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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  The Best Boxie Sedan EVER! - 2012 Kia Soul
  By fiftydimes89 - October 18 - 10:06 am

  Well I like to start these off with the bad news. Unfortunately I have nothing negitive to say. I purchased my 2012 Kia Soul from Nationwide Kia, in Lutherville, MD. Those guys did an amazing job of showing me everything and informing me about the Soul. The deal I got was amazing even tho the inventory is low on these at the moment . Would reccomend the car to any and everyone .

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  Power to Surprise ***** - 2010 Kia Forte
  By pwr2surprise - October 17 - 9:38 pm

  Bought my Forte last week and so far the car has been very good. Korean Cars has been very reliable lately. Theres nothing i have as complain so far. Besides the good looks i like all the amenities and not to mention MPG is great. 1st Fill up i rode 400 miles w/ a full tank. I take a lot of Freeway maybe thats why but still very good for a 2.0 4cylinder.

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  Car for those in the know - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By JWBB - October 17 - 6:20 am

  Its a 4D sports car with a sedan body like the BMWs, the Lotus Cortinas, Toyota Supra, but at a much more reasonable price. Yes, it has AC and few conveniencies. But its got the old soul: maneuverablility, torque and the tech. And, its durable and realiable. It aint no Cadillac or a tricked out pimp ride, and its 2L DOHC Vortec, IFE has what it takes. Good for short as well as long hauls. Mac struts, 4Discs, Ind. sus., and its amazingly quiet. If you arent a really experienced sports car driver, I might not recommend it. But its little sister, the Reo and bigger brother Amante are rated #1 for safety. Best ride for the money Ive ever had.

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  bumpy, bumpy, bumpy - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Bearoness - October 16 - 5:46 am

  I enjoy driving the Rondo but you feel every bump in the road and that is uncomfortable. The gas mileage is okay but I had hoped it would be better (dont we all?)

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  Have I really become a Kia fan??? - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By dmblystone14 - October 15 - 12:57 am

  To be fair this is actually my girlfriends car but I drive it almost as much as she does. Everything about this car is average: the interior, the exterior, the performance. Nothing impressive. But I have actually become a Kia fan because of the reliability. Weve had this thing on several long road trips with no problems. Other than maintenance items and a transmission fluid change at 45k miles due to hard shifting this thing has never let us down. I have a rear-wheel drive V8 and am looking for an 4WD SUV for winter. I just might get a KIA Sportage of my own.

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  Words cant even describe the rage... - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By freqsounds - October 14 - 7:58 am

  You couldnt pay me to drive another one of these. My wife and I both purchased our own Sorentos. Each Sorento shares the same problems. These problems include transmission, engine, interior trim, electrical, body, and brake problems. The transmission slips, jolts, and resists the movement of the car. The engine sometimes misfires and makes a loud ticking noise. The interior trim doesnt line up and easily pops off. The headlights cut out and the backup cam doesnt always work. The body panels dont line up the way they should. The brakes are spongy and caused my wife to get in an accident, rear ending a Focus at 10mph, costing $4000 of damage.

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  Nice car, shady dealer experience - 2018 Kia Stinger
  By carenthusiast - October 13 - 10:58 am

  KIA made a nice car, but, they need more professional sales people and marketing tactics. They did a nice job copying the exterior of an Audi A5 Sportback with the interior of a Mercedes. The materials and fit are still subpar. For example, the push button is hidden behind the steering wheel. The temperature gauge feels like cheaper silver plastic, too. For some reason KIA won’t let you buy the GT with a sunroof, and the roof materials are dark making it a bit too claustrophobic for me. A lighter roof color would be better. Also, most of the GT1 and GT2 colors come only in red leather. To me, the gray Nappa is best but only comes in blue and few dealers carry it. Lots of red, black, and whites. The dealers experience was such a turn off I began looking at the Audi instead. It’s about the same price without all the bling, including the cheap plastic airports on the hood that serve no function.

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  Lucys Kia - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Robert Gayle - October 12 - 10:43 pm

  We tried all the big name small sport utes. This vehicle fit our needs perfectly. With the v6 it handles, and rides very well. We got the EX model mainly it was the only one with the upgardes we wanted. It has all the fetures we had in our 15yr old Mazda 929 trade in, and a few more.The leather seats are comfortable,rear seats have all kinds of room we didnt expect. Their is a Toyota RAV4 in the family and this thing has more creature comfort than we expected. The cargo area is much better than we expected. When we decided to purchase a new vehicle we tried the Tribute,Escape,Honda,Suziki,Chevy.what a disapointment.The tribute & Escape are a bad joke. KIA IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.

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  Lotta Soul - 2014 Kia Soul
  By Bo - October 12 - 4:58 am

  Great car, so glad I purchased it! Love everthing about it!

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  Most Fun to Drive under $5000 - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By Harry Kumar - October 11 - 10:50 pm

  I own a 2007 Spectra EX - Automatic, It is AeroDynamic, Sporty, Comfort ride at Highspeeds. PROs: 34+HwyMPG, Speed sensitive Steering, Quite, Spacious. Cons: Worst Locks/Keyless entry, Unreliable Electronics, No cruise control