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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  Koup great value - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Gary - December 12 - 6:53 am

  Been driving my Koup for about 3 weeks now and I must say that this is a nice car. The build quality is very good with no squeaks or rattles yet. The 2.4L engine is quite peppy and the 5 speed automatic transmission is responsive. The radio sounds very good for a base system and the standard Sirius satellite radio makes it very enjoyable. The cloth sport seats are comfortable and seem to be high quality. There are a few details that show where cost cutting was implemented such as no real carpeting in the car. The floor is covered with some type of fuzzy material, although carpeted floor mats are standard. Also, the silver parts of the alloy wheels are actually plastic inserts.

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  Commute, its off to work we go - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By wildbill - December 9 - 10:33 pm

  Have to drive 60 miles each way. Got a Spectra and it is satisfactory. No extra power, but I keep a steady 2900 rpm going 70 mph on the Garden State Parkway. That is when I am not in Bloomfield and Orange, NJ where the speed drops to 15 mph often. One queer characteristic has popped up once in awhile. The car forgets how to automatically shift. It usually occurs when I pass through the toll booth using EZ-pay. There I dont come to a complete stop, but go from 70 to 15 to 70 mph within a mile. The car comes up to speed, but the rpms go up too, up to 4500 rpm, then I take action. Well, the action is to go to the shoulder and stop the car. Restarting seems to reprogram the car fine.

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  Fun car to drive - 2010 Kia Soul
  By globalreset - December 9 - 9:33 am

  Just replaced my wifes car with this vehicle. Its a very fun car and it has a unique look. I think it looks sportier than the other boxes. Extremely roomy, especially compared to other cars in its class, with headroom enough to keep your cowboy hat on. Stereo, with sirius, and bluetooth features are well executed. Build quality is not so great. Center console, especially the armrest with storage, feels very cheap. Im really worried about the hinge on the armrest wearing down. Seats are not as comfortable as the ones in my SUV, but they are on par with the seats in the Jetta we replaced.

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  Great Value for PRICE! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Alexjon - December 8 - 2:00 am

  Im planning to get a Sorento by the end of the year, so I test drove a fully loaded 4x2. Very good car as far as could tell in the test drive, great interior /exterior design. The interior was very rich and plush! Very similar to Lexus RX 300 as far as looks but quality will be judged in time. The exterior was very nice and very appealing, it looks in better in person than the internet pictures. Engine could be a bit more powerful but for the price its a great deal! Overall I had a great experience driving this car and I will be the owner of a Sorento very soon.

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  Want Mustang Back - 2009 Kia Optima
  By NotHappy - December 6 - 2:13 pm

  I had a 2007 Mustang for 3 years but after many issues and the warreny being up at that time 11 days. I was thinking of trading..found Kia for another car but ended up buying Kia Optima. The car is very good car over all but the seats are so hard and not comfortable at all. My back hurts after drving the car. I would advise really drving the car for more then a short test drive. I did drive the car 3 times however a really long drive would be better. I try to hurry up and get to where I need to go so I want have to drive the car long. The only plus is the safety/warrenty and the radio is good other then that I wish I never got this car.

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  Good catch - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By me - December 5 - 7:40 am

  I was looking for an affordable SUV that was not a gas guzzler. The mileage is not as good as the Jeep Patriot, but for this price the Sportage is a real bargain. If your foot isnt heavy all the time, you can easily get 22-24 MPG. Kia product has dramatically improved since Hyundai bought them out.

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  Sorry But MPG Sucks - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By electricnow - November 28 - 2:58 pm

  The vehicle is great in every other way other than The MPG. My wife drives it most of the time and we both get the same results. 21-22.5 city and Hwy. The 22.5 was all interstate, two people in the car with no cargo. I am 61 yrs young and have had many brands of vehicles over the years and have had only two, Honda and Toyota that got the claimed MPG. I looked at the Honda CR-V but they would not give us enough for the trade and would not knock off enough on the car.

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  Optimum Optima - 2011 Kia Optima
  By rockinrn - November 24 - 9:11 am

  Just picked up my new 2011 Kia Optima EX. It is Snow White Pearl with grey leather interior. After driving the car for a few days I can say that it is great value for the money with better than average performance. The six speed automatic shifts smoothly and quickly. The 200 HP four cylinder engine has performance that is adequate for all but the most speed obsessed driver. The car has an amazing amount of front leg room. My 6 4" frame has room to spare and that is highly unusual in any car regardless of price. The fit and finish as well as the quality of the materials is top notch . Great car so far, but I still cant figure out the mood lighting in the armrests.

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  MY 07 KIA RIO - 2007 Kia Rio
  By JADAVI2 - November 22 - 6:53 am

  Love it! This is my 1st new car. I am very pleased with it. Great price, great car.

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  I may have a lemon according 2 other rvw - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Going Ape - November 21 - 10:00 am

  After reading all the other reviews I figured I coudlnt lose, great price, great quality, great warranty. So I went out and bought one. However, I have had several annoying things go wrong. Ive had it 2 months now and its been in the shop 4 times for several things. The most annoying is a vibrating feel and sounds and certain speeds and acceleration. I went through a car wash and water started dripping in through the top of the windshield. Most other things were minor. I like to drive it and the interior is really nice. But overall I like the vehicle. Plan on keeping it for a long time because depreciation is really bad.