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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  The Optima ROCKS! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By lovemyoptima - July 25 - 9:00 pm

  My Optima is 1 year old - 22,000 miles - mostly interstate/highway.Im still in love with this car! Im confused by other posts about the poor gas mileage?I just took a trip from Boulder CO through the mountains (Hwy 285) down to northern NM and got an average of 32.5 MPG and just under 600 miles to the tank. Coming back, I got 550 miles to the tank or 29 mpg (had to climb more coming back).In town Im getting 24.5-27 MPG.Until I took the plunge and bought a KIA I was a Toyota gal (Camry and Corolla owner and I loved them)...I will never go back to Toyota...they are totally boring to the core.The 2011 Kia is a quality car. It might not be a BMW or Audi but its the closest Im going to get!

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  great car for a great price! - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By nedyarb - July 25 - 6:16 pm

  If youre looking for a great car with excellent fuel economy, this is the one for you. I recently purchased my Spectra and so far Im very satisfied with it. The only thing that caught my attention so far with it would be that it has a high rev in 1st gear before it shifts. Other than that it has been fun to drive, and for the price its hard to pass up!

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  Love this car, my 2nd one - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Ingrid - July 25 - 3:20 pm

  I love the Kia Sedona; great price, nice looking, lots of room for kids and big shopping trips. Great if you regularly have out of town guests with lots of luggage. Lots of bells and whistles without a high price. Very safe; unfortunately mine was involved in two accidents, neither my fault, and although 1 was a fatality accident I came through without a scratch. Some bumps and bruises but no major injuries. Even at 3 years old my first Sedona was worth more than we owed on the loan when the last accident totaled it. Love the safety feature of not being able to open the sliding door when the gas lid is open.

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  Kia Optima - 2005 Kia Optima
  By Kathy Worley - July 25 - 1:20 pm

  This is without a doubt the best and easiest car I have ever driven. The ride is smooth, the car is easy to maneuver. We love everything about the car. The warranty was great, the dealership was kind and very informative.

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  kia has got a gem in this one - 2015 Kia Sedona
  By Todd Mates - July 25 - 7:34 am

  this is the best minivan out there I test drove them all ive owned 5 vans and this is by far the best one yet

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  so far so good. - 2011 Kia Soul
  By tegen - July 24 - 9:36 pm

  I have had my Soul for a week and so far I like it. It handles well, Takes wind pretty good, taking a little adjusting since I had a Kia Rio5 before. Its taller then my last car. but has more space for the kids. though it wasnt my first choose. we looked at everything else on the lot. had a hard time getting past how ugly it was. looked at the books for the soul in the dealer ship. dicided it didnt look so bad when it wasnt Green. So we test drove one and now its sitting in my drive way still a little ugly but not so bad since its the Java color.

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  Fun to drive, Sportage SX 2.0 Turbpo - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By SportyOne - July 24 - 8:27 pm

  The Sportage has everything you need. Its fast, with unbelievable take off and passing power especially in sports mode. Its quiet, comfortable, stylish and has an excellent sounding harman kardon stereo system. And for a small SUV, it feels roomier than the Rav4 and much more fun to drive. Love the two tone canyon and beige interior. We tried the Rav4, CRV, Escape and Rogue before deciding on the Sportage. Not as fuel efficient as other Suvs and we are at the pumps often but then again it doesnt help that we always want to be driving it. We average about 28 imperial miles per gallon(from Canada)

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  Please Recall This Junk - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By sniper_munkee - July 24 - 5:14 pm

  So two months after I purchased this used no warranty they told us itd take over 4000 to fix so its been sitting in my backyard for the last three years. Still making payments on it.

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  Hazard switch location - 2006 Kia Rio
  By hjshaffer673 - July 24 - 2:17 pm

  Just bought this vehicle with 71,000 miles. So far I really like it. Just one complaint. Hopefully its been moved since. I seriously dislike that each time I reach to change the volume of the stereo, may hand hits that emergency flasher button making me check that I didnt accidently turn them on.

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  Beliver in Kia safety - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By TKA - July 24 - 3:36 am

  We purchased a 2004 Kia Sedona largely on price and figured with a 100K warranty if it was junk KIA would have to fix it. We found it to be a very reliable, stable and flexable vehicle that could do about anything we ask. On July 2, 2007 we were hit in the passenger side and pushed into a pole. The van was totalled but my wife and I walked away with only a broken nose and bruises. The fire and ambulance crew were afraid we would be dead when they saw the van. We believe in Kia safety and purchased a brand new one immediately. We love and trust our Kia minivan. I would recommend it to anyone.