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 Sportage 2005 - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By notimeoff - June 1 - 9:10 pm

  The Sportage is a pleasure to own and drive. The service from my local dealer is great. Plenty of power with the v6. The 4 cylinder I test drove had a lackluster motor.

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  Love our SOUL! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By JPotter - June 1 - 3:43 pm

  We have had the Soul for little more than a week and we love it. Supposed to cater to the younger set. Well I am in my upper 60s; so guess what? The car may not ride as smoothly as some of your luxury cars but it has all the bells and whistles they have and cost THOUSANDS less. So far no complaints. Also I am a first time foreign car buyer.

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  The worst piece of crap every made!! - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Tracy - May 31 - 2:13 pm

  I have had this car for almost 10 years now, I am counting the days until I can afford to purchase a real car. At present the locks consistently freeze in the winter.The doors will not close until the car warms up a little. The windshield wiper fluid spray hasnt worked for years creating dangerous driving situations at times. The interior around the odometer has pulled apart, the vents to defrost the windshield broke spontaneously making defrosting a nightmare. Now the heating system has stopped in the dead of winter. Im amazed that it made it this far. So I couldnt get out as planned this morning because without no heat I couldnt see out of the windshield!

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  I Love My KIA SUV!! Lks Btr thn a Lexus - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Jamminjed - May 31 - 10:00 am

  The first time I test drove the Kia Sorento I fell in love it has wonderful performance and Its Fun to Drive. The only downfall is the Gas mileage but the Power is there. Its actually looks better than a Lexus RX 300 take the 2 side by side and the KIA takes all the attention away!!!!:)I strongly recommend the KIA SORENTO to SUV lovers.

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  I love my Kia !! - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Coleygirl - May 31 - 10:00 am

  I love my Kia Sorento. Its very comfortable to ride in and there is alot of passager room. The Sorento has plenty of storage compartments. The seats make long rides enjoyable. My best friend bought a Ford Escape the day before I bought my suv and it has been in the auto shop 3 times already. I really love my Kia Sorento.

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  Surprisingly Happy - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By mykiddacar - May 31 - 10:00 am

  I just bought my new 2003 Kia Sorento last week. Been enjoying it ever since. Couldnt be more pleased. First time to ever want to give a review, but car is worth the praise. Several friends suggested not to buy Kia, but when they saw my car, theyre anticipating buying one for themselves. I traded my Hyundai Santa Fe for the Sorento. Kia is impressive. Im a female buyer of cars, and am very proud of this choice.

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  my brand new suv - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By shelly - May 29 - 9:13 pm

  I absolutely love my Kia Sportage. The only downside is the lack of power when going up the hill, but putting that aside, I cannot find any other issues.

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  VERY PLEASED - 2017 Kia Sorento
  By Kay - May 28 - 4:18 pm

  Purchased First KIA, 2017 Sorrento 11miles because of the look of the body and safety reports. Took it for a road trip and it handled the rain, first winter snow and slush very well. One thing I was not happy about was the passenger seat indicator did not come on when the passenger took there seat belt off. This is a safety issue in which should come equipped in all vehicles. The seat belts didnt have much resistance when the breaks was given a lot of force to stop. Very happy about the many air bags. In which I am having the dealer take a look at ASAP. I love the Sorrento very smooth ride and great on GAS. Do not care for the satellite to much, The signal is not good. The radio system is great with my Teenager as well as the USB hook ups.

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  good CHEAP car - 2007 Kia Optima
  By junktier - May 28 - 11:30 am

  bought my Optima used with 7700 miles, 1 year and 16k later zero problems. gas mileage in town is all right at about 23 mpg but out on the highway gets 33 on average.

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  Better choices await... - 2001 Kia Optima
  By kcvelo - May 27 - 3:49 pm

  Bottom line: This is a very cheap, no frills car. If you are looking for something that will get you around and no more...this is the car for you. If you are looking for a car that holds its resale value...this is NOT it. Currently worth more as a tax credit on donation -or- totaled than trade-in value. I bought this car in 2003 and have put approximately 45,000 miles on it, mostly highway. At 75,000 total miles it looks and drives like it has 150,000 miles.