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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  what warranty? - 2013 Kia Optima
  By bobbo9 - December 13 - 8:34 am

  With less than 3000 miles, the rear bumper cover "separated" from the back side panel. A "clip" which had secured the two panels had broken. They said it was an accident, I said it was a faulty clip. Escalated to Kia regional, and still no satisfaction. I paid $500 out of pocket to get it fixed. Couple this with the fact that I am not getting anywhere near the advertised MPG and I would never buy a Kia product again.

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  What crap!! - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Jer455 - December 11 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car because it was all I could afford. I wanted an upscale family sedan like the Accord, Galant or Camry but it was too expensive. The result is that people think I drive a Jag (based on the style) but laugh when they discover its a Kia. Dont get it, the only good thing about it is the price. The rep sucks and so does the ride. It is such a boring car.

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  10 Month Review...whew!! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By luv2nou2 - December 10 - 6:13 am

  Purchased the car in March 2010. We currently have 8,200 miles on the car. It has gone through 1 Recall (lighting issue in door panels) and 1 service repair on rear window (would not go up or down) had to tape window up. The power regulator on the window had to be replaced. Those are the only service issues weve had. Whew!! The average fuel economy we get is 21.8 MPG. We took it on a 2,500 mile drive earlier in the 2010 and saw 25.8 mpg. Not bad considering we traded a 2007 Mazda CX-9 AWD that got 20 mpg no matter how we drove. All in all this car is a good bargain for the amenities that come standard. Lost the Euphoria about 2 months in tho. The Mazda held it for 3 years.

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  You get what you pay for - 2010 Kia Soul
  By coloskibum - December 3 - 12:03 am

  Fun for the price, drives like what it is, a fancified econobox. Good sound system, nifty bluetooth. Seats not very comfy for short or tall drivers in our family. The fancy stereo distracts you from the VERY plain and basic everything else.

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  So-So - 2011 Kia Soul
  By aguywhowrite - December 2 - 7:37 pm

  Pros: Styling (it grows on you). Price. That really good Kia 4 cylinder engine. Very maneuverable. Its probably pretty durable. Cons: Handling is not a Kia strong point--tippy feeling on the highway, Not much of a ride. Hard seats. Bit of a blind spot. Hard to believe this is best in its class--You buy this car on price and value. 28 mpg on highway at 75-80 mph.

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  Cheating on GAS Mileage - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Unhappy user - November 30 - 7:10 am

  For gas price over $2/g. Gas mileage is one of the most important factor when I buy car. Its sticker shows 25- 34 miles/gallon. But after driving 13,000 miles, I am only getting 27 miles/g_freeway. Is it only me or just like some Kia dealers say, need to break in. After 13,000 miles???

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  My Greatest Mistake - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Tom - November 30 - 12:53 am

  First I have to say that it saddens me horribly to write a poor review for this car. It was such an amazing car for the longest time. My commute is 148 miles everyday and my Optima handled the long daily drive like a champ until this last month. At 63,373 miles the engine failed. It seized just cruising down the highway and nearly caused me to crash into the center divider. After a nice little dance with Kia, they agreed to replace it. At 65,973, the transmission had to be replaced. Finally a Kia mechanic told me that the 07 models have some severe quality issues. He said that owners who do heavy driving, and have long commutes have had head gasket, engine and transmission problems.

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  Rollover Deathtrap - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Soisi - November 27 - 2:00 am

  Simply put, these vehicles are too narrow, too short and thus rollover too easily. My wife turned one over four times after a gust of wind hit the Kia broadside in a heavy rain. Aggressive driving manuevers, such as trying to correct after a skid will flip these vehicles. I do not suggest them for anyone.

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  Nice exterior/poor reliability - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Brandrews - November 13 - 10:00 pm

  Bought this car brand new with 87 kilometers on it. Right off the bat the stereo didnt work right. Lost reception in the city all the time. Dealership replaced stereo, didnt fix it. Replaced wiring, didnt fix it. Replaced antenna, didnt fix it. Installed an aftermarket FM Modulator, didnt fix it. They hacked up my dashboard with their tools. 8 months later, countless calls to Kia Canada. Nothing has been fixed. The car hasnt started 5 times since I bought it brand new. The hinges on the back liftgate began to degrade and caused rust streaks down my back window. When fixing this issue, the dealership chipped two pieces off of the roof of my car. Now I need to have the roof repainted.

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  Very Noisy Cabin - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By R.S. - November 9 - 10:00 am

  The ride is rigid and the cabin is extremely noisy (unlike other reviews seen here). Other than that it is a decent, practical vehicle but is is hard to get past the noise.