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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  great value!!! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By jin1028 - December 1 - 2:53 am

  I purchased spectra as commute car which I drive more then 80miles a day. It has been great! never had a problem and very affordable then any other competitor vehicles.It is not roomy or stong performance as what I expected but I cant complain about value.I have been shopping over least 5 different vehicles but Spectra had great value overall and has best warranty... It was least $4000 cheaper then honda civic or toyota corolla...I owned for almost 2 years and never had any problems and only maintenance I do just change engine oil...I have about 59000miles already and I am gonna go for least 200k miles.

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  Its wonderful - 2013 Kia Soul
  By kellymo719 - November 29 - 10:27 pm

  I traded in a 2005 Honda Civic for the 2013 Kia Plus, and I am in love! It is exactly what I was looking for in a car - its small, but spacious; the back seats fold down and offer a ton of room in the back. I am able to take my bike or my two yellow labs in the car with me no problem! Its got great response when I step on the gas, excellent brakes (and I love the brake assist). Also, mine came with an extra feature to turn on the car from outside, so I can warm it up in the mornings or start the AC, and it stays locked and running, and if someone tries to take it, it will automatically shut off without the keys. Its seriously WONDERFUL!

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  The Unbelievable 2006 Kia Sedona - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By rdgramling - November 29 - 2:53 pm

  Simply amazing! The price hooked us and the test drive reeled us in. We love everything about this vehicle. We have only had the car a couple of weeks, but have loved every day. We make up reasons to go for a drive. The turning radius is amazing, the fuel economy surprising, and the added features are almost endless. Attention to detail is what I ultimately love best. There are so many extras, we actually had to read the manual to remember all the buttons. A little practice and now it isnt a problem. With three kids, ease of access has also proven beneficial.

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  Kias First van is a sucess - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By kialover15 - November 28 - 5:23 am

  This van has been such a blessing. We needed to get an affordable van that was able to have a wheelchair lift installed, we had no idea that it was going to be such a great van. It was very comfortable, great visibility. We have only had 1 problem in the 6 years that we have had it, and it was still under warranty when the A/C went bad. Oh great Warranty too. We have a lot of experience with Kia since the sedona, would recommend any of the 10 models to people.

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  Our Car... - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Heather - November 27 - 10:06 pm

  We got everything we were looking for with our Kia. After looking at the Honda Pilot, Toyota 4Runner and the Jeep Liberty, I am so glad we chose this car.

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  GET ONE NOW!! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By jason sheets - November 27 - 2:00 am

  EVERYTHING I WANTED< NOTHING, ELSE COMPARES...PRICE, WARRANTY, SAFETY... ASK FOR MIKE WATSON!!!

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  NEW OPTIMA FIRST 4 DOOR - 2008 Kia Optima
  By daewkia - November 25 - 9:06 am

  Well decided to try a KIA got my optima very base model only option "floormatts" so far I am impressed what you get as a base car,pwr windows, nice stereo w/cd player,pwr locks,a/c I just wish it had cruise control,I do not drive to much as I have a company car but I am in a new city and wanted a reliable car.I am suprised how peppy the car is and how the fit and finish seems above average.I expect this to be a great car excellent warranty I will be taking a 1000 mi trip soon and fully expect it will be a pleasure and very comfortable drive, I only have 195 mi on the car as of now BUT I expect to have the car for a long time to come and will report back. purchase price was 12,500 total

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  Fun to drive vehicle with its quriks. - 2012 Kia Sportage
  By mjonm - November 24 - 12:58 am

  Fun to drive SUV. We replaced a 2006 Nissan Murano that was a gas hog,and was falling apart and this is a much better SUV. The Nissan rogue we test drove was a piece of crap,and the visibility was horrible and the CRV? garbage,RAV 4? ugly. The Sportage offers alot of excellent standard features over those other models. The only downsize is the hard plastic interior that easily scratches even if you breathe on it. Kia should improve it and make the interior better quality and durable with softer touch materials and padding.

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  Finally - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Dick Faust - November 23 - 3:43 pm

  We have a 2011 Sportage and still love it. This represents the first radical change since that model came out. It meets my entire checklist of must have items except for adaptive radar cruise, which is only available in larger models. We were willing to forgo that option in favor of the size of the Sportage which is just right for us. We couldnt be happier. Kia has worked on every feature to make it smoother, softer and more advanced while still intuitive.

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  Great Value KIA - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By nolarobert - November 23 - 2:50 pm

  This is a new purchase. I was able to get the "Copperhead" color, so the car looks sharp & it has fog lights and a rear spoiler. Before you laugh at the spoiler, I was cruising the I-10 at 105 mph & this engine was up to the task. At 85 mph & below the cabin noise was minimal. I took some local back roads and the suspension was solid and the car felt glued to the road even as I took the curves at a goodly amount of speed. The brakes bring the car to a quick stop with no spongy fade. I look forward to taking my new Spectra on a long road trip to visit family in TN. The 700 mile journey will allow me to wring this car out & see if it holds up for the 11 hour drive.