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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  LOVE my Spectra! - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Mrs Orlando Bloom - April 12 - 7:13 pm

  Ive had my Spectra for about 3 weeks an I LOVE IT! Gas mileage is good, could get better, but sufficient for as far as I travel. Its fun looking and sporty, lots of room for a little car. Its great around corners, and handles great. Engine takes a little bit to kick in, but its not like Im in a race either. When it does kick in, its got great get-up-and-go speed. Smooth riding, and very comfortable. Im very happy with my purchase, and would recommend it to anyone who doesnt want to spend a lot, but wants to get great gas mileage and a fun, sporty ride, with a great sunroof to boot.

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  Sorento review - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Ricardo - April 12 - 10:10 am

  This car has outperformed any car I have had in the past including Hondas, GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc. Most comfortable car I have ever owned, also the power is unreal. Its got to have more than the 200 horses advertised. No problems with anything ...dealer is less than desirable though.

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  2007 Kia Spectra - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By Rich - April 10 - 9:36 pm

  There was nothing out there from the big 3 (or 2?) that combined the fit & finish, ergonomics, and gas mileage of the Kia Spectra5. I am replacing a Grand Marquis for my 110 mile round trip commute. At 61" 230 lbs, not many small cars fit me well. Kia seat is comfortable and everything (switches, etc) is where it should be. First tank of gas got 32 mpg in decent traffic, second tank in stop and go and stop traffic averaged only 29 mpg (my prior car got 19.6 and 12 mpg respectively in these situations, ao this is much better).

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  Disappointed - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Disappointed - April 10 - 6:23 pm

  Its been 3 months since my unfortunate purchase. Vehicle shimmies on first morning start up. Burning smell in cabin -interior lighting shuts off by itself -Electrical problems in general. Bad customer service. I thought $45,000 would go further than 5000km. I guess not by Kia standards. Service manager said the shimmy on morning start up was "the natural characteristics of the vehicle" Like that was going to make me feel better. I havent even mansion the loud undercarriage noise when you hit small bumps. In short, I took my chance with Kia and lost miserably

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  Not bad - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By derf - April 10 - 2:03 pm

  I like the interior space, the handling and the filtered cabin air. We just did our first trip with the KIA sorento 4 cylinder FWD automatic. It is rough riding compared to our Chrysler town and country. I am really disappointed with the gas mileage. It claims to get 29 mpg (4 cylinder FWD) but I only averaged 25mpg on our trip. I used cruise control and was on 4 lane highways all the way (508 miles). With All my other cars I got 2 or 3 mpg more than the window sticker. Perhaps the EPA estimates have been "readjusted".

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  enjoy my kia - 2013 Kia Optima
  By stan - April 10 - 7:24 am

  my kia get good mileage and maintence have been good lot of people at my job love my kia would recommended to anyone who desire to buy a kia.

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  Disappointed - 2012 Kia Optima
  By swkia - April 9 - 4:37 pm

  Poor gas mileage especially in the city. Under 16 mpg avg(mostly city) Never been gentler on a car(BORING) cant get it get anywhere near rated mileage. Dealer no help. Sirrus radio sounds awful when using Sirrus. I leased this vehicle expecting to save on fuel consumption. This low mileage is hitting hard at $4 a gallon. When researching I saw the low mileage warnings and bought into break in in period malarkey. Not true, got worse. If it werent for the poor gas mileage. I would give it high ratings. I like most everything else.

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  Love my new Kia - 2013 Kia Forte
  By paulestep - April 9 - 12:24 pm

  I recently purchased a 2012 Kia Forte EX. I absolutely love my car. It has plenty of pick-up, very quiet, great features and great gas mileage. Recently took it on a little road trip and was very impressed with how well it ran. It has more than enough room for my family of 4 and the trunk is large enough for our luggage plus my guitar.

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  A Real Sleeper! - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By adomaib - April 8 - 2:20 pm

  We have been a KIA family since our first Sedona 12+ years ago and currently own a Soul and a Rio. I was always intrigued by the Borrego but timing, finances and and model availability never seemed to come together; until this Memorial Day. We bought a 2009 LX AWD 6 cylinder with 29000 miles. We immediately took off on a 1000 mile driving trip to Northern Minnesota for a week. The Borrego met our every expectation. It was comfortable, roomy for all our gear, quiet, and it handled much better than all the negative reviews about "rough ride" would lead you to expect. Acceleration with the 6 cylinder is more than brisk, and our gas mileage for the trip was 21.9.

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  No Soul Better Than An Old Soul - 2013 Kia Soul
  By soulman30 - April 7 - 5:52 am

  Best bang for the buck. The Soul was made for the young and the young at heart. Entry and Exit is great for us that are starting to show our age. The young drivers really take notice of my ride and always stop me and comment that they think it is super cool.