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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  Early Adopter - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Linenguy - September 25 - 8:33 pm

  Purchased 2010 Kia LX and it is an impressive vehicle for price. Owned two Hyundai Santa Fes and compared what Kia offered for money and it was no comparison. Surprised 4 cylinder had similar power to my V6 Santa Fe. I live in hilly area and the 4 climbs as well as old V6. To early to tell is reliability will be as good as Hyundai, but since they are same company I assume it will be comparable. Vehicle drives sporty but feels solid and bigger than my Santa Fe. Will see long term mileage. Got my Sorento Lease for less than my 2007 Santa Fe with no money down. Take a look Im sure you will be impressed with value for money. Would get a V6 if you tow things.

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  The Drive Home Was Fun - 2008 Kia Optima
  By AndyHu - September 25 - 3:26 pm

  Just leased this vehicle for the gas mileage. The ride and comfort are awesome. The exterior styling is quite pedestrian. Fit and finish are excellent and the 4 cylinder engine is pretty peppy. You do not feel like youre driving underpowered. If the exterior styling isnt first and foremost in your mind, then for quality ride and transportation, I would highly recommend the Kia Optima. Plenty of interior space.

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  No longer an Acura owner! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By NASA Lil - September 24 - 8:36 am

  Love this SUV. Test drove one a few months ago and liked it. Drove other SUVs in the mean time- RDX, CX5, RAV4 Hybrid etc. and none of them really appealed to me. Test drove the EX with premium and tech packages- so all the goodies, and I loved it. White with grey interior looks awesome and the infotainment system is very nice. Fuel economy is lousy so lets hope the fuel prices dont go sky high for a while. UPDATE: We have owned the car for about 6 months and so far so good. We put a lot of miles on the Kia going back and forth to our sons college and we only had one real issue. Over the summer the air conditioning failed during a 90 degree day. We were not happy to say the least. When we brought the Sportage to the dealer they told us that they had a new firmware version that will fix the problem. I thought that they were full of it. BUT, low and behold the air conditioning worked perfectly from then on. The best part of the car so far is the Android Auto and Apple Car Play. I would never purchase a car without this technology ever. It works so well that it changes the driving experience. We are looking forward to the snow so we can try out the locking differentials- a feature that sets this compact SUV apart from others in the class.

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  Buy a Sportage - you wiill love it!! - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Patti - September 24 - 2:46 am

  Have had my Sportage from new for 2.5 years - now at 75,000 km. Best vehicle Ive owned. Absolutely no problems whatsoever - not even brakes! Other than regular oil changes have not had any issues at all. Warranty is great too! V6 is very peppy.

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  Loyal Friend - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By Ron - September 23 - 1:55 am

  We have owned our KIA Borrego since 2010 (8 years). Currently has 208k miles and still running strong. It has been a reliable, low maintenance vehicle through years of Boy Scout camping trips, family vacations, cross country road trips, and long distance and local work commutes. If Borrego were still being made in US I would buy another one.

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  Buy this van, save thousands, be happy. - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Mrodz - September 22 - 11:10 am

  Great van, period. Not just for the price. Nicely designed. Gets frequent second looks. Great acceleration for a van. Feels powerful, yet smooth.

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  Love it! - 2011 Kia Rio
  By jezdjb - September 20 - 5:52 am

  Bought the Rio for my daughter and she has nothing but nice things to say. The sx handles great when I drive it. Tight and very responsive. Avg 30mpg with city/hwy mix. Definitely a great first car or someone looking for a good little compact.

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  I love my little Alien Soul.... - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Alley S. - September 19 - 4:36 pm

  I just love my little alien colored soul. It handles like a dream. I went from a chevy s-10 which was only getting about 12 mpg in city. I have heard about the road noise but after being in a pickup for the last 10 years, I havent noticed any at all... This is a really cute car, rides great and so far really good gas mileage.

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  Excellent Value - 2011 Kia Optima
  By takmac - September 19 - 2:14 am

  My Optima EX 2011 was purchased in Indy about 4 mo ago. My original dream was a 4 yr old Lexus ES350, but after a lot of looking, comparing and driving all of the alternatives, I finally decided on the Optima for its value, long warranty, options and comfort. For what I would have paid for an upscale used car, I got a ton of great options. Mine is loaded; love the panoramic roof, heated and cooled seats, Nav, and engine. The Infinity stereo is awesome. Fit and finish is excellent. I like it much better than my siblings Fusion and Taurus. The rear-seat entry is way better than the Fords, and trunk space is more than sufficient. Ride is very good, engine quiet and road noise is acceptable.

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  Best Minivan weve owned - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By CAS - September 18 - 11:46 pm

  This thing really moves. The double power sliding doors, and the stow and go seating has been awesome. We bought ours with 58k miles, and weve put on 11k. So far not a hint of troubles. Weve had a five vans in our child raising years, and this one blows the others out of the water.