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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  Love it - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Paul Erickson - December 12 - 3:46 pm

  Replaced our 1997 Grand Caravan with the 08 Sedona. Looked at the newer Chrysler mini-vans, and they are truly dreadful (thats why we kept the 97 for so long.) Thought I would have to spend $$$ for Honda or Toyota, but I am very happy with the Sedona. I have never checked fuel economy. I drive it 1 mile to the train station for commuting, otherwise use it to carry lots of people and big things. So fuel economy does not matter much for this vehicle.

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  Iffy But So Far So Good - 2003 Kia Optima
  By treated right - December 12 - 10:00 am

  purchased Optima LX today and have only 100 miles now on it so my opinion is not strongly formed but i like what i see so far. Dealership treated us right after last 2002 Kia Spectra was a lemon got us in car on great deal. So Far Extremley Happy..time will tell and i hope it tells a good tale!!

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  Good Buy! Lots of Pep! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Karsushi - December 12 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car for my son. Front seats are pretty roomy and the interior is nicer than I expected. Good commuter car for zipping around town. I drive a Durango and dont like small cars. However! Was surprised at the smoothness and excelleration on this vehicle. Been driving it for a week and must say Ive enjoyed it. Purchased the Spectra LS for $13,000. out the door. Purrs like a little kitten. Ill let you know if there are problems down the road. So far its great.

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  The Secret is out.... - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Larry Wygant - December 12 - 10:00 am

  The price for the package you get in a Sedona ,Wow ,wait till the word gets out .This auto has plenty of power , passing ability ,driver comfort ,the visibility is great from the drivers seat and the passengers seat. Will respond when it is called to pass ,it will sprint to 100 MPH with little or no effort..Very stable on the road ,handles cross winds . Has all the features needed ,to satisfy Honda owners..

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  Awesome value, cant go wrong. - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By scott - December 12 - 4:50 am

  I love driving this car. I laugh at matrix owners knowing they paid thousands more and I have a safer ride. I was worried if Kias quality was where it should be but after owning it I can say its better than most. Far better than the american car I own.

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  Great Little Car - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Leila - December 11 - 4:53 am

  I bought this car new in 2004. Aside from a CV axle issue starting around 50K miles, I have had no problems. I have bought tires, replaced the front brakes and done routine maintenance and thats it! She just rolled over 140,000 miles this past weekend and were still rocking along. Im looking forward to my next purchase: the 2011 Sorento.

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  Great Car - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By wben838 - December 9 - 10:40 pm

  I paid $7000 used for this car. It is the most reliable car I have ever had. I have owned 4 VWs 1 Subaru, 1 Mazda, and 1 Saab. It is made for people on a budget. When you get the coupons, the dealer only charges $10.00 for an oil change. The only annoying thing about this car is that it is a little slow and the engine makes noise at around 4Krpm.

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  My First Kia - 2011 Kia Soul
  By jttheawesome - December 9 - 7:12 am

  I have owned several Hyundai products previously, and I know that Kia is a "kissing cousin" to Hyundai. Therefore, I expected high quality when I got into my 2011 Kia soul, and was not disappointed. I bought it "lightly used" with only 8,500 miles on it, so its essentially a new car. Its much roomier than it appears, and has almost as much interior space as my 2005 Tuscon. Fuel mileage is excellent, getting no less than 30 MPG around town and around 37 on the road. It handles quite nicely, and rides better than my previous car, a 2008 Nissan Sentra. And most importantly, it makes me feel young! (Maybe it makes me look younger, too.....)

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  95% as good as the leaders for less $$$$ - 2007 Kia Optima
  By imacheapsk8 - December 9 - 1:26 am

  Im totally impressed with the 07 Optima! I was only considering the Accord or Camry, but the Optima won me over. It performs just as nicely, and in my opinion has a much nicer interior than the others. The build quality and style are impressive as well, not to mention the 5 star safety rating for all four tests, including the notoriously difficult offset frontal crash test.

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  Best of many vehicles I have owned - 2006 Kia Sportage
  By Ron - December 8 - 12:16 pm

  As a senior citizen who has owned many vehicles, I am hard to please. This vehicle has really impressed me though. Very utilitarian, comfortable, practical, dependable so far and fun to drive to boot. Would buy another in a minute. Only downside is gas mileage of 21 mpg, but we drive mostly in urban areas. Have taken a couple of short trips and the vehicle can hold its own on the interstates too.