there! Easy to back into parking spaces, good visibility, big tires, stable ride. A/C and vent controls and rear passenger vents are way nice, front split temp controls are cool. I love how this car gets up to speed so quickly, I mean, I am ultra confident getting onto the freeway. Transmission shifter is nice on hills, although I dont often have to lock into gears. Easy cruise controls, nicest ones Ive used. Nice sounding horn also, not a whimpy "beep", but a nice rich sounding honk!

• 

  First Time Kia Owner - 2010 Kia Forte
  By KiaGeo - December 9 - 11:36 pm

  Just bought a Forte Ex - leather, sunroof, alloy wheels... most of the toys. So far, less than 100 miles in, were enjoying this car. It looks sharp, and the ride is great for a small car. Its comfortable, fairly quiet, and has enough get up for us. We love the stereo, the Bluetooth, and all of the features that make driving fun, and hopefully, safe, that are usually found on more expensive cars. Very nice for the money. It remains to be seen how it will hold up, but then there is the warranty. Well let you know.

• 

  Grandsons car - 2011 Kia Forte
  By richard palmateer - December 9 - 10:23 am

  Bought this car for my grandson. He has become a very good mechanic. This car had 73000 miles when purchased and needed shocks and front brakes, which we did ourselves. Overall I was impressed with this car. UPDATE: CAR WAS TOTALED IN APRIL 2017 - FOLDED UP LIKE A TIN CAN! GRANDSON WAS NOT INJURED, AIR BAG WORKED BUT SEAT BELT BROKE. To be fair, the crumple zones were very effective. Crumple zones are designed to take a lot of the impact. This accident was a 45 MPH impact and all he got were burns from the air bag, so I would rate safety at a 5 star.

• 

  Great Card for money - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By rogerr - December 9 - 10:00 am

  great car for the money, cheap yeah, but i like it, and unique in its look.

• 

  Love my little imported sports car - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By flipper - December 9 - 10:00 am

  We went on a 1400 mile trip with 300 hundred pounds of luggage and still got great gas mileage. This baby has more pep than my S10 BLAZER(V6)ever had. We are very satisfied.

• 

  My Last Car - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By wemart - December 9 - 10:00 am

  The car is well built as you can see the lines fit well together.The head lights are really bright and I like the built in fog light in the headlights. They had a black one with every it I could not take the black on black. I have the dark Rose which is really black in the shade and a slight hint of dark burgundy in the sun with metal sprinkes. No body has a color like that. I also like the sun roof deflector, the window visors, and the added mud flaps. it makes the car stand out. Im 72 and my wife likes the dual air temp, actually it is triple because the back seat also has a control for the climate back there.

• 

  VERY HAPPY - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Harvey&Tina - December 9 - 10:00 am

  THIS VAN IS VERY COMFORTABLE. IT HAS ALL THE THINGS THAT A FAMILY NEEDS TO COMPLETE THEIR DAILY TASKS.