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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  Disappointed - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By Brian - June 14 - 10:20 am

  I am disappointed with the 2004 Kia Sedona. Very poor gas mileage, about 12 mpg in town. Quality is poor. Rear hatch has a clunk sound when opening and the windows have the same when when closing. The bench seat in the middle is a big hassle. Dealer said the middle and rear seats are interchangeable which they are not. I will not buy another Kia.

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  Avoid At All Costs - 2007 Kia Optima
  By RickHadley - June 8 - 3:13 am

  I bought my 2007 Kia Optima brand new. The car was great for the first 18 months. But this car is the worst vehicle Ive ever owned. My automatic transmission went out at 60,076 miles. It seized up and left me stranded in the Arizona desert. My starter went out soon after. Engine was replaced just before 65,000 miles. The car has horrible resale value. I get pretty crappy MPG, 23 highway and 17 city.

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  you get what you paid for - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Bentley Kid - June 6 - 10:00 am

  yeah, the car is inexpensive. obviously much cheaper than a comparable camry or accord. but you get what you pay for. the engine is louder than the accord and camry. tranny is slow to respond in sportronic mode but okay in full automatic. seats are good enough for the price. the styling is good though. if you trust the koreans, why not?

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  basic transportation - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By trotter - May 30 - 2:00 am

  not a bad car as some magazines rate it.good basic transportation very reliable so far 40,000 miles as on car has not had any problems at all,ride is somewhat noisy comfort level is fair a good second car for back to back. somewhatunderpowered but not unbearable.

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  not so reliable - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By wingnut20 - May 13 - 10:00 am

  transmission replaced at 14000 miles, exhaust system replaced at 16000 miles, at 28000 my radiator decided it had enough and blew a hole. overheated and shut the car off before I could pull over to the side of the road. otherwise its good.

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  Not too bad for a cheap car - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By devs Mom - May 8 - 6:23 am

  Purchased my kia new in 2001 as a commuter car. Kia just turned over 51000 miles after I had traveled from St. Louis to Woodbridge, VA (30 miles S of D.C.) in 16 hours and only used 2 tanks of gas on a 800+ mile trip (son was impressed). Have also gone to tx, ar and ms with no problem and minimum gas besides regular maintenance, a right front strut assembly, tires and brakes, my only problem is crossed wires which make my windshield wipers come on when I turn on the a. C. (happened after jack leg body work) still not bad for a cheap small 4 cyl. Runs good but is starting to show age. Engine heat shield rattles constantly.

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  Automatic Transmission Failure at 3600 Miles - 2011 Kia Optima
  By ghostrider1017 - April 22 - 4:41 pm

  On 4/11/11, we were driving to work and had gone four miles from our house, when we thought we had hit a deer. The car made a very loud sound and lurched violently, at highway speed, frightening us both. The lurching was so violent that it may well have caused other damage. We were extremely fortunate not to have crashed. We then found that the car would not shift gears. The automatic transmission had gone out of our 2011 Kia Optima EX. We bought the Kia new on 1/8/11. The car had 3600 miles on it at the time of the catastrophic failure. This was our first Kia purchase (and last, I might add), and we are very disappointed. Needless to say, we were shocked by this dangerous occurrenc

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  thrown rod-86ed engine - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Ashlee - April 13 - 1:40 pm

  got 3months service out of my baby. I bought it used, stopped at a traffic light, the engine died and wouldnt start. I had it towed to the mechanic & a rod had broken & pierced the engine which is now ruined. Kia was nice, but sense I am the second owner Im out of luck. a new engine cost more than the car is worth, so Im out the $3,000.00 I still owe on it.

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  Good value but horrible fuel economy - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Tom in Houston - March 25 - 8:43 am

  This is a functional, well-designed, comfortable, and generally good- handling minivan. Its also a great value compared to Toyota and Honda. But the fuel economy really sucks. Im averaging 13.5 MPG overall (mostly city driving). Thats way worse than the 98 Grand Voyager it replaced. I might as well have bought a Tahoe or Expedition, which look cooler and are just as big. Also, Im on my 3rd battery in three years. Hmmm.

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  Kia Sedona needs help - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By flmarijack@aol.com - March 19 - 2:00 am

  My Kia Sedona is excellant in design, engineering and convienance. Quality of components, fuel ecomony, exterior finish, and service are terrible. The interior panels rate are poor on impact resistance. The paint finish is full of orange . City is 14 mpg, Buckboard riding tires and an ear piercing noise from the rear air that Kia cannot fix. Complaints to corporate Kia landing on closed ears. I have entered this van for the "lemon law" program. I made a mistake buying this van. If you are thinking of buying this van, I suggest buyer beware