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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  My Silver Rocket - 2007 Kia Amanti
  By Avi - January 23 - 3:53 pm

  I bought my Amanti primarily for my wife in January 2008. The Amanti I bought was slightly used with 10,300 miles at the time of purchase. We traded in my wifes 2001 Buick Century. Although she loved her Century, it could not compare to the 2007 Amanti. The Amanti rides as well as or better than a Buick Lucerne or Park Avenue, and goes like a rocket. I have never driven such a luxurious riding car with such power. The car had to be returned to the dealer for two minor defects; but other than that, it is rock solid with excellent quality. Anyone that drives a 2007, 2008, or 2009 Amanti with the 264 hoursepower engine will LOVE it.

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  Good value for the money - 2014 Kia Soul
  By CMR - January 23 - 12:11 pm

  I,was coming out of a toyota rav4 lease in March and due to a back problem I still needed a car that was easy to get into and out of. My friend suggested a KIA SOUL he was right. I visited my local dealer and drove a 2014 soul. Much to my surprise the seat was more comfortable then may RAV 4. Also the soul has a better fell. On the down side it needs better pick up for merging with traffic. Great second car for the money. So far no complaints.

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  My first SUV....not too shabby.... - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By pappy - January 23 - 12:06 pm

  The bottom line is I really, really like this car. Used all the reviews here on Edmunds(which were pretty spot on) and the USAA car buying help to get a good price in my mind before we headed out to the dealership. All said and done, paid $27,772(initial offer form the dealer was $28,900+). That includes: Leather throughout(Luxury package), crossbars, bluetooth, and 17 chrome wheels. Could have cared less about the wheels/bluetooth, but they were already on/installed and new laws in OR make already having the bluetooth great! 2,400 miles in and overall satisfied with the car. Oh, and the dealer used it as his personal car so it had 570 miles on it when we got it. Wife was pissed....

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  Buyer Beware - 2008 Kia Optima
  By NOTW Girl - January 23 - 1:20 am

  I purchased a new 08 Optima in January and it has been in service twice because the "Check Engine" light came on. The day I bought the Optima and drove it on the freeway, the RPM went to 6000. The car hesitates when trying to accelerate and it drives like a four-cylinder. There could be a problem with the transmission in the 08 model.

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  Mmmmhmmm I love it! - 2005 Kia Rio
  By Klaticia p.t. - January 23 - 12:00 am

  I bought the stripped down Kia Rio as a "spare car" and I am very glad I did. I got the last brand new 2005 on the lot and paid only $7,000 for it! It has no luxury appointments ... no air, no radio, no automatic transmission. For $79.00 I bought an awesome Aiwa CD receiver and installed it myself in an hour and thanks to the already factory installed speakers it was good to go. The car has excellent pick up. I have heard other people complaining about this but with a 5 speed manual transmission and no air, pick up and gas mileage is outstanding. I would definitely buy another.

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  research - 2009 Kia Sportage
  By Grandpa - January 22 - 8:33 am

  I read the reviews, I like the car, If you do not like the arm rest chec out chic.com We bought one and it looks and feels like it came with the car. Head rests, oh yeah, they are adjustable or you can turn them around. All that being said, Low Rpm performance is questionable. Dealer said my car needs to adjust to my driving style...emmmm I do like this car

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  Mostly good stuff - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By boltguy - January 20 - 2:13 pm

  Just purchased this LX 4WD V6 Sportage. Purchased it for $18700 before taxes, etc. Really comfortable and upscale looking interior. Exterior styling gives it a slightly tough look. Am very happy with it, although the mileage is only 20.5 mpg combined driving. I believe it will yield slightly better results after the break-in period.

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  More than you expect - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Bill - January 20 - 8:46 am

  This car is far more than I ever expected! I have owned several high end European cars and I am just as happy with the KIA as I was with any of the much higher priced cars. Everyone who rides with us says the car is beautiful and rides like a dream. I love this car.

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  My Kia Dragon - 2010 Kia Soul
  By mykiki - January 19 - 10:33 pm

  I love my Soul but hate the highway mileage. The city miles are better than average, but mileage goes down on the highway. Not a vacation vehicle but the most fun I ever had driving.

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  Not bad - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By Have tons of kias... - January 18 - 6:46 pm

  Bought this car after owning a 1988 Toyota Corrolla Wagon with 205,000 miles on it. This was a huge upgrade. We have 3 other kias, and we like them quite well. So this was a time to see if Kias little cars were any good? Well, Im happy! Ive only had to get some belts replaced, and get new tires, other than that, its been a very reliable car. The people who owned it before me had to replace the transmission, and that was it. So Im happy. There are just a couple of rattling noises, but nothing that the radio turned up really loud cant fix. Gas mileage is so so, should be better in my opinion, but it is far from being bad. I plan on getting 200,000 on this. It currently has 156,100 on it.