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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  Transmission Problems Already? - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Kia - Still Junk? - September 22 - 10:00 am

  I was excited to have radio controls on the steering wheel, except that I dont use them b/c its too difficult to reach & work the volume control - its on the inside of the wheel. Kia used the Seek function instead of moving you through your pre-selected stations. You may have to go thru multiple stations before you get to one you want. Its easier to reach over and change the stations on the dash! Finally, my Sorento has been towed to the dealership with only 1900 miles on it for transmission problems. Diagnosis: "their equipment wasnt working and the mechanic had gone to lunch for the next hour." Hum...Is this the start of a bad relationship?

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  Been a good one for me - 2001 Kia Rio
  By spanky116 - September 20 - 10:00 am

  Well, I have had the car for a year now and have no problems whatsoever with it. It has never seen the dealership for anything. No recalls, no mechanical problems. Gets me about 35 to 36mpg on each tank of gas. Standard with air(cold air at that.)If you are looking for a cheap inexpensive vehicle for your kid or you to drive to work and back, then this is your car. I would not recommend it as your only car but for a second vehicle, you cant go wrong.

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  dougs kia sedona review - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By sedonabroncofan - September 20 - 10:00 am

  my friend from denver was impressed when we wheeled into the airport with our new sedona. he raved about the ride, handling, and styling both inside and out. couldnt believe the price. excellent. figured it would be at least 5,000 more than we spent for it.

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  Poor sound system - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By remichal - September 20 - 10:00 am

  If its sound that you want and you want a CD/Cassette combination, forget it. Kia offers CD only or Cassette only. Personally, facing such limited options I chose the cassette and ditched the CD. I can make compilation tapes of my favorite CDs and play them in the car. I do not want to buy two copies of my favorite CDs to avoid toting them back and forth between the house and car. And the sound quality in a car they tout as bordering on luxury is marginal at best. Theres also plenty of storage space for cassette tapes but absolutely nothing for CDs. Whever the rocket scientist is who made this brilliant decision in options left his brain at home that day.

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  Koreans have caught up - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By Robert - September 16 - 8:10 pm

  Did a lot of research before buying. Largest interior in the class. Good air bags and safety features, awesome warranty. So far averaging 28 MPG in town. Very quiet interior, and the VTI sends out good amount of torque to get moving well. Good on the highway and works well in town. It is a heavier car than its competitors, but this is good in my book. It is a pleasant car to drive and we are looking forward to our first road trip in it.

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  Pretty good so far - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By mikepm - September 15 - 11:02 pm

  Im at just about 2000 miles and thus far, the only issue Ive had is with the Bluetooth. The MPG that some people complain about I can understand a little. I can easily achieve 29mpg on highway IF and only IF I travel at speeds of 50mph to 65. The highways around here are sometimes 75-80 and Ill only get 24mpg there. Other than that, pretty good stuff.

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  Kia Sedona at 5000 miles - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By micwalk - September 15 - 9:56 pm

  Weve recently passed the 5,000 mile mark with our "loaded" 2005 Sedona. Those miles included two trips over the 2004 holidays, totalling about 3,000 miles. So far Id say we have a somewhat less than average impression of our first KIA. Probably the biggest complaint we have is with the gas mileage. Our expectations - as set by the salesman- were 22+ mpg, Needless to say we were dismayed when we got a little over 18. The second area we found lacking in this vehicle is with the interior space. Utilizing the available space behind the third row seating reduces the "recline" feature and makes for a less comfortable trip. Overall, the features are nice but the controls are confusing.

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  I thought it was a good idea at the time - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By MonkeyMan - September 13 - 8:30 am

  Ive had the Sorento for a year and a half now. It was in the shop for a total of 35 days and needs to go back again. Most of the time in the shop I think was due to dealer incompetence, although the transmission problem never was resolved. The vehicle shutters/buffers ALWAYS when cruising between 45-50mph. The vehicle also shimmys when applying the brakes. Also all the black plastic parts on the truck are now so faded they are almost white.

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  Nice car, give Kia a chance! - 2009 Kia Optima
  By Steve - September 9 - 12:00 pm

  Picked up my LX automatic the very last weekend of Cash for Clunkers, which combined with the $3000 rebate made the car very affordable. Great list of standard equipment, good exterior and interior design, and a killer warranty made this an easy purchase. Ive averaged 25 mpg in mixed city driving and just averaged 31 on a 300 mile road trip. Considering that I traded a 13 mpg SUV, Im loving the savings on gas.

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  Kia Optima ALi - 2005 Kia Optima
  By ASyed - September 9 - 8:13 am

  I bought this car 3 years ago and i havent had any problems. I havent really been maintaining this car as should but it doesnt bother me at all. very reliable. this car is definitely undervalued. should compete with Honda or Camry.