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:

• 

  LOVE my S-O-U-L! Its wonderSOUL! - 2013 Kia Soul
  By mazda5_4me - September 30 - 11:44 pm

  I have had many new cars and trucks over the years, and by far I was the most impressed by the 2013 KIA Soul Exclaim I bought recently. The Exclaim is the top of the line Soul, but even the Base Soul is well loaded and an excellant value. But the Soul is more about value than "just" being inexpensive. I love the standard moon roof on a warn sunny day! It has remarkable quality...perfect paint, very well assembled, top crash test scores, all the safety equipment available, great looking vehicle that stands out compared to the common vanilla Corolla/Civics that you see everywhere. And the 100,000 mile 10 year warranty is just icing on the cake!

• 

  Kia Spectra-Thumbs Up! - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By KiaFan - September 30 - 12:50 am

  I drove my Kia Spectra EX Automatic over 3700 miles in Western Canada and USA after buying one month before. Excellent comfort, cruise control was flawless, held the road well, achieved average of 35 mpg (39 in one stretch), great brakes. Plenty adequate pickup on entering a freeway. Very quiet engine at highway speed of 70 or at idle (wondered if in was running while waiting at a stop sign). The finish and fit is excellent. The price was right - at least $3000 less than a Corolla or Civic or Jetta. I also checked it to its sister/brother the Hyundai Elantra... compares well, same engine, nicer interior. Stereo/CD radio very good. Great warranty.

• 

  Kia - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By cartman1 - September 30 - 12:43 am

  I was not considering the Kia Amanti until I saw it on the road over and over again. Ive had mine for almost 6 months and have driven it from FL to MD. twice. What a joy it is to drive. I have a Mercedes Benz as well, but I enjoy the Kia as much, if not more, on the open road.

• 

  Definitely Recommend - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By sjf17x - September 29 - 7:19 am

  While I dont understand any of the negative reviews, I guess there are exceptions to everything. After test driving many other manufacturers, we went back to Kia knowing what we were getting. This car is more comfortable than any of the Hondas, Hyundais, Toyota, Ford and Chevys. It drives really smooth, notice absolutely no problems with shifting gears, the interior and dash is extremely functional, lots of room and the extra storage in the back is great. I question some of the other reviews and their problems... I wouldnt base my decision on them to buy this vehicle. And the $19600 out the door (all taxes, tag, ect included) definitely helped, considering it was $28k sticker!

• 

  Great car - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By huff - September 27 - 12:53 pm

  Simple car, no extras, never have problems. Gets from 30 to 33 highway (automatic). Easy to park. Has fantastic warranty but never have to use it. Unlike American cars no recalls to date!

• 

  Amazing Car - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Si Yung - September 26 - 10:33 am

  The car is very comfortable, convenient, calm, and efficient. The interior design is so nice that I feel cozy. It is good for family driving. My family really enjoys riding in it.

• 

  If you are skeptical, you are wrong - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By matute008 - September 26 - 7:56 am

  We went to the car show and for two years in a row we loved it. It has all the safety features I was looking for and to be honest a little bit more. Riding in the car is fun and the interior is really comfortable. The infinity stereo is awesome and the sound is perfect.

• 

  Still Reliable at 133K - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By MandyH - September 26 - 1:06 am

  We bought this van with less than 20k miles on it and have found it to be a very reliable/dependable vehicle. It has never left us stranded or threatened to do so. We have only had oil changes and some of the suggested regular maintenance performed. Nothing to report, just normal wear and tear like brake pads, tires, and an alignment or two. The only negatives I can think of is that I do not like the fabric in the interior it seems to collect lint like I never knew was possible and I have owned few cars. We did have problems with the sliding of the side doors but one was a factory recall and the other the dealership fixed it for no cost when they were replacing tire tpms sensors. I am glad I do not have power doors - these can be expensive to fix.

• 

  Kia Surprises - 2007 Kia Optima
  By micro99 - September 26 - 1:03 am

  Smooth ride, very good handling with more than adequate acceleration (not as fast as others); great value by any metric but especially features per dollar.

• 

  Our new Kia Sorento is great - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Dave C - September 25 - 12:07 am

  My Wife and I just purchased this Kia Sorento V6 AWD with the SX trim level in a beautiful red. This was a demonstrator with about 2800 miles on it so we got a great discount from the $45,000+ price. We originally were talking with the dealer about a lower EX trim level model but we were able to negotiate for this higher trim level at about the same price as the lower EX trim because it was a demonstrator. This is a fantastic car with the safety and technology packages on it. One of the coolest features is the smart cruise control which maintains the distance from the car in front of you even down to a full stop. The lane keeping alert is also very helpful. The UVo voice activation feature is nice so you dont have to take your eyes off the road to tune the radio or make a call. The ride is very comfortable and quiet even on rough roads and at high Interstate speeds. The leather power seats have multi position adjustments which are quite comfortable and these happen to be heated and cooled. The only nitpick is that there is no daytime running lights feature and the lights dont come on automatically with the wipers. Kia engineers should fix this. Otherwise this car is great. It gets high ratings from Consumer Reports, Kelly Blue Book and J D Power. The Kia warranty is an industry leader. The value Kia puts in this vehicle is tremendous. The features on this car can be had on vehicles twice the price. This is the first NEW car we have had in our 40 year marriage and we are very satisfied with it.