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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  I love my Sorento! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By jslee - November 21 - 1:53 pm

  We love our Kia Sorento. We couldnt be happier with the value, warranty and style. The 4WD has come in quite handy in this nasty Ohio weather we have had as of late - it handled wonderfully.

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  Better than expected... - 2013 Kia Optima
  By joseph70 - November 21 - 12:43 pm

  This car delivers. Everything that it says it does...it does. The power is quick, responsive and really makes the car fun to drive. It handles with the precision of a European counterpart. I have been impressed with the features that are offered inside the cabin as well. I would have never pictured myself in a Korean car as I have been a Japanese owner all of my life. The quality and fit of the car have really sealed the deal for me. I am not sure if I could recommend a car more highly. Kia has been excellent with all the maintenance and follow up. It has been better than expected.

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  Great minivan - Bad on fuel comsumption - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Mario - November 20 - 10:36 pm

  I recently purchased a 2005 Kia Sedona LX and it really is a nice minivan. The vans exterior is nice to look at; pleasant on the eyes. The interior is made up of good materials and is quite comfortable. My kids love the roominess of the interior, all the cup holders, lights, rear controls for heat and air. However, in light of gas prices rising to $3.00 a gallon (a small exaggeration for now), I am really concerned about the "below average" fuel mileage the Sedona is known for. This is my only gripe about this minivan, otherwise, I think it was a good purchase for my family and me.

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  I love it. - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Nicodemus - November 20 - 7:13 pm

  My wife and I bought our Spectra5 after falling in love with it at the dealership. It has not failed to meet our expectations. It is reliable, runs like a dream, has great power for its class, enough room for 4 comfortable adults, handles well in corners at speed and performs well in city traffic. Cornering is helped and body roll minimized by the stock (yes, stock) strut tower brace, and the sport-tuned suspension performs as advertised. There is plenty of cargo space, especially with the rear seats folded flat and the rear deck removed. The engine sounds nice and the car is reasonably quiet. I have nothing bad to say about this car at all.

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  I love my 2004 Rio - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Jeniecew - November 20 - 2:50 pm

  I just want to start off by saying that I previously owned a 2002 Kia Rio Cinco, I bought the car at 73,000 miles at 81,000 THE ENGINE SEIZED up I was so angry because I still owed $5000 on the car. I contacted Parker Toyota and to make the longs story short they wrote off the balance on that car and got me into my 2004 Kia Rio with only 13,000 miles. I have had awsome luck on this car granted I have only put 9,000 miles on it in 13 months, but it has never let me down. It drives great in the snowy conditions and gets great gas mileage. I have not experienced any problems when using the AC and let me tell you I live in Eastern Washington and we get a little bit of ALL the weather conditions.

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  Much More than You Think - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By HMeyer - November 20 - 5:10 am

  I disagree with those who test drove this car. I drove from Seattle to Green Bay doing 600 miles a day in November and the car virtually hummed. The drive was the most exceptional drive I have made in a car and I was never more comfortable. In other cars, I would be adjusting the seat several times during the daily drive. I never touched the seat controls on the Amanti. I take issue with consumers being told to look at the Buick, or the Toyota. Why? This car has exceptional performance. I had no stability problems and I was driving thru some windy mountain passes. I have been in the snow now for a month. The car has been in subzero temperatures and it hums along every day. Great Buy!

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  Black is black... - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By davemoris1966 - November 19 - 5:56 pm

  Great car! I checked out a lot of cars. I sold cars for over 10 years, so I know what to look for. I was amazed that "KIA" quality had surpassed Hyundai, and in some cases the Japanese imports as well! I drove the 5 speed and I know it has a lot more pep. But I was quite pleased with the overall performance of the automatic. So the auto won out. Its black and handles great. I took it to the coast first weekend so I could drive on the beach...what a blast! My only complaint is I wanted the power moonroof but you have to get the ABS option as well (package). And I did not want ABS, so no sunroof. All in all a great car!

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  cheap - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By christine - November 19 - 10:00 am

  After 980 mile no problem. But the sunglass holder could not open on top. Need abs brakes in this van because I try both van with and without abs brakes. Speaker not loud enough in the front of van on the LX. Parts for this van might be hard to find.

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  Amazing - I never thought twice - 2010 Kia Soul
  By tyhollis - November 18 - 2:03 am

  I went to the dealership to buy the new, trendy Kia Forte Koup. The salesman finally convinced me to test- drive a dune-colored Soul. All I can say is - test drive it!!! What a fun car to drive. Loaded - sunroof, bluetooth, Mp3 CD, USB/iPod jacks, steering wheel control buttons to everything, herringbone seats, speakers that strobe with my music, satellite radio...my friends love this car, I love this car, and most of all, I love hearing "that car is so you". Because it is - its different and it catches eyes. I also thing its a lot sleeker that its Scion / Cube counterparts. Trust me...just test-drive it.

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  Not bad for the money - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Bryan - November 18 - 1:30 am

  I am a young driver(21) bought this when I was 19(actually still making payments) and this has been a great car. The 5 speed really lets you open up the engine and get the most out of it and I wouldnt have it any other way. Mine has developed a rather strange problem lately, the rear floorboards are getting soaked but there is no leake up top, so I am guessing water is coming in from the bottom? This will be my first experience with KIA customer service so I hope they treat me well and I get my car back soon. This seems like a rare problem so I wont blame the car just yet. Overall, great car for the money hands down.