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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  Be careful - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Jaymarie - November 9 - 11:06 pm

  I loved the car when I first got it, but I had so many little issues with it. First, I believe i replaced the head lights about 17 times, its OK on gas but now that the Car is 5 I have lots of rust the paint is going on it, the power steering has given me so many problems, and to get it replaced the cost is unreasonable for a vehicle that is suppose to be a good investment for your money... You pay for it in the end. I am looking for another car.

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  1500 miles - so far so good - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Brooklyn1951 - November 9 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our Sorento after considering several other SUVs. The Sorento was the only vehicle I was "excited" about buying. The deciding factors, in rank order, were- build quality, features, price and warranty. Gas mileage for highway driving is about 19 mpg so far. The Torque-on-Demand 4WD system and limited slip rear differential have worked great in our last 18" snowfall. The engine is wonderfully quiet and smooth. The transmission and 4WD system operate invisibly (thats good!). People are amazed at the quality and features of this loaded $26K SUV.

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  New Sorento Owner - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Ag - November 9 - 2:00 am

  Just picked up our Kia Sorento and love it so far. Great vehicle for the money. Many standard features only available as options from other manufactures. Only complaint so far is vibration or rumble while at highway speeds (50mpg or greater). Seems like tires but unsure.

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  Kis is Worth its Price - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By Carlos Valle - November 6 - 11:26 am

  The AC compressor has already been replaced once and the dealership and Kia know its defective because of its coil. The noises inside the van are ridiculous when driving through uneven surfaces. When test driving, make sure you take rough roads to drive on. Once the plastic coverings of the inside of the van are taken off, the feel and interior noise increases dramatically.

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  Best car Ive ever had! - 2008 Kia Optima
  By MARK A PETERSON - November 6 - 2:21 am

  I bought this car new in 2008 and now have 93,000 miles on it. The only maintenance items I have had done were rear brakes at 75,000 miles, front brakes at 90,000 miles and new tires. Oh, forgot about the new battery at 46,000 miles (thought that was too soon). I have had the oil changed at 3800 miles on average and changed transmission fluid once. It wont stop being dependable. Love it!

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  My 2007 Rondo - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Ron - November 5 - 5:00 pm

  My wife liked my Rondo so much that a year after I owned mine she went out and bought one too. The car gives a nice ride with great visibility. The seating is very comfortable, especially on long trips. I seem to get about 33 mpg when the freeway is functioning as intended. The wide 16" tires give a pretty good ride over our dilapidated roads. We have plenty of room for our family of three to pack up all our camping gear and head for the hills. We bought both on sale ad at $12,999 each, look for sales. Highly recommended. Cons: warped brake pad causes vibration when braking. Newer problem as steering has light knock when turning wheel left.

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  Little Quirks - 2012 Kia Sportage
  By mycar34 - November 5 - 10:28 am

  After reading several of the reviews I had to commit on several of your issues ... I am unable to clean the windshield/dash to stop the reflecting. On sunny days its dangerous. I have tried several high end windshield cleaners and nothing has helped. Unexplained noise ... Its been driving me nuts since I bought the vehicle. It rattles even the slightest bump in the road. I think, I figured it out. The glove box rattles. I used some heavy paper and jammed it in and it helps. The interior ... It scratches terrible. Anything leaves a mark! I dread the reduced trade in value due to scratches.

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  Not bad at all - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By KiaKonvert - November 4 - 5:26 pm

  Traded a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V8 for a 2WD Sportage back in 2005. We already owned a Kia Sedona minivan, and have short commutes, so were not put off by Kias less than stellar mileage. I use it to carry a load of sailboard equipment on the roof and it drives well under that load. This SUV is reliable and very safe. Unfortunately, it has been in three crashes, but is built like a tank and appears to be very repairable. Not a single issue with either car except Hankook tires, which are just serviceable. I recommend an upgrade to a good truck tire. (We also have a Honda CR-V)

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  2016 Kia Rio - Too Little, Too Much - 2016 Kia Rio
  By gary knott - November 4 - 1:34 pm

  1. The electronic odemeter/etc. is too cluttered. I prefer one place for one "output", not "multi-use", and clairity. We need a separate "boxed" odemeter display, etc. Also there is a large gear-shift "suggestion" that needs to be tamed and put in a corner of the instrument display area, and Id also like a notification of what gear Im in, with the shift suggestion appearing as a smaller digit with an up or down arrow. 2. Tire pressure sensors are great, but tell me the actual pressures when I ask. Also, tell me real coolant temps, not just H/C. 3. An builtin outside temp and compass above the rear-view mirror would be nice. As would making the rear-view mirror wider. 4. I like having keyed doors and trunk. 5. The radio/clock etc panel similarly needs to be much less "multi-function". Provide a little real-estate for each output (time. radio frequency) and keep it there all the time. (time always, radio state when the radio is on, etc.) You can tell Im an opinionated interface designer. 6. The car is a bit too noisy with respect to both engine and road noise. 7. you can hear the valves tapping when standing outside by the hood. 8. The acceleration is poor. 9. The car is long enough, but too narrow, widen it by 6 inches; each front passenger gets 3 more inches. 10. put rubber fill-in "cord" around the rear window. 11. The manual transmission shifts smoothly. 12. The AC controls have a weird automatic state when temp control is set to max "blue" that overrides all the other controls, recirc, etc. - Maybe give that state a separate notch on the temp control labeled MaxAC. 13. The radio needs a bit more DX (distance tuning ability.) 14. We want cruise-control with the manual trans. car!

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  Perfect - 2008 Kia Rio
  By ct, new york - November 4 - 11:46 am

  Replaced a 02 Hyundai Elantra manual which would have cost too much to fix. I am pleased on how far Kia has come. The car surpasses so many of the past vehicles that I have owned inc my 00 civic. Get the power package, worth the money. No problems on the highway, road noise is low. I love driving my Kia in Bright Blue and passing everyone else, kinda obnoxious and saving gas at the same time.