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:

• 

  Never thought Id buy a KIA.. - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Scott - September 27 - 8:53 am

  I thought KIAs were cheap disposable cars. Then we went and tried a test drive. It wasnt too bad after all, and the warranty was excellent. We do have a problem with the clock. the dealer says he has 16 on backorder so I guess this is going to be a major problem for the folks at KIA if the failure rate on them is this high at 1 dealer.. We also had a shudder in the drive line when starting from a dead stop; the dealer took out some rubber blocks that were in the words of the dealer "made too soft" for the application. Problem solved. We only have 3,000 miles on the truck now and hope this will be as good of a car when it has 130,000 miles on it!

• 

  What a great car!! - 2014 Kia Optima
  By vento84 - September 27 - 1:53 am

  I have a 14 optima sxl and I love it. If you are looking for a car around 40,000 definitely look at Kia. It drives beautifully the turbo is a must! Ok fuel economy .

• 

  21 year old whos content - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Jeffd5151 - September 26 - 10:00 am

  as my first "real" car, I was quite pleased with not only the purchase, but the actual car itself; Im 21,which means I like fast. I got it. Im 21, which means I like safety, I got 6 air bags, and side impact bars. Im 21, and I love my car. Its stable in the wind, (upwards of 50mph winds today in austin,tx) and the design rolls the rain right off; no fear of water spots. fun to drive, weather its my friends, or (gasp) my family.

• 

  Optima - 2004 Kia Optima
  By mark bailey - September 26 - 10:00 am

  Love it! Looks great, drive great, and there is enough room for my twins in the back seat.

• 

  2006 Kia is nice! - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Tish - September 24 - 4:13 am

  I change vehicles at the drop of a hat. I sold a vehicle because it had a flat tire and another because the tires were too small and another because I couldnt get used to the color, but the Kia is for keeps. Most vehicles I buy, there is something I dont like, but no matter how hard I try, I cant find anything too bad that makes me want to get rid of it. Its smooth, nice looking and comfy. I think this is the best vehicle purchase Ive ever made.

• 

  Things I Wish I Knew - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By kam2901 - September 23 - 9:19 am

  I bought this car used in 2014. It only had 49k miles on it and was a one owner car. I thought I had a great deal since it had such low mileage for the age and that it was a one owner car so I bought it after my mechanic looked at it. About a month after purchase I filled my tank and it began stalling (its an automatic) and releasing black smoke out of the exhaust. I immediately got it towed to the dealership and they replaced all of my spark plugs and fuel lines and the problem was fine. Now a year later at 59k miles I filled my tank to only 3 quarters of a tank and the same problem is occurring. I wish I knew what I was getting into or else I would have gotten something reliable.

• 

  Beware of dealer - 2012 Kia Soul
  By thuds - September 22 - 1:28 am

  Quite a few dealers sell KIAs as a secondary model-more of a "cost leader". Some really dont care whether the customer is happy with poor service because its not their "main" brand. If factory mats fail at 7000 miles thats standard due to "cheap" materials. I was disappointed with dealer treatment and with their service department, plus poor followup from their sales department. Had Scions, Mini Coopers, Jetta TDIs and got outstanding service. Not in KIAs case. Mileage not as advertised, but did not expect it to be. All round, I feel the car can be great, just dont expect decent service or followup after the sale.

• 

  2005 KIA SEDONA - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By LISA - September 21 - 4:46 pm

  So far it is a nice vehicle. It has great pickup and rides very smoothly. I had a DVD put in for the kids and it makes it all worth while. The price is right and we got a great deal for a large automobile.

• 

  GREAT VALUE! - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By nikki1274 - September 21 - 3:46 pm

  Great car all in all. I bought it in Feb 09 for $15,000. I was looking at used cars and found this to be cheaper brand new than the used 4 cyl. 07 Ford Escape. I love the way it drives and it looks awesome. VERY SPORTY!!! My only complaints are the tires wore out around 20,000 miles and it cost around $700 to get 4 new ones! Kia told us that the tires for this vehicle are expensive and thats just the way it is. Gas mileage is my other complaint when i fist bought the car I was getting almost 23 on the highway and after replacing the tires with "gas saver" tires I now get about 19.5 highway. No one seems to know why the mileage has gone down. Except for those things I LOVE THIS CAR!

• 

  Disappointed - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By T. Brown - September 21 - 4:23 am

  I purchased this car new and all I can say is that only an idiot (and that includes me) would pay $28,000 for this Korean piece of crap. Problems are too numerous to list, however have been covered under warranty up to this point. Too bad I dont get reimbursed for all my time sitting in the service dept waiting area. The mileage issue has nothing to do with engine size. The transmission is not geared properly which is why at 70 mph you tach out at 2800 rpm. Car needs a 5th gear. The vehicle is also rusting on the inside of the doors (the car has been garaged every day since bringing it home). The car is now worth only 13k and has every option on it that KIA offers. Will never buy another KIA.