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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  Solid Economy Car - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By Rhea - January 26 - 7:30 am

  This car delivers on fuel efficiency! It is a basic car with a great warranty. I have had a few problems with the car but when I take it to the dealership they fix it with no questions asked. It is a great first time car or for those who need basic reliable transportation.

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  My 2002 Kia Spectra Reliable - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By JED - January 20 - 8:03 pm

  I have 65,000 miles on it. I only have has minor issues on the car. Its pretty reliable and GREAT on gas. If someone is looking for a car thats economical and cant afford a civic or a corolla this is the car with comparable features as the competitors. I wish Kia and Hyundai would hold their value much better. Overall its been a great car and Korean have come up in the auto industry.

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  My Kia Stinks - 2012 Kia Optima
  By sylus - January 19 - 9:12 pm

  We bought a 2012 ex turbo in April 2012. from week one we could smell mold in the car. After typing in my kia smells into google it appears this is a know issue on models across the Kia range from 2011. Six months later we still cant get Kia to admit the mold problem and we are stuck with the car despite several attempts to recify it. Incredibly dissapointed in the car, getting mold into our lungs and Kias response. No good having a warranty for 7 years if its in the workshop all the time.

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  Rio Timing belt problems - 2004 Kia Rio
  By mttom - January 6 - 5:27 am

  Im tearing down a 2004 Kia Rio with 32000 miles, well cared for, Not Abused, fresh oil change and Fram filter, LOCKED engine, failed timing belt, At first I thought inferior quality belt and poor components, but this is a rugged copy of the Mazda which can run many miles, everything looks great but the belt is hard and not very flexible. Maybe Kia scrimped on this but I really doubt it, seems like a heat problem so I did a closer look. To keep engine noise to an absolute minimum, the hood is heavily insulated as well as a plastic cover plate over the engine, But in addition to that Both fenders and the firewall have a continuous rubber gasket as does most of the front of the hood,

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  My Car and its Value - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Robinson - January 6 - 5:16 am

  Driving this car is really good. I love my car the color is great it green. And it handle the road great, driving it is fun. My car has a sun roof a great feature. It has a great attaction to it. People love the look of my car. The price of the car is to high because it does not hold it value and it does have great potential.

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  Love my Little Car - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Taclivin - December 28 - 10:00 am

  This little car has been a great one. No issues with regular oil changes, tires, and brakes. It is a tiny car and really only fits the driver comfortably. Kids in the back have absolutely NO leg room,and if you have a passenger next to you be prepared to be close...really close.This little car never did me any wrong, and with had no frills, there was never anything extra to break. It was my daily commuter. The heater in this car works amazingly! Cold start to fully thawed in 5min flat! After ten years it has began to rattle itself to death. To the point where I no longer want to drive on the freeway. I have no interest in getting my little beater fixed, just gonna drive it till it dies.

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  OPTIMA - 2008 Kia Optima
  By ron - December 26 - 7:46 am

  Took it home and took it right back the next morning. It came off the truck with a bad alignment. Pulled to the right. It took about 6-8 days to fix. I asked where is my car? Oh its at Nissan. What Nissan? yeah, they have the alignment machine. Im like why dont the kia dealer have the equipment necessary to support the warranty? The salesmen asked me do I know how much that cost like i cared. The car has been great since i got it back. 1800 mi now. Took the family to Bolxi, MS and it did fine. Gas mileage great compared to my 6.0 L silverado. With $3000 cash back i walked out the door for LX model $14,600

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  Buyers Remorse - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By James - December 18 - 5:33 am

  This vehicle is really uncomfortable to drive for more than an hour. The drivers seat curves up sharply jabbing into your rear end. Im not a skinny guy, but by no means large either. But the real disappointment is in the 23 mpg avg Im getting. Mostly highway, this is very disappointing in a car this size. Now one nice thing is that the controls are easy to reach. Second, this car really has some kick. It will jump out in traffic like a 6 cylinder vehicle if you need to. But it fails to be a good ride and to be economical to drive.

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  Dont Buy One! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Palmtree - November 29 - 10:00 am

  Picked up EX on Wed. Heater defective. On Sat., they say bring back on Mon. Go back on Mon. (after a very chilly 5 days), and get rental car. Finally call me on Thurs. to say its fixed and they had to order a part and take apart my whole dashboard. Pick up my car again on Thursday. Immediately notice a 4-inch knife gash in passenger door upholstery. Show manager. Promises to replace entire door panel today. So now I have a brand new, 10-day old car that Ive gotten to drive only 3 days. AND, theyre never the same once they start taking apart the dash, door etc. Exceptionally poor service given by Fette Ford -- during both sales process/repair.

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  AWD is terrible! - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By smallsuvdriver - November 29 - 8:15 am

  I think Kia forgot that above all, it is supposed to be an SUV! In the freak blizzard we had this past October, I was driving home when my windshield wipers stopped working simply b/c snow had built up under them, I tried turning them off, back on, spraying blue stuff, nothing would make them come back...I got out in almost white out conditions & scooped the extra snow & slush from under the wipers. They started to work again..... cant imagine if I had still been on Interstate and that happened. The next day, it couldnt even get up the hill outside our house! Our Subaru Forrester had no problems at all! After only a year, traded it in on a Ford Escape.