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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  Sooooo Glad - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By SUV to MiniVan - December 24 - 10:00 am

  I am a new owner and I must say, I love this Minivan. Its comfort can only be compared to the top sellers. Its look is very impressive to the eye, its price is the best part of all. I hated driving my 2000 Ford Expedition. It is huge and cumbersome to drive, ya should have seen me trying to put my baby in the car seat, had to get in the truck. The Sedona is easy access from both sides. I could easily afford all of the top brand and I test drove them all, I even put a $1000 deposit on a Honda and changed my mind at the last minute after driving the Kia

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  242,500 Still going strong!!!!! - 2001 Kia Spectra
  By Terry - December 23 - 5:10 pm

  I guess This says it all.

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  Really Good Car - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Swamp Creek - December 23 - 10:40 am

  This car has plenty of legroom and headroom for me, 6-6". Handles very well, although the ride is a little stiff. I bought mine without the third row seats. That gives me a nice cargo area with storage under the floor where I can stow all the miscellaneous stuff that usually ends up scattered all over the car. The six speed transmission is the best automatic transmission Ive ever driven and the four cylinder engine has plenty of power. Gas mileage is around 23.5 mpg around town. Its a company car and gets driven lots of short haul trips.

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  Two months and counting - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By GLJOD - December 21 - 11:36 pm

  Previously had 3 Chrysler Mini Vans but 5 transmissions so time for a change. The 5K rebate got me. So far the van is fine. Mileage seemed to be as issue with many but I am very happy with mine so far (2000 miles). 18 in the city and 24-25 on the thruway which is better than expected.

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  Excellent so far at 8500 miles - 2010 Kia Forte
  By wam927 - December 21 - 10:05 pm

  I have the 2010 Forte EX sedan with the Fuel Economy package and could not be happier. This is actually a car for my daughter to drive, so the safety features were an important consideration. We drove the car from Washington state to the gulf coast and averaged 35.2 mpg, including climbing over the Rocky Mountains, driving generally the speed limit (up to 75 mph). While the transmission hunted for gears somewhat with the cruise control in the mountains, the car performed flawlessly. The 5-speed auto. transmission is highly recommended. The 2011s 6-speed would be a welcome step up. The paint quality leaves a little to be desired, but overall the exterior seems to be reasonably good.

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  Surprised by KIA - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By KMacker - December 21 - 10:00 am

  After much research and comparing with other cars in its class (4Runner,Highlander,Escape,Liberty), I found the Sorento to be much more spacious then most of the others. With all of its features you can not touch a Toyota,Jeep, or Ford, for such a great price. I wanted a reliable and SAFE SUV for under $25,000 and the Sorento EX is awesome.

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  Snazzy ride - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Wolfie - December 20 - 4:53 pm

  The vehicle is noisy on the open road, but handles fairly well. Gas mileage is good. I had a Suzuki Vitara and it is more comfortable and only a few inches lower. My granddaughter loves it and says that it is more comfortable. Nice features.

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  2004 Kia Spectra - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By LLBinHOU - December 20 - 6:30 am

  I bought this Kia used 8 months ago and I LOVE this car! It has smooth manual shift, feels sporty, great on the mileage and very fun to drive! No complaints. None!

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  Surprisingly Great Tech Package - 2017 Kia Cadenza
  By Tom - December 19 - 9:33 pm

  I have owned BMW Convertible, 5 Series M Sport, Acura TSX & many Toyotas & Hondas. The 2017 Cadenza is the most comfortable car I have ever owned. Full of High Tech in Tech package. Smooth ride, excellent seats (better than Volvo).

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  50k+ and zero issues - 2011 Kia Optima
  By deeper - December 19 - 12:01 pm

  Car has shown no wear on leather seats or elsewhere. No squeeks. No issues. My Lexus LS430 had more problems at this mileage and mention this because at 1/2 the price makes Kia Optima a compelling used car buy.