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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  Get what you pay for - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By hatemycar - March 25 - 10:00 am

  I bought this vehicle for the same reason everyone else does, the price is great. BUT, BUYER BEWARE!!! The car will work fine, but it will rattle, and other little things will come up. If you can find a service center that is close you MAY get the problem resolved. There is a reason the others cost more money, theyre built better. My keyless entry works when it feels like it, the back seat rattle constantly and the noise level is high to beging with. Will never buy a KIA again!

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  Please be aware - 2005 Kia Rio
  By buyerbeware9 - March 23 - 11:12 pm

  Purchased this car from the original owner and at first was delighted with car. Kia was in great shape inside and out about 40k miles. Car was maintained according to manufacturer. Took car for oil change to dealer and was told because I was second owner warranty was not transferable so any repairs would be on me. At 74,000k car just stopped dead no warning. Had car towed to shop..what do ya know the timing belt broke and destroyed top part of engine. I was never informed of this until after the fact you are to replace the timing belt at or before 60,000 K. Kia said so sorry we cant help you. I have owned many cars from Lexis, Toyota, Honda and American and NEVER had this issue BEWARE !

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  Rear sunroof Problem! - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By cmgf - March 23 - 12:03 pm

  Leaving the lot in new sorento and realized the rear sunroof cover wouldnt open. Salesman couldnt open it either but assured me Service could take care of it with no problem. 5 weeks later I am still dealing with this. It is a Kia problem that the dealership has never seen before although apparently there are several cars on lot with this problem. They had to take the entire interior roof lining out and redo the whole sunroof. Two days to fix. Never drive it off the lot with a problem, even if they tell you its an easy fix.

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  Love My Amanti - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Alex - March 17 - 1:43 pm

  2 years ago, I brought a 2005 Kia Amanti. At the time, I thought no car could be better and gave it a 5 star review. Now, I have a Lexus LS 400 and that opinion has changed dramatically. The Kia Amanti is still a great car but you are wrong if you think you just got a very luxurious car thats as good as a Jag/Benz/Lexus/etc. The Amanti is a great VALUE luxury car that is very reliable, spacious, comfortable, fast/powerful, and smooth riding but compared to a bigger name luxury car like the ones that I just mentioned (particularly the LS 430 which it copied), it feels nowhere near as luxurious. The materials used on the interior are cheap and wear down easily, the handling and steering responsiveness is poor (the steering wheel literally feels numb, no exaggeration), and the side mirrors that never stay in place will drive you crazy. Repairs arent cheap. Gas mileage and resale value arent favorable.

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  What were they thinking - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By Why - March 17 - 8:00 am

  As you approach this car it seems like a fairly handsome vehicle. It has clean lines, just a nice amount bling to it. Climb in and start going and you will quickly be disappointed. The wind noise is horrendous. Thats ok though you can get used to it after a while, and the stereo can be turned up loud enough to overcome the noise. No, the worst part about this car is that in 2009 a car still has ABS as an option? What are they thinking? You get side airbags, but Id rather avoid an accident by having ABS.

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  Kribe123 - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Nelson - March 7 - 9:23 am

  I am very happy. I feel like a King driving my car. Actually is too much car for the price. It is the best deal I have doing buying a vehicle; so far I have no complaints. I am only worry about sales strategy of Kia. I dont see many Amantis on the road. I have no plans to trade this car for a while but If I will I will receive less money for it.

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  Eats Up Tires Really Bad - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By RA - February 21 - 10:53 am

  Its not best vehicle Ive ever had. It bounces too much and with only 25000 miles on the vehicle Ive gone through 2 sets of tires that are suppose to last 60000 miles. Some real problems with suspension on this the KIA. Buy a Honda or Toyota, I never had problems with those cars. Will NEVER buy another KIA.

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  Not worth the hassle - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By not worth the hassle - February 16 - 2:00 am

  We were so excited about our Kia Sedona Ex until weve had several problems with it. The first week we had it, it had to be towed back to the dealership, for engine problems. Followed by brake repairs & now a new transmission with only 20,000 miles on it!!

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  Do Not Buy A Kia - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Roadturtle - January 23 - 10:56 pm

  Gas mileage horrible; 12 - 14 mpg, Transmission a piece of junk. They cant even fix it. Its been in the shop over 33 days in the first four months I owned it. Stay away from Kia. Their warranty is great advertising, all fluff no substance. They make you bring it back over, and over again. They will not authorize your car to be fixed. They seldom authorize you a loaner. Do not buy a Kia!

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  Beware the timing belt - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Phil Hall - January 1 - 11:33 am

  Normally, I would say that this is a nice car, decent (not great) milage, good features, all in all an ok vehicle. But there is one thing you need to make sure of: the timing belt. It says to replace it every 60000 miles, I would replace that far sooner because this is an interference engine--if the belt breaks when the car is running your engine will be shot. As in dead. New car time. This design choice alone must account for the lower Reliability rating. There is no reason whatsoever that a single point of failure should destroy an engine.