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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  JUNK - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Amber Shank - September 21 - 6:50 am

  I have owned this car for five months, in the first month it broke down on me and left me sitting 3 times ( one of the times in the middle of the road, and almost got hit by a school bus with my one year old daughter in the back seat) Have replaced the radio, 2 headlights, TPS sensor, Oh and it just left me sitting on the PA turnpike with my 2 children in 90 degree weather, cause the transmission went out. And it only took Kia 2 1/2 hours to get someone to tow it. If you want to throw your money down the toilet then by all means buy a Kia. I will never buy another Kia ever again, its not safe, not dependable, and the gas mileage SUCKS!

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  Look at quality not warranty - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Super - September 19 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car because of big warranty, however the blower blowed out of air after I bought it for five months, and I have to wait for a week for it to be repaired on an average 90F temperature. Can you imagine how it feels like? Also when I tried to trade in this car back to the dealership, the dealership only offered $5000 for the trade in value for a sales price of almost $14000?

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  Dont buy a Kia Sportage LX 2008 - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By lanursa1 - August 26 - 3:26 am

  Dont buy one at all! I have asthma, and the airflow system is so bad, that every time I pass a vehicle with a bad exhaust system, all that polluted air comes into my vehicle, and I get an attack. Whenever it rains or there is an ice-storm, the elements pile up inside the rim of the door jamb, and this increases the possibility of the vehicle rusting. It is a spacious vehicle, but I would never recommend anyone buy this model. The ABS system is horrible. Dont even think about braking! It was my first experience with such a system, and I had to go to the dealership about 3 times, before I realized that this is what I have to deal with until I sell this vehicle.

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  Very Expensive Maintenance Costs!!! - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By SMDJM - August 18 - 2:00 am

  The 4WD went out and the check engine light was always on. I had to have the brakes replaced at 15,000 miles and AGAIN at 30,000 miles. They charge $470 to replace the brakes. For my 30,000 mile maintenace costs they wanted to charge me $665 PLUS the $470 to replace the brakes. With this so called great warranty I thought I was going to save a little money when something goes wrong but this is how they get their money back...MAINTENANCE COSTS!! Remember the warranty is not valid unless you pay all this money for maintenance! Trade in value is bad! You will have huge negative equity.

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  Please Recall This Junk - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By sniper_munkee - July 24 - 5:14 pm

  So two months after I purchased this used no warranty they told us itd take over 4000 to fix so its been sitting in my backyard for the last three years. Still making payments on it.

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  Crap-ola - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By jrevier - June 28 - 10:00 am

  In the almost one year that I had this car Ive replaced 2 transmissions and had many scratches buffed out. THis is the worst car Ive ever bought and the dealership I bought it at wasnt any better. Stay away from kia

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  Stay as far away as possible - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Jenny - June 27 - 1:16 am

  Within the first year of purchasing this car the battery died. Metal exterior very susceptible to dings and scratches that wouldnt normally happen on cars like Hondas. Major brake repairs nearly every year, costing me about $300+ a pop. TERRIBLE handling in snow. Interior parts (heat pipe) got loose. Transmission problems with only 60K miles on it (luckily it was still under warranty). Really good on gas, but that doesnt make up for the thousands of dollars youll have to make in repairs and maintenance (and Im not talking about your average oil change). Also note, I was in an accident and it was TOTALLED only going 30 mph.

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  The worst piece of crap every made!! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Tracy - May 31 - 2:13 pm

  I have had this car for almost 10 years now, I am counting the days until I can afford to purchase a real car. At present the locks consistently freeze in the winter.The doors will not close until the car warms up a little. The windshield wiper fluid spray hasnt worked for years creating dangerous driving situations at times. The interior around the odometer has pulled apart, the vents to defrost the windshield broke spontaneously making defrosting a nightmare. Now the heating system has stopped in the dead of winter. Im amazed that it made it this far. So I couldnt get out as planned this morning because without no heat I couldnt see out of the windshield!

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  Better choices await... - 2001 Kia Optima
  By kcvelo - May 27 - 3:49 pm

  Bottom line: This is a very cheap, no frills car. If you are looking for something that will get you around and no more...this is the car for you. If you are looking for a car that holds its resale value...this is NOT it. Currently worth more as a tax credit on donation -or- totaled than trade-in value. I bought this car in 2003 and have put approximately 45,000 miles on it, mostly highway. At 75,000 total miles it looks and drives like it has 150,000 miles.

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  sorento garbage - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By christine - May 18 - 1:16 am

  I bought a Kia again because I had such exceptional quality with the first one. Then I bought the Sorento and have had nothing but issues with it. In the last 4 weeks I have dropped $3000.00 into it from things not covered under the warranty. Things that should last longer than 3 years. Drive shaft, AC compressor. I will never buy another Kia product again and have made statements online and to allmy friends and family not to buy Kias because they fall apart after a couple of years.