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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  Great Car for The Money - 2005 Kia Optima
  By LarryP - July 24 - 7:43 am

  I am very impressed with the quality of this car. Only have 6K miles on it but NO problems at all. This car has all the bells and whistles and compared to comparable cars, cannot be beat! After lots of research and driving the other brands, this car was hands down the best bang for the buck. Will definitely consider another Kia, especially the Amanti.

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  Satisfied User - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By boombats - July 22 - 10:00 am

  Very satisfied ,wanted a 4 Runner but bought instead for cost.Didnt want a wimpy crossover SUV because of lack of real 4w/d.Excellent fit & finish in & out. Great styling,nice interior.Ride a little choppy but its a truck.Easy to drive and fun.Power is good but sure would like the 245 h/p like Honda.Cruises great & no problem passing or entering highway.

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  Kia Soul solid little car..... - 2010 Kia Soul
  By andy r - July 21 - 4:33 pm

  This car we bought the base model in grey for around 13.5 k . We have put 20000 miles on the car. We have a house near a major ski area so much snow driving was done in this car....... we bought a rack and tlue cargo attachment for rack which knocks our mph down a bit....... Overall a good little econo car get about 25-30 mph with roof cargo bin. add 3 mph without. IS very noisy in passanger area ..... just crank up vol. on stereo , Overall we are happy with car.....fits a lot of stuff for a little car !

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  Great SUV but one problem - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By kr2880 - July 21 - 12:29 am

  The car looks and handles great on local and on the interstate. However, when I am waiting at a red light with the SUV in drive, there is a definite vibration that you can feel through out the car. I have had the car checked by Kia service including the District Service MGR and have been told that this is normal for the SUV. For an SUV with a sticker price close to $36000, I didnt expect a vibration to be considered normal! Hopefully KIA will come up with a fix!

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  2002 Optima - 2002 Kia Optima
  By Swinedog - July 18 - 1:00 pm

  The car was very reasonably priced. I have had problems with the keyless entry. It was eventually repaired. It took the dealer 3 tries to fix it ... the manual provided by KIA was in error and referenced the wrong part number. The dealer was good and provided a loaner while they figured out the problem. I had attempted to replace a front turn signal ... it is not something easily done by a consumer. The transmission has always slipped ... it has been brought in on multiple occasions and they flash the onboard computer. The problem has never been completely resolved.

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  good car - 2003 Kia Rio
  By gcsickchick - July 16 - 10:00 am

  we just totalled our kia rio adn we are not hurt at all except the airbag hit us but thats all we would have flew through the windshield if it wasnt for the airbag so it is a safe car

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  Great vehicle with electrical problems - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By KB in NM - July 16 - 10:00 am

  This is a rugged, yet comfortable and good looking SUV. Just pulled a loaded 1500lb pop up and it did very well, better than my old Cherokee - Load Leveler really works. Love the sun roof, heated leather seats and comfort. Dont like the intermittant electrical problems the dealer cant find - clock changes to 1:00, radio stations change by themselves, bad interference in AM stations even with the device thats supposed to fix that problem. Audio controls on steering wheel are badly placed because Im always accidentally hitting them. But still a great vehicle worth owning, and the warranty makes the decision easy!

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  Last Kia I will own - 2010 Kia Soul
  By autoguy99 - July 11 - 7:10 am

  I bought the Kia Soul 2U based on size vs the advertised MPG. The local dealer had it rated 41 hwy and 36 hwy. I use this car for sales and average 35000kms per year. I average arround 24 mpg. Pathetic. I talked to the same dealer who sold me on the great MPG and was told that those numbers were not real world mpg. There is an annoying rattle in the drivers side windsheild post that no one can seem to fix. Never again, next car will be a honda.

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  5,000 Mile Review - 2012 Kia Rio
  By vod - July 9 - 11:49 am

  We purchased an EX automatic to use primarily as a local runabout and occasional highway runs. Decision came down to the Kia or Honda Fit. Chose the Kia based on better responsiveness, quieter ride, interior comfort, interior design and lengthy warranty. Mileage has matched EPA estimates. Exterior styling is such a personal issue that no comment is necessary.

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  Great Car at a good price - 2008 Kia Rio
  By smalltownsouthernman - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Purchased this car pre-owned with only 4000 miles on it. I havent had any problems out of it to date. I do notice that when i drive it after sitting over night the rear brakes tend to be touchy and squeak some. The engine also tends to have a little rattle to it when it is cold. Not sure why it does that but once it warms up it is flawless. it may have something to do with the CVT.