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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  Poor Poor - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Neil Wright - April 25 - 8:43 am

  I bought this car new in 2000,the first things to go before 400 miles were the battery twice.Then the alternator the rubbers around the doors is constantly coming off,oh how about the one around the front windshield that blew out on the highway the second day we had it. the color just rubbed off when you hand wash it These cars were built cheap it has no pick up dont try to merge into traffic from a ramp because you will not make it there are no pick up power. i have a 1995 Toyota Corolla with 226,875 miles and the KIA SEPHIA is no match to it.last but not least gas mileage is lousy for a four cylinder we went trade it with only 48,000 miles recently they only want to give us $1,000.

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  Great value! - 2008 Kia Rio
  By braindeadunit - April 25 - 7:47 am

  Im getting great gas mileage, and despite mixed rated for 29, Im getting 34+ mpg. The gearing is just about right, giving its power (and efficiency) in all the right places -- with the manual trans you wont feel like you have such a small engine (reviews on internet says the auto can feel sluggish). The car has a lot of nice touches -- arm rest, aux input, stub holder, center console orientation, the list goes on. All of the small things add up to get a comfortable ride. I cant think of any downsides, although friends have reported the back seats feel a bit cramped. I bought it used, and I think when it comes time to buy a new car, Ill go with a Rio (or Hyundais version, the Accent).

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  Kia Sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By VIGIL6617 - April 24 - 10:00 am

  This is my third minivan, a geat value for money if you dont drive a lot of miles. Gas mileage is never been over 16 MPG, even if I drive all freeway. My Toyota Previa with a supercharge engine got better mileage than this van. Little trunk space. If I have to do it again, I would probably think twice about buying the current model. The van needs to go on a diet at 4900 pounds, its to heavy. causing the gas mileage problem. Other than the gas mileage and little trunk space its a good van.

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  Love this car! - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By Landon Stauffer - April 24 - 1:39 am

  I absolutely love the 2007 Kia Spectra LX. I bought it as my first car, and was absolutely amazed. It has a good amount of pep, and handles extremely well. Drives well at high speeds, accelerates pretty quickly, and is fun to drive. I am 58" and when i sat in it I felt like a hand in a glove, perfect fit. Great gas mileage, and very reliable. I had the car for two years, from 88,000 to 107,000 miles. I replaced the timing belt when I bought it, but other than that all I had to do was oil changes. I would have loved to keep the car forever, but the LX version does not have air conditioning, and I am soon moving to a hotter climate. Mine was manual, and I did have some problems down shifting into second, as it would grind, and I dont know if that was standard among this model or not. I had to slow down a lot more than normal standards in order to shift into second gear smoothly. Overall this car was amazing and after buying, I was extremely impressed with Kia, and this Spectra. From some other Kias that I have been in and this one, I see that Kia does a great job at making comfortable vehicles. Very reliable, comfortable, cost efficient, and just an overall great car!

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  Kia has it - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By J Sherrets - April 23 - 10:10 am

  I started looking at Sorentos to help a female friend that thought she needed help shopping for one. I went to several dealers and looked around. I was impressed by the look, which looks strikingly like a Lexus RX, and by the acceleration. It handles quite well. And has good storage. It starts quickly like it is anxious to get on the road and go. I liked it so much, I bought one! And two friends liked it so much one has bought one, and other is likely going to buy one.

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  extended review - 2008 Kia Amanti
  By herb45 - April 21 - 1:00 pm

  update.after 17000 miles,i have realized that this car i lousy around town,both in ride & quietness,but take her on the highway,away from the virginia beach roads,and she shines.highway mileage is around 30mpg,but the ride in city driving is not even on par with cadillac.all rattles have pretty much disappeared,but still concerned with the ride which tends to turn harsh over sharp bumps.i thought this was a luxury car????????? the power is great,but the tranny seems to hesitate at times,unless you use the manual gate.

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  Best van out there! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By guitarrista - April 21 - 6:12 am

  We bought our Sedona in 2002 and have put over 120,000 miles on it. It is very reliable and comfortable. We get about 14 mpg in city and 24 on hiway. 2002 was the first year for this car, and ours was built early in the year. We read the reviews before we bought, and knew that certain things would break, and they did, and they were covered by the warranty. Kia put stronger versions of those parts on vans sold later in the year, so if youre buying a used one, look at the MFG date and get one built later in the year. Example: transmission and engine mounts, and sun roof cable. When ours broke, we discovered they had changed the spec to different, stronger ones.

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  Kia Soul is Practical and Peppy! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Val - April 18 - 7:13 pm

  Im about 59 and Ive always had small, compact cars. The Kia Soul is a unique, mini-suv (really) with more leg room than any compact car offers. Safety features, long warranty, Kias roadside assistance service, impressive STANDARD features, as well as EPA and IIS accolades sold me on this car. For the price and everything you get STANDARD, this car is a good investment. I recently noticed the blind spot everyone mentions, but; that is easily fixed by purchasing "blind-spot" mirrors at a local auto parts store.

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  Best technology options on the market. - 2015 Kia Sedona
  By Max - April 18 - 10:41 am

  I have cooled seats, around view monitor and adaptive cruise control, touch screen navigation that i actually use (unlike my Mercedess) for $45k No other minivans have this options available. Own for 15 month, 12k miles. Nothing went wrong ever. I wish i could see climate temp all the time.

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  Ok to own - 2001 Kia Sportage
  By Aw - April 18 - 10:00 am

  Great for the money