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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  Happy Driver - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By profinej2 - June 6 - 10:26 am

  Love the way car handles, great looks, well designed.

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  great buy - 2004 Kia Rio
  By Will Lowe - June 4 - 9:40 pm

  This is a great car for what you pay for it. For what you spend on gas a year, it will pay itself off in 3 years. At 4.55 a gal I pay $32 to fill it up. I get 40 mpg hwy and 32 city. I have 43,000 mile and runs great. Dependable and reliable. There is one thing that is flawed with it design when you drive it make a noise when your on the h. W it whistles when the wind hits it at a certain direction. The A.C. kind of sucks but the climate here in the bay area is nice and cool.

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  So happy to be GONE! - 2010 Kia Rio
  By stinalynn - June 4 - 3:14 am

  I bought this car because at the time, I had no choice. I needed a cheap car with a good warranty. Well, you get what you pay for! I had a small fender bender, hitting a car at 10 miles per hour. It resulted in a total breakage of the ball joint. My husband, an ASE certified master technician, took one look and could not believe the poor quality (he is convinced it broke first, causing the accident!) It was great on gas, but thats about it. I just got rid of the thing, for a beautiful Mazda crossover, and Ive never been happier!

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  no power - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Bill - June 3 - 9:46 pm

  stay away from the 1.6 liter engine, the power is similar to a 10 speed bicycle and the mileage is terrible for such a small engine. The 2.0 isnt much better, only barely adequate power, and the mileage is even worse. Whats with the all black interiors? HOT as a pizza oven in the warm weather, and sorta claustrophic. A more nuetral color would be nice. And the rear visibility STINKS. Hard to change lanes and parallel park BECAUSE YOU CANT SEE!!!

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  Wow ...Rondo...What?? - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By C Neumann - June 3 - 11:26 am

  The 2008 Kia Rondo is a pleasant surprise. We considered a Matrix or Vibe but the Rondo won the day. Its clearly a great value. The quality of the Rondo is impressive. Kia has grown up here and can compete with the big boys. Good work Kia! The utility, roominess and ride of the Rondo is impressive. Seven seats in this size of car is amazing. The car does what its supposed to, has all kinds of bells and whistles (the heated seats are nice) and the price cant be beat. Great for small families who dont like big mini vans. The 4cyl engine and transmission are more than adequate. Im looking forward to seeing how the quality of this vehicle holds up over time.

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  Great car for $ - 2010 Kia Optima
  By lisa522 - June 2 - 10:00 am

  Its a great running car, good on gas. Lots of room on the inside. 3 kids ages 7,9 & 12 also a hubby that is just over 6 feet. Very roomy. It has a big trunk also. We went from a 3rd row seat trailblazer. The trailblazer was good but we would have to put the back seat to travel so the kids had to sit in the bench seat anyways so it doesnt really change with the space we need cause the optima trunk is so big & so much better on gas.

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  Ill Never Buy Another Kia - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By Shannon - June 2 - 10:00 am

  I dont know where to start. This was my first new car purchase and I am so disappointed. I guess Ill just make a list: 1) recurring transmission problem (shifts hard) its intermittent and the dealership can never replicate it so they wont fix it 2) passenger airbag sensor only works intermittently, theyve changed the whole seat cushion twice, it still doesnt work 3) the air conditioning compressor has been replace twice and a pulley once 4) rear hatch rattling 5) horrible gas mileage, 6) terrible sound system 7) rear floorboard trim keeps popping off 8) air blows out all vents no matter what setting you have it on 9) headlights 10) valve cover gasket is leaking, I would not recommend it!

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  Will never buy again! - 2008 Kia Rio
  By lindseyh26 - June 1 - 8:03 pm

  I bought this car back in 2008. I have had to replace things i shouldnt have had to replace already. Replaced bearings, rotars, i go through tires like no ones business, and timing belt has to be replaced about ever 30,000 miles. (rios are known for that) other than that the car is pretty good, but i would never purchase one again. They will last forever, but you have to always be replacing something.

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  Good deal - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By nickppatel - June 1 - 3:10 pm

  Wife and I just purchased our Sorento EX AWD w/ luxury package and ABS. Had to trade in our Infiniti FX 35 for something less expensive on account of a new member of the family on the way. Make no mistake - this is NOT a Lexus, Infiniti or Acura. It IS, however, an excellent value and hands-down is the best bang for your buck. The ride is very smooth, although the steering is a bit unstable - it feels like if you were going fast enough and you cornered sharp enough, youd roll over. The interior materials are top-notch - I love the wood grain trim against the leather. We negotiated a good deal on the price - $23,700 walk out including ALL fees, etc.

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  What a buy! - 2014 Kia Soul
  By Tom - June 1 - 3:00 pm

  This is an awesome little economical car that more people should know about. Its very easy to get in and out of and you sit pretty high which is great for visibility as well as for entry and exit. The seats are supportive and comfortable, if not plush and overly cushioned. Its like a small SUV in a way. Its quiet and rides well and also handles well. Not like a highway cruiser or luxury car or sports car, but at that low price, you couldnt expect it too. No, its just an inexpensive little car thats big on room, build quality, reliability, value and safety. It could use just a little more cargo space and get a little better MPG. If the car has a flaw its a little noisy when accelerating from a start and also a little slow to get to speed when merging under hard acceleration. But when you get to highway speeds its actually pretty quiet and moves with ease. I drive up a hill every day and never have a problem with power. The base has everything I wanted feature wise, nothing too techy, just simple and easy to use. A remote rear latch release would be welcome, though. Ive had it over a year now and no problems and its holding up fine.