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:

• 

  Kia forever - 2009 Kia Sedona
  By tommydriver - June 1 - 11:57 pm

  Was anti minivan until I traded in my too small baby jag for a family friendly Sedona in May 2010. Since then we jave put almost 15000 miles on it. Havent regretted buying it yet. I have used it as a cargo hauler and people hauler. Took it cross country from Illinois to California and loved driving it the whole three days. Very comfortable and roomy for the whole family, good gas mileage, and ate up the Rockies without even breathing too hard. I will be replacing this with another Kia when its time for a new vehicle. They may not be the most exciting, but theyre always the best bang for your buck.

• 

  user friendly - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By oh ya - June 1 - 10:10 pm

  the kia is an affordable and economicly sound purchase. It could use some more horses under the hood, but for the price its worth it. Powerful when in four wheel drive, still limited to slow accelaration.

• 

  Super minivan - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Dont dodge kia - June 1 - 2:00 am

  After 4 months and 8,000km we have experienced no reliability problems with the van.The only irritating things about it are that the drivers seat makes a clicking noise when breaking and that there is a lack of carge space in the back . Other than that its a great van , its very comfortable on all roads given that the suspension is 4 wheel independent , engine noise and wind and road noise are almost non existent unless you accelerate hard you hear some engine noise but its not anoying. Drives as easily as a Mazda Mpv.

• 

  I love my Kia - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Omar - May 31 - 6:53 am

  All I gotta say to anybody that is thinking of buying a kia sorrento is GO FOR IT!.. We recently bought a Kia Sorrento Ex for 28,000 and as a test drive we took it to Vegas. This car accelarated incredibly well we were passing every car on the way on the way up to mountains of 3000 and 4000 feet of elvation.... It is incredibly comfortable and sporty... Honestly people go get one if you can I strongly recommend it....

• 

  TOO MUCH PLASTIC - 2010 Kia Soul
  By bud - May 29 - 1:20 am

  Although the exterior is a plus, the interior has way too much plastic. There is no cushioning on the arm rest or console, Wish the window sill was wider to rest you elbow and arm. Lastly, I get a strong reflection from the dash on the windshield and in sunny Arizona it is quite a distraction. Driving with sunglasses makes it hard to see the instrument cluster which is recessed quite a bit. Otherwise it is a neat little car. Time will tell about reliability.

• 

  2010 Kia Forte - 2010 Kia Forte
  By platinum002 - May 28 - 6:36 am

  Price, quality, good looking car. Has more standard features then Honda,Toyota etc. Would have preferred the leather package but none were available and the cash for clunkers was ending. First tank of gas averaged 28.5 mpg city driving

• 

  My second Forte - 2017 Kia Forte
  By Forte Pro - May 28 - 3:19 am

  Bought a 2010 Forte LX (5 speeds manual) back in 2010. 160K miles later, I had to trade it in for a 2017 Forte LX (manual 6 speeds). What an improvement ! First of all, not one problem, itch or snooze on my previous Kia. Never opened the hood. All oil changes done by professionals. I already had great mpg, but this new one ? Even better. Manual says 32 city/39 Highway. I get 41 city/45 Highway. Of course, my commute (120 miles per day - 20% city and 80% Thruway) is pretty much on flat road (no hills) and the temperatures are constantly over 40 degrees. Good dry conditions. Speed of 70-75 mph when Tach read 2,750 rpm. this cars purrs and swallows the miles one by one. Comfort is what you can expect from a "small" car. Everything being new, you need some time to get used to it, or for the car to get used to you. Now, odd enough, no spare tire nor donut in the back trunk. Just some kind of fix-your-flat-yourself-kit with a plug-in pump (and patch?), enough for 50 miles to get to a station (?).The dash boards illuminates nicely and I still have not figured out why the outside temperature reading starts flashing when it get under 40 degrees Farenheit. Acceleration is nice, although there seem to be a soft spot when starting in 1st gear which obliges you to push and reach 4,000 rpm or shift into second very quickly. The sound is definitely not premium. Automatic windows is a nice upgrade from my previous Kia and the electronic lock/unlock is also a nice addition. I hope to have it last a long time. From previous experience, it will.

• 

  2007 LX I4 - 2007 Kia Optima
  By joewb - May 27 - 10:43 am

  I purchased this car after about 9 months of searching. It seems to have everything I need without a lot of extras I dont care about. Interior room is great and the layout works well. Handling is very good, I dont regret not buying a "performance car". People that see it for the first time always have the same reaction, "Thats a Kia?" They comment on its good looks and great use of space.

• 

  Kia Sportage - BEWARE - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By jfoote - May 27 - 10:00 am

  Losses value quicker than Enron stock. Purchased 2 years ago for 15000, now only worth 6500. Terrible gas milage and worse handling. Slower than everything out there. Grannys in Buicks would pass me and laugh.

• 

  Never buy another Kia - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By taxilady7 - May 26 - 8:54 pm

  This 06" kia Sedona was used with 70,000 miles. The first thing I had to replace was the sway bar and ended up getting it from a junk yard becasue the KIA parts are so very expensive. Then I replaced the brake pads and had a lot of trouble with scrapping noise! I finally replaced the rotors, did not help! I finally found out the rotors were worpped and it was causing the pads to go bad! DO NOT GET brake pads from any NAPA stores! They did not work on these Kias. The biggest options I have had to over come is the turn signal blubs blowing, the head light blubs continually blowing. I found out what was the problem with turn signal, the socket had to be replaced.