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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  Dont Do It..... - 2004 Kia Optima
  By ramon - August 28 - 9:13 pm

  I bought my first Kia in 2004, Optima Lx,4 cyl, numerous problems, radio went out, power steering hose leaked, windshield wiper motor out, timing belt defective, overheating problem not yet fixed, had trouble passing emissions, crank sensor went out(which shuts down motor completely) Will never buy a Kia again.

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  You get what you pay for. - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Andrea - August 26 - 1:20 am

  I am shooting myself in the foot by giving this van a poor review, but so far, I have to have the air conditioner compressor worked on, the sliding passenger door scrapes, the steering wheel whooshes when you make a turn, the transmission clunks when shifting into drive, my drivers seat squeaks and juts forward, the ignition has locked on me four times in the past three days, there are blind spots in the wind shield pillars and when using the visors, it bottoms out on bumps and sways on cornering the airconditioning has a musty smell, the mileage is much less than promised, and the KIA dealership tried to rip me off on the service agreement. Now other than that, things are just fine.

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  good value, but not refined.... - 2011 Kia Optima
  By jerryjerry - August 20 - 5:39 am

  Did the online shopping at Edmunds before I bought this for my son. Ive been driving it the last 5 months as well. The power train is not smooth. Shifting is awkward after a few months. Very loud in hwy, wish we had longer test drive on hwy before we bought it. I think they were very aggressive when they stated their gas mileage. Im getting 3 miles below in Georgia driving. And my son stated it pull to the left as others have experienced.

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  Buyer beware!! - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By MotherRockDog - August 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Sportage 4WD because the price was right and the warranty couldnt be beat. I need a 4WD where I live and it seemed like a nice little SUV. Well its a good thing it has such a great warranty because its in the shop practically every other month with a variety of problems. From minor things like the dome lights not working and the door to the gas tank not opening (I had to pry it open with a screwdriver), to major things like the nuetral safety switch crunching into a dozen pieces under the clutch pedal and the 4WD breaking TWICE (so far). Ive been without 4WD for most of the winter. My Sportage has been carted away on a flatbed three times so far.

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  Watch out if you have infants... - 2005 Kia Optima
  By sesasalt - August 17 - 11:30 am

  We bought this car when we had a one year old child, and now we have a two year old and another baby on the way. We are out of luck on using the nicer strollers though because the trunk is very short (as in height). We are unable to fit our single seater Graco stroller in it w/o scratching the top of the stroller handle, and almost all the tandem strollers are too big... We are just unsatisfied with the size of the trunk... Other than that, we dont have any major problems with this car.

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  Not so good after all.... - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Aaron - August 14 - 3:10 am

  My wife and I bought our Kia new in 05 with the hope that we were getting a decent vehicle...WRONG! Overall its okay. However, the rear brakes make a groaning noise that the dealer cant seem to fix. The horn works intermittently. Every so often the A/C stops working. There is not as much cargo room as I had initially hoped. Unless you are a child, getting into the back seat requires you to be a contortionist. The paint must be the lowest quality possible, it gets scratched just by looking at it. The fuel mileage isnt horrid, but you can get comparable mileage from a Suburban. Which is what we are looking into trading in for. Do yourself a favor, avoid Kia.

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  Gas guzzler - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Andrea K. - August 11 - 12:10 pm

  Bought this van used and had nothing but problems with it. Air conditioning never worked;had a tiny leak that no one could ever find. Engine missed and jerked whenever the weather was humid and cool;basically all Spring and Fall. Again, no mechanic could figure out what was wrong. Rear heat antifreeze pipe rusted and broke. Sliding doors were heavy and hard for kids to pull shut. The MPG was horrible!!!! I got 13 MPG in the city!!! This van was constantly out of alignment and the tires always wore unevenly. It just wouldnt stay in alignment no matter how many times I had it done and bought new tires. The van was a piece of junk and Im so glad to be rid of it.

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  so far sogood - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By marrero - August 7 - 4:00 am

  sofar so good

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  should of bought a spectra - 2002 Kia Rio
  By mcsmith - July 30 - 10:00 am

  I have currently 1000 miles onthe car. INTERIOR: decent headroom and legroom,but tight width wise. EXTERIOR:doors and trunk are so light that it makes it difficult to close(bounce back open) ENGINE: peppy around town, cruises at 75 no problem, but no power up steep grades and a.c. overburdens the engine. HANDELING:anti-sway bars not up to par. MILEAGE: 24mpg driving very conservatve.

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  Poor Choice - 2005 Kia Optima
  By dwilbert63 - July 22 - 6:43 pm

  I purchased this car "used" with only 1,000+- miles on it. Within the third year of ownership and out of warranty I have put almost $2,000 into simply keeping it running. I also am forced to replace both headlights about every six weeks. Now I am told the A/C pump is bad and its going to take another $400-$600 to repair. FORGET IT! Kia Customer Relations will not help, nor will any dealer. NEVER AGAIN will I buy a KIA! Buyer - beware, dont fall victim to a company that wont support its own vehicle! This car is overrated. Oh yeah, my insurance is much higher because of the inadequate safety of the car, get that!