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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  Satisfied - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By krmc - May 23 - 8:33 am

  Ive had my 12 Sorento for 6 months now. My daily driving is roughly 50 miles to and from work. A stop at the babysitter, mostly highway. I get 22-24 MPG depending on the insanity of traffic. We recently took a family vacation from PA to RI and driving conservatively we got a hair over 30 MPG. Driving home we drove more aggressively and still got a little over 28 MPG. The only negative I have to give is each side does have a blind spot and you can easily side swipe someone as my husband and I both have nearly done. It would be nice to have a V6 but the only time I really wished for it was on our vacation getting through some tight areas.

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  Great Car - 2002 Kia Optima
  By zyllanes - May 22 - 2:00 am

  The Optima is a great car! Ive had only minors problems (drivers side window does not open) but overall this car is very durable. Its V6 is powerful on the highway and can get you past other vehicles pretty quickly. It has a sporty feel to it and the steering is precise. The cabin is very spacious, making it comfortable on long road trips. Overall, you cant go wrong with this vehicle. The Kia Optima is a very solid car!

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  pathetic suv - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By worst car eva - May 22 - 2:00 am

  This is the worst vechicle ever, i have spent more time in the shop with minor to severe repairs in the past year than i have actually driving the vechicle. Please be fore warned and do not buy a Kia. I had the rear tailgate hinges break off on me at the airport with no warning. Within the first week the center console was broken, the glove box lock never worked from the factory. The muffler system iis always rattling. The transmission has had leaks, the radiator fan broke off the radiator was leaking. I have changed my oil exactly every 3,000 miles and this vechile was just a bad choice.

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  Good and cheap to fix if you Know - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Antonio Colon - May 22 - 2:00 am

  We have it since new and i am a drummer and have to travel a lot in PR the only problem that i had with it was the window that broke the power window cable and a small damage on the material of the seats that is weak.but for the rest is ok.

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  Dead battery - 2010 Kia Sedona
  By Lisa Pratt - May 22 - 2:00 am

  My company purchased a 2010 Sedona. When we keep the emergency flashers on for more then 10 minutes without the van running our battery goes dead. I brought it back to the dealer and they found nothing wrong. A battery does not go dead within that short period of time. The KIA company have done nothing to resolve this problem after numerous complaints, I would not recommend any one to purchase a KIA even though it is the sister to the Hyundai family. Can you just imagine being on the side of the highway and your vehicle breaks down, you keep your flashers on and when the tow truck arrives, he has to jump your battery and fix a flat at the same time. Buyer Beware!

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  Great CUV for the money - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By randen - May 21 - 8:06 pm

  Had a 02 Ranger 4x4 V6 and wanted something able to haul more adults and much better mpg. Looked @ Escape, RAV4 & Mitsubushi Outlander. Impressed with leg and head room and much more cargo room than Escape & Rav4 and much cheaper. Not impressed w/mpg at first but have over 4,500 miles on it now and is living up to EPA rating. It is very quiet for 4cyl and has enough power for us. Is fun to drive and has very good visibility. We opted for the Premium package w/3rd row seat and the quality of interior is much better than the Outlander.

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  Luxury at a not-so-luxury-price - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Bill - May 21 - 7:30 pm

  I switched from an Infiniti to a Lexus. This is without a doubt a quieter and smoother ride. Time will tell about its reliability, since it is a new model, but I feel comfortable with the warranty that comes with it. I got mine loaded, even with ESP, and feel very safe in it.

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  Love this little SUV! - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Jaxnurse - May 20 - 7:43 pm

  Bought this only a week ago for my teenage daughter, but have driven it enough to say that I absolutely love it. Its fun to drive, very perky for a 4 cyl. Its a basic model, so had a keyless remote installed for $100, but thats OK. I dont miss the bells and whistles at all, as its got all you need. The stereo is nice, the AC kicks, the steering is tight and it brakes on a dime. I feel this car is save for my daughter, and that says a lot. Im thinking of buying one for myself next year when I get rid of my Nissan!

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  My First Kia - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Burtimymus - May 20 - 4:30 pm

  Great first time small car; since Ive owned it have done over 1000 miles & it hasnt missed a beat. Did not like that I couldnt order a base one from my dealer but the up package I got with A/C made it a better car than I thought it would be. I love this car so far, the only downside I have noticed is I have to turn the overdrive off when going up steep hills, but definitely cannot grumble about the warranty. At the price I paid this car is a steal.

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  My Sedona - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By tarndt - May 20 - 8:40 am

  I really like my Sedona. It drives well and is always dependable. If I could change anything about it, I would only change the room between the two middle seats. It is difficult to get between them to strap the other kids in the back seats or for adults to climb all the way back there to sit. I would also increase the mpg it gets. I think that a minivan should get great gas mileage as it is a family vehicle and most families are on tight budgets.