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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  Kia my kind of Car - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By Tim Monaghan - December 19 - 2:00 am

  Love this car, excellent price for all it offers

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  jacks review - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By JACK - December 19 - 2:00 am

  we bought this car a year ago and have had a lot of fun with it. had a little trouble with the brake rotors - took it in and the dealer replaced the rotors at no charge, with a smile. it was a great experience.

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  I am probably a kia man - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By rob - December 18 - 12:30 pm

  I have owned this vehicle for a couple of days and I am honestly surprised by the performance and 100% happy and satisfied. I would say if you have a small family and you want a powerful and fun economical car go for the spectra sx

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  Nice Set of Wheels - 2012 Kia Soul
  By Ed Ross - December 18 - 11:53 am

  We had been married 44 years. For the first time in our marriage, my wife asked for a specific car, the Soul! I said, a what? We usually buy a new car ever year or two; I give her the new one and I use the older one in my sales job. My wife loves this car. She is 52" and it fits her perfectly. It sets higher so she can see fine and this makes getting in and out much easier for her. We have had no problems with the car. It has excellent pick up and stops well. It will seat five but one of them had better be a child in the back seat! Our only complaint is that the ride is harsher than need be. I understand the new ones are a bit softer. I dont like not having a spare tire so I got one at the junk yard. I change my own oil and it is easy to do on the Soul. We bought this car with 3000 miles on it, the previous owner felt is was too small for his family but it is perfect for us. All our kids are grown. Gas mileage is a little less than I had hoped for. At 65 mph and on the flat Interstates in IL, I cannot get over 30 and a milk a car for gas mileage. I could get 36 on our 2010 Malibu on the same roads. I didnt like that it did not have "driving lights" so I bought OEM fog lights on eBay and installed them so that they are on whenever the ignition is on. I do like the fact that after an amount of time, the car will automatically turn off any lights left on after you turn the car off; headlights, dome light, etc. My wife and I would highly recommend the Kia Soul. We have the "Plus" model. We have only had one recall and that was optional. (UPDATE) This car is amazing, still no problems and my wife loves it. We almost traded it for a 2016 Soul but this one is just too nice to give up. Go buy one.

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  Good ride - 2003 Kia Rio
  By jcwit - December 18 - 10:26 am

  Have only had the car one week, but very happy with it so far. Mileage is in the low 40s, 42 to be exact, with gas prices at 3.00 plus makes it great. Ride is very comfortable and quiet for a small car, much better than our Metro which it replaces. Handling is fantastic, corners great, pick-up is better than average for this small an engine. Improvments?? Cant think of any at this time. So far, glad I bought it.

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  love my new Sorento - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By pedro - December 18 - 6:26 am

  I drove the Sorento for the first time about two weeks ago. I loved it. The ride was excellent. Yesterday I went to the same dealer I purchased my new Kia Sportage in 1998, test drove the Sorento again and...drove it home. I purchased the LX with running board and flood lamps. I paid around $22K TOTAL. Did I say I love this car (suv)? If you are looking at the RAV4, Jeep Liberty, Suzuki Grand Vitara. the Kia Sorento has all them beat, HANDS DOWN. Same price or even cheaper. I wanted to buy the EX but was not crazy about the sunroof. The ride is very smooth. I LOVE IT.

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  Buyers Remorse - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By James - December 18 - 5:33 am

  This vehicle is really uncomfortable to drive for more than an hour. The drivers seat curves up sharply jabbing into your rear end. Im not a skinny guy, but by no means large either. But the real disappointment is in the 23 mpg avg Im getting. Mostly highway, this is very disappointing in a car this size. Now one nice thing is that the controls are easy to reach. Second, this car really has some kick. It will jump out in traffic like a 6 cylinder vehicle if you need to. But it fails to be a good ride and to be economical to drive.

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  Great car, iffy service - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By DawnBaby - December 16 - 10:00 am

  Overall, we are happy with our purchase. The mini van is comfortable and fun to drive, especially with the leather package and sun roof. We have had a bad experience with the dealership. The radio broke the day after we got it and they made us wait a long time for a new one. (Do not jump start a Sedona without disconnecting the radio from the circuit panel!! Apparently the dealer jumped the car the night before we bought it and it ruined the stereo) Now the privacy glass is bubbling and we need a new window. A few inconvieniences, but we are pleased with our decision to buy the Sedona.

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  After all these years...love my Sorento - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Diane Babcock - December 16 - 9:53 am

  I saw my new Kia at the local dealer and was immediately impressed with the design. After hearing it was a KIA I was a bit concerned, I knew nothing about the brand. I test drove and did my research, took the plunge and have been very pleased. I now have nearly 50K miles on her and Im so impressed with the reliability. Not a thing has gone wrong in 3 years. My Sorento has been inexpensive to maintain as well. Overall this was a fantastic buy, especially at the $24K price tag.

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  Great Car For A Grandpa - 2015 Kia Sorento
  By joefire - December 16 - 6:46 am

  This is my 2nd Sorento (We had a 2012 also). I love this car! It was great when the grandkids visited . The 3rd seat is meant for them. We have the sx model with all the bells and whistles. The acceleration of the V6 is very good and the quality of the interior is nice.