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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  Loved It! - 2006 Kia Optima
  By LuvMyKia - June 11 - 5:53 pm

  I really loved my Kia. It is so unassuming. I used to be a person who frowned on a Kia. After test driving a few cars and being disappointed with their get up and go (Honda Civic included). The dealer brought the Optima out. I put my foot on the gas and was GONE! Smooth ride, great on gas... I love it!

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  MY FIRST CAR - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Sherman - June 11 - 3:20 pm

  I have a 2002 Kia Rio and I had for about one year now and I have nothing but good things to say about this car. This is my first car and luckily it is a very good one. When I first bought this car I was a little leery because I grew up an American car lover and this one was Korean. Second I was concerned about the performance factor since it only has 96 horsepower. All my worries were put to sleep when I had the car for a day and the way it handled and the surprising snap it had for only 96 horsepower. Next is the reliability; in the 11 months I owned it the car never gave a sign of problems. The only money spent was for maintenance and the crazy wheels, paint and engine upgrade. great car.

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  Great Value - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Jae Kim - June 11 - 10:00 am

  Just picked up this car. Engine is a little weak but what do you expect out of a economy car? Its fine with the 5 speed. The shifter is a little hard but Im sure once I put miles on it, it will smooth out. Great car for a first time buyer. And great price. Paid $8200 cash with rebates and loyalty rebates. There is even a military rebate. Second Kia (first one a sedona, great minivan) and Im loving them both.

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  LOVE my KIA Sedona! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By TAF - June 11 - 10:00 am

  We have had our new Sedona for almost 2 weeks now. Just took a trip to the beach and loved every minute of the drive! Highway mileage was decent, but have not had a chance to drive too much in the city to rate city mileage. Price was excellent compared to competitors.We paid so little for our Sedona that we were able to have a video entertainment system installed. This car has so many neat extra features that my Nissan minivan never had. I want to know why more people arent driving these cars! They are great!

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  We love ours - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Kris - June 11 - 8:53 am

  Except for the low miles per gallon, we like our Sedona. We were in a minor wreck and because it is quite a sturdy van, you can barely tell. We used to have a Ford Windstar, and in that particular wreck, we would have seen a lot of crumpling. For the low price, this is an excellent choice.

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  Better than I expected - 2008 Kia Rio
  By Aaron Salinas Jr - June 10 - 2:06 pm

  I bought the car for my wife to drive to work and save money in gas. Best thing I ever did we went from 12 to 14 miles to the gallon in the city to 26 to 28 to the gallon in the city. We cut our gas bill from $75 to $30 per week. I cannot wait to get it on the highway to see how many miles I can get. I also bought the car because I am not a small guy and when I first sat in the Rio I was able to get in and out with out hitting my head on the roof. The space was also a factor and the Rio was a perfect size for wife and me. The interior has enough space to place the 3 kids in the back seat and stuff in the trunk.

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  Love my Soul!!! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Geekyali - June 10 - 11:03 am

  I love my soul. It is fun to drive; from the gas station to the grocery store, people are always asking me about it. Can fit 2 kids in back comfortably, 3 small ones if necessary. Being a smaller person (only 5 feet tall), it is very comfortable. Love the bluetooth and the hand controls. It is quiet and reasonably priced for a city driver.

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  Sloppy - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By fourthrowe - June 10 - 2:06 am

  Ok, I know its not a Honda, but when I had to borrow my friends Integra, and got back in my Kia, all I could think was "sloppy." The shifter, the brakes, you name it, sloppy. It has never failed me, even with 163k miles. I still love the sag-proof roofliner. Some people have problems with the dash buckling, I havent seen it yet. Oh, and I was wrong in my other review about the Mazda engine/Getrag designed tranny, that was 98 and previous Sephias. I certainly would not recommend this car to a friend just because its slow AND gets bad mileage. I average 23mpg city/hwy. Highway only is 33mpg. Also, this car will scare you if you go over 80mph. It acts like its in a hurricane.

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  2007 Kia Rondo LX Wagon - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By dannothemanno - June 9 - 1:46 pm

  This is my second Kia and am even more impressed with the Rondo than I was with my Sephia. Great ride, great comfort, great features, great price, we opted for the 100k/10 year warranty (bumper to bumper) for an extra 1k which translates to no worries for a very long time. My wife and I love it as a "touring car" with those great windows we can take in all the great views.

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  Beatifull eye catching Suv - 2016 Kia Sorento
  By Bert - June 6 - 11:40 am

  I bought my 2016 Kia Sorento on Oct 31 ,2015 shiny Red Apple exterior and beige interior , wood trim on doors and shift knob,,it looked like a very expensive import Suv,,,heated front seats ,etc...well the tires pressure was 45psi and I was surprised because on the side wall of the tire says 44psi max but the mpg was 32 for the first few days, ride was very bumpy and I could feel every single imperfection of the road, so I decided to lower the tires pressure to 40 psi ,, ride improved a lot much smoother and quiet but mpg went down from 32 to 25/26 and that caught my attention very much,,I kept that psi for 2 weeks and mileage was very low,,so I went back to 45 and " Wow" my mpg went up again !!! Now I keep 42psi on the 4 tires and mpg average 26/27 , still good because 39 dlls gets me a full tank of gas for 1 1/2 week of driving..my only concern now is a very weird jolt on the transmission when I come to an stop, it launches forward lightly when I am waiting at the stop light and when slowing down to stop the shifting is lil bit abrupt, not smooth as it should be in a brand new car,,,engine is dormant in Eco mode ,,but very alive fast and powerful in sport mode, but every time the engine is turned off driving mode goes blank meaning you have to set Eco or sport mode again and again....overall I am happy with my Sorento I will take it to a Kia dealership to have the tranny and engine checked, but the Sorento looks are great ,comfort is superior if tires are kept at low psi,,noise is lil bit high at 60+ mph and you have plenty of room for long legs ,tall people and lots of hide away places under the rear back seat if you carry expensive items...and I am a happy owner of this gorgeous Suv..Sorento LX 2016