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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  Basic Transportation - 2001 Kia Rio
  By Stang - October 25 - 10:00 am

  These ratings are for a car which is basic transportation, not for a $35,000.00 Lexus or Acura. I drive this car 40 miles to work, every other day, (car pool). I have 33,000 miles on it, without one problem. I average 35 mpg. There are no rattles, no squeaks. It has a firm ride, but it gives me what I need. Reliable transportation to and from work, for $9,100.00 plus tax/title.

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  A Fun Family Car to drive - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By josafat - October 25 - 10:00 am

  My wife and I were looking for a family car that would be comfortable for the three of us (have a 2 year old daughter), plus our baby close to arrive. After looking to some SUVs and some other mini Vans we knew this Kia was the one because the three of us (including my daughter), loved it since we went in to our test drive. It is a fun vehicle to drive with the standard CD player and cassete player. Its ride is very smooth, with its dual air conditioning controls we can easily accomodate my wifes and myself use.

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  We Made a Great Decision!! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Mrjammer - October 25 - 10:00 am

  We bought an EX w/luxury package, ABS, load leveler, hitch, & spoiler. Rides great. Super quiet, loaded with features. We looked at just about every SUV in the $25-35K range, and the Sorento blew us away with its styling, features and warranty for the price. We love it! The total experience so far has been top notch!

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  Mix if good and bad - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By ken90004 - October 22 - 2:59 pm

  After six years and 65,000 miles, we are sending off the last payment. It is nice to have a vehicle that outlasted the loan. Still under extended b-2-b for another 35,000 miles, so we can pay ourselves. This car will give you peave of mind One only issue we had a the A/C stopped working. It ended up being a loose bolt. We even towed a light pop-up with this, with no issues. Its been a great vehicle. Peppy off the line but slow on the highway. Good in the rain and snow. But the gas mileage is terrible for such a small engine. One of our better buys .

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  Rocking the 2017 Kia Sportage - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Cheryl - October 21 - 7:48 am

  I am 61 and finally decided to buy my 1st new car. Looked on line and on the road. Decided it was between Land Rover and Kia Sportage. The Kia Sportage had better visibility and that Panoramic Sunroof!!! I went on the Kia Motorsports web page and built my own. There werent any near me that I wanted. It had to be white, with that Panoramic Sunroof. I found 2 at Peoria Kia in Arizona. I called and had one put on hold. I booked a flight, they picked me up at the airport in my new Sportage. Wow Kia has amazing style, features and good power for a 4 cylinder. I formerly had a Honda Ex V6 Accord. UPDATE: The only problem I have experienced is a BIG ONE!! :( BLIND SPOTS :( The side view mirrors and that area.

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  Love my Kia! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By kiersten565 - October 20 - 9:58 pm

  Ive been driving my Kia for almost four years now, it was used as my dads commuter car. I now have 220,000 miles on it and still going strong! Tires have been replaced, along with a new fuel filter and occasional oil changes and tire rotations but nothing major. I put almost 100 miles on it a day and it has great gas mileage. Im so surprised at how long its lasted for me. I will be very sad the day it gives up!

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  Nizzies - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By Phiedens - October 20 - 10:00 am

  I have a sportage EX 4wd I used to have an Jeep Cherokee, and I like the sportage better. Does surprisingly well off road. Great interior. Good sound system. Has turned out to be very reliable. Best warranty youll get. Good visibility. Poor power, could have a little more room. Great mileage

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  My Sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Orlando Casados - October 20 - 10:00 am

  I find my KIA a little heavy to drive and the turning radius too wide other than that I enjoy driving the vehicle, Its more than I expected, the Koreans did a good job. Id buy another. It is not a Oddessy But it is about $14,000 cheaper. GREAT vehicle

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  Over The Top for A Cheap Import - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Chainplate - October 19 - 1:09 pm

  I should probably wait to write a review as Ive only had the car for a couple of weeks and havent driven it that much (I think it still has less than 500 miles on it). Regardless, Im delighted with the car as it handles and performs far better than I expected it would. There are places where the fit isnt what a top-tier car should be but, then, its not a top-tier car. However, from someone who has owned 8 Mercedes-Benz, this car performs right up there. Some of the things I especially like: 1. The Hyundai Lambda engine is an excellent match for the car. Its very responsive and the relatively high butt gears gets you off the line with a nice snap. No, this isnt a muscle car V8 but for a small SUV, its damned decent. I dont complain about the fuel economy though my children might disown me for not buying a hybrid. 2. Exceptional braking with virtually no loss of control - even in hard braking maneuvers. Granted, Im not too aggressive with the brakes right now as Im letting them break in gently but the car still stops in a very short amount of distance. 3. The navigation/entertainment center is very easy to use - it all makes sense. Ive owned cars where I was continually searching through the manual to figure out, "How do I make it do . . . " whereas on the Kia, its easy to find the features Im looking for. Even the more esoteric features that arent used much, theyre easy to find. The sound system is excellent. 4. I absolutely love the self-leveling, HID headlights. Since Im an old man, my night vision isnt what Id like it to be. With these headlights, I can see everything in front of me clearly. Good news for you who drive near me at night! 5. Consumer Reports rates the car as having an excellent frequency of repair record. Im hoping theyre right. 6. I like the looks of the car. Subjective, I know, but its better than driving a car that I think is ugly. 7. My brother-in-law, who likes to point out everything whats wrong with everything I do, said that KIA stands for Killed in Action. Actually, Ki is Chinese for energy (sometimes transliterated as Qi). They added the a to stand for Asia, despite the fact that the car is built in the USA. Now that I own one, I see them all over the place. There are three things that I dont like about the car: 1. No Day Time Running Lights. I could turn the headlights on during the day but that leads me to Dislike Number 2. 2. Theres no warning chime, buzzer, etc if you leave your headlights on, shut off the engine and open the door the door. I think thats been a feature on virtually every car made in the last 40 years! Granted, the electrical system will shut down everything if the voltage gets too low - nice feature - but thats hard on batteries if you like to have the car lit up during the day and arent warned that youre leaving your headlights on. 3. Our trim line uses a hard, black plastic for parts of the steering wheel, the window control trim and the center console. How much could have it cost to do those pieces out of a nice wood?

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  Blown Engine - 2012 Kia Optima
  By J Supanich - October 19 - 3:00 am

  Engine blew at 47,000. Like others have posted, my engine blew driving 70 mph on the highway. I bought the car used with 36,000 miles. At 42,000 it needed the fuel pump replaced (under warranty). When the engine blew, it took a long time for Kia Motors to approve the work. They will try to find reasons to not cover the work. I finally got my car back 6 weeks later. Another issue I have is it is consistently pulling to the left. I have had it looked at 3 times already and its still not fixed. I do really like the some of the features of the Optima though. The Navigation and Climate Controls are on point. And it has a nice sporty feel to the car, but at this point Im looking to trade it in ASAP before something else goes wrong.